IM- PROVEMENTS IN HAMMERS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN HAMMERS."-A communication from abroad by George
Selsor and William Cook, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
of America.
Sealed the 24th September 1867, and dated the 10th April 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou
the 10th April 1867.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HAMMERS," a communication to me from abroad by George
Selsor and William Cook, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of
America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction of hand hammer, whereby
one hammer may be used for performing duties to accomplish which has
heretofore required two separate hammers. According to this Invention it is
proposed to combine claws with the "pein" or tapered rivetting end of a
hammer. A tapered groove is formed also in or along the surface of the

page_text: 'pein" and beneath the claws for the reception and holding of a nail so
as to admit of its being driven without the necessity for holding or adjusting
it by the other hand of the operator. The nail is inserted into this groove
head foremost so as to leave its point projecting beyond the tip of the "pein"
the claws above it combined with the groove keeping the nail temporarily in
position in the hammer. On striking with the hammer the nail carried by
and fitted into it will obviously be driven into the wood or other surface, and
will be held sufficiently firmly in such surface to allow the hammer to release
itself readily from the nail, which is left in the wood or other surface, and
may then be driven home in the usual manner. By the use of this peculiar
hammer nails may be driven in the usual manner by the "pole" or broad
head, extracted by the aid of the claws, inserted without adjusting them
in the place where they are to be driven by hand, and facility is afforded
for revetting by the aid of the pein.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th October 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of April in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN HAMMERS," a communication to me from abroad by George Selsor, and
William Cook, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said

page_text: Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention consists of the combination, substantially as described
herein-after, of claws with the "pein" of a hammer head, so that the
latter can be used for performing duties to accomplish which has heretofore
required two separate hammers.
The Invention further consists of a groove formed in the "pein" of the
head, beneath the claws, for the reception of a nail which can be driven to
its place without the usual manual adjustment.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 represents a side view of a hammer head with the improvement
applied thereto; Figure 2 is a plan view of the same; Figure 3 is a longi-
tudinal section thereof, and Figures 4 and 5 are views of the heads of ordinary
hammers.
A is the head of the improved hammer, and B the handle, the latter
being secured to the frame by any of the means heretofore employed for the
same purpose, on one end of the head there is formed the usual "pole" a,
and at the opposite end the "pein" b above which are the claws c there
being between the "pein" and the claws a space m (Figure 1), sufficiently
large to admit the head of an ordinary nail. The heads of common bammers
have usually been made either in the manner illustrated in Figure 4, or
that shown in Figure 5, the former being an ordinary claw hammer,
and the latter a rivetting hammer; the two styles are combined in the
improved hammer which as will be readily seen can be used either as a
carpenter's hammer for driving and drawing nails, and other purposes, or
for any of the duties for which a rivetting hammer is required. In the
upper surface of the "pein" 6 and below the claws c a groove is cut
in which can rest a nail as shown in Figure 3, the head of the nail being in
contact with the end of the recess m between the claws and the "pein."
In many instances it becomes necessary for a carpenter or other operative to

page_text: drive a nail at a point where it cannot be readily reached to be adjusted and
steadied by one hand whilst being driven by the hammer in the other hand,
in such cases the nail may be placed in the groove x as shown, and being
maintained in a proper position laterally by the groove may be elevated with
the hammer and driven at any point within reach of the hammer head.
This Invention may be applied to hammers having "peins" of different
shapes from that shown and described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the combination substantially as described of the claws c, with the
pein" of a hammer for the purpose specified.
Second, the use of the groove a in the "pein" beneath the claws, for the
purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Eighth day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)