IMPROVEMENTS IN SNAP HOOKS AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SNAP HOOKS AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES."-A com-
munication from abroad by Francis C. Nye, of New York, in the
United States of America.
Sealed the 31st August 1875, and dated the 2nd March 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 2nd March 1875.
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 SNAP HOOKS AND OTHER SIMILAR
ARTICLES," a communication to me from abroad by Francis C. Nye, of
New York, in the United States of America, to be as follows:-
The improvements embraced in this Invention relate, first, in general
to snap hooks which have a loop, sides, and close eye or hooks standing
about in a plane at right angles to the loop, and which may be readily
A

page_text: connected with the rein, strap, ring, link, or other article to which they
are applied, and disconnected from it by hand although composed of one
piece of wire or other flexible material of requisite strength and clasticity
without any spring of a flat, coil, or other shape fastened to or formed in
the snap hook.
In carrying out this part of the Invention according to one arrange-
ment the right-hand arm (looking at the loop in a horizontal position) is
sprung up and bent over and across the left-hand arm,
which is sprung
down and bent under and across the right-hand arm, and the arms are
locked together next to the hooks, which are of oval form; or the arms
may be sprung and locked together in the reverse manner, that is, the
left-hand arm sprung up and bent over and across the right-hand arm,
which is sprung down and bent under and across the left-hand arm.
The snap
hooks may be made without any swell in the sides, and with
round loops linked together at their loops, and otherwise similar to those
herein-before described. They may be provided with finger pieces for
the thumb and forefinger to bear against in opening the hooks; these
pieces may be made of metal or other material soldered or otherwise
firmly secured to the arms, or they may be made as part of the snap
hook itself by flattening or spreading the sides.
The ends of the snap hooks may be milled upon their entire circum-
ference, or otherwise..
The snap hooks may be made of all sizes of wire or other flexible
material of requisite strength and elasticity, with the loop square, bow-
shaped, round, or of other desired form, and adapted to a strap, rein,
ring, or link of any desired width or diameter, with or without inward
bends or swell in the sides of the snap hook, with the hooks round, oval,
or of any desired form or size, with the arms crossed one upon the other,
or each across the other, or not crossed or locked together, and made of
steel, iron, brass, or gold, of a round, oval, square, or other form, and
with or without a nickel plated, silver plated, tinned, japanned, or other
coating or finish.
.
The mode preferred of constructing the improved snap hook is by first
bending the piece of wire