IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND SECURING OF CUTLERY HANDLES, AND MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Whitehead, Henry Whitehead, and Henry
Barber, Spring Knife Cutlers, all in the Township of Eccleshall-Bierlow,
Sheffield, in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
737
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Whitehead,
Henry Whitehead, and Henry Barber at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 24th February 1863.
We, WILLIAM WHITEHEAD, HENRY WHITEHEAD, and HENRY BARBER, Spring
Knife Cutlers, all in the Township of Eccleshall-Bierlow, Sheffield, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND SECURING OF CUTLERY HANDLES, AND
MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows (that is to say):-
In describing the first part of our Invention we will take a spring knife
handle for example. Figs. 1 and 2 are two metal scales for spring knife
handles; one is of steel and the other brass; the centres of each are cut out with
a fly, as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, both being cut out of one design, and the
centre piece that is cut out of the steel scale is put into the centre of the brass
scale, and the brass centre piece is put into the steel scale, each centre pieco
is then soldered fast in on the under side. If a piece of tortoise-shell, buffalo
horn, or any other suitable material is required to be put into the centre instead

page_text: of a metal centre, the tortoise-shell or other material must be cut out by the
same bed and punch to fit into the centre of the scale, and any brittle material,
such as pearl, that will not bear cutting out with a fly cutter, must be filed to
the shape of the piece that is so cut out of the centre of the scale; but as
such materials cannot be soldered in like a metallic centre piece, we cut a thin
piece of sheet brass or other metal according to the metal which the scale is
made of, and we put this thin centre piece in the centre of the scale and knock
it down to the bottom, and, solder it fast in, and then put the other centro
piece of tortoise-shell or other material in and rivet it to the thin piece of metal
which is soldered fast in. Fig. 3 is a spring knife scale of the ordinary kind,
the bolsters being of various designs as shewn at A, A, and to match the
covering to fit in them we have a bed and punch of a corresponding design
to cut the ends of the covering pieces out with so as to make them fit
therein; this applies only to such coverings as can be cut out with a fly cutter.
In securing bowie and table knife handles on the blades, we have the tangs of
the blades left nearly as thick as the handles themselves, a thin covering of
German silver or other suitable metal is cast all round it and forms the handle.
Also we have bowie knife handles cast hollow with a hole right through, and
the guard fast on the blade tang is put into the handle,. and then lead or resin
poured in at the other end to secure it fast in, and the hole plugged up
afterwards. In working handles into shape we use a steel circular cutter made
hollow on the surface to correspond with the required shape of the handle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Whitehead, Henry Whitehead, and Henry Barber
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
WHITEHEAD, HENRY WHITEHEAD, and HENRY BARBER, Spring Knife Cutlers,
all in the Township of Ecclesall-Bierlow, Sheffield, in the County of York,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,'
the said William Whitehead, Henry Whitehead, and Henry Barber, Her
special licence that we, the said William Whitehead, Henry Whitehead, &
Henry Barber, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others

page_text: as we, the said William Whitehead, Henry Whitehead, and Henry Barber,
our executors, administrators, and 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 THE MANUFACTURE
AND SECURING OF CUTLERY HANDLES, AND MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William Whitehead, Henry
Whitehead, & Henry Barber, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Whitehead, Henry Whitehead,
& Henry Barber, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of cutlery handles and machinery
for the same, and consists in improvements in the mode or modes of forming
the scales and other parts of the said handles, as explained in our Provisional
Specification of the 24th February 1863, No. 498, and more particularly
herein-after described, and also consists in the adaptation and use of the steel
cutters, which we denominate "circular cutters," for working handles into
shape, and which cutters, when grooved as herein-after described, can be used
for fluting such of the said handles as are usually so finished or are capable
of being thus formed, and the said improvements further consist in the peculiar
mode in which we prepare and form the scale plates from which the improved
scales are cut, which several improvements we now proceed to describe,
reference being made to the accompanying Drawing.
Figs. 1 and 2 represent the metallic spring knife scales, one of which a, wo
will suppose to be of steel, and the other b, of brass, or of any other dissimilar
metals or materials respectively suitable for the purpose, the configurated
centres c and d of which scales are cut out respectively with a fly, both centres
being of the same shape and size; they are now transposed, the steel centre
being let into the brass scale and the brass centre into the steel scale, and
each brazed or soldered fast in by a little solder along the joint on the under
side. Other kinds of material may be put into the centre instead of the metal,
such as tortoise-shell, pearle, ivory, horn, &c. All kinds of materials that will

page_text: bear cutting out with a fly are cut with the same bed and punch as the centres.
of the metallic scales are cut with, but the other materials, such as pearl, ivory,
and the like, are fitted, or otherwise formed to the required configuration, and
fitted into the frames, and as these latter kinds of centres cannot be soldered,
we rivet or otherwise secure them to thin under scales of the same con-
figuration, and then let both into the cavity together, and then solder in as
before mentioned, or we can cover the under side with a thin scale which we
solder or braze, and then rivet the centre in. Fig. 8 represents a spring knife
scale of the ordinary kind. The bolsters e may be ornamented to suit or match
the metal covering; the centre &³ is cut out with a fly of suitable design.
In working handles into shape we use and adapt steel circular cutters, which
are grooved on the periphery and caused to rotate with the required speed,
the grooves being formed to suit the various designs of the handles. Cutters
thus formed we also use and adapt for fluting the handles of all cutlery.
requiring that form of finish; the handles are passed over and back or up and
down the cutters until the flutes are formed as required.
In the manufacture of spring knife scales we take a piece of sheet or thin
iron rolled or beaten to the proper thickness or gauge, and of convenient
length, and reduce it to a width equal to the length of scale required (say
4 inches, more or less, broad); we then put a rib of German silver or other
suitable metal on one or both edges, according to the kind of knife intended,
and braze it fast on one or both edges according to the kind of knife intended,
and braze it fast on; if for a two-ended knife we braze, one on each edge, and
then fly or cut the scales off crossways, and stamp the bolsters into shape in
the usual way. Fig. 4 represents a table knife handle having a rib of
metal g cast round the edge of the tang, thus forming a cavity on each side
into which. covering pieces are fitted and rivetted as before described, so that
when it is finished it presents the appearance of a metal-framed handle, see
Fig. 8. Fig. 5 shews the form in which the tang is forged; Fig. 6 shews
a section at A, B, and Fig. 7 a section through the finished handle at C, D.
9, 9, the rib; h, the tang; and i, i, the covering pieces. Figs. 9 and 10
illustrate the mode of applying the last-described improvement in the
manufacture of bowie knives; in this case the tang is forged with the
blade, and nearly of sufficient thickness and size for forming the handle
either with the guard on or not, and stamped into shape in a boss or
suitable matrix when the handle is of the same metal, and merely
coated with German silver or other metal. We prefer, however, to cast the
handles in metal with the guard on, and having a hole right through them;
the tang is then inserted, and a flushing of metal or other cement run in for

page_text: securing the handle and blade together. It will be understood that our
improvement mainly relates to forging or casting the tang of nearly sufficient
size for forming a finished handle, and then placing it in a suitable mould or
matrix, and running or casting an outer skin of finishing metal of suitable
nature, as German silver, &c., over and upon the said under handle or forged
or cast tang, forming a finished handle, as shewn at Fig. 10, or other design,
and we further ornament the said handles by forming cavities in the sides in
the said casting process, and filling in with any suitable covering material, as
before described under the other parts of our said Invention.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and ascertained
and illustrated the manner in which the said improvements can be carried
into effect in practice, we hereby further declare that we do not restrict
ourselves in the application of the principle of the same to the precise forms
and sizes of handles, &c. shewn upon the Drawing, as both may be modified
in detail and in practice, and that we claim all such modifications, the process
of flying out and transposing the centres of the scales, the process of forming
the recesses and bottoms by soldering or brazing, and filling the frames thus
formed with suitable material, as herein described, for all kinds of cutlery
handles to which the same can be applied, the process of manufacturing and
cutting off the spring knife scales as herein described, the steel circular cutters
formed & adapted as herein described for hafting and fluting spring, table,
and other knife handles, and the process of manufacturing table & b. wie
knife handles by forging and casting, or either, as herein described.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Whitehead, Henry Whitehead,
and Henry Barber, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three.
WILLIAM WHITEHEAD. (LS.)
HENRY WHITEHEAD.
HENRY BARBER.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)
WILLIAM WHITEHEAD. (L.S.)
HENRY WHITEHEAD.
HENRY BARBER.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)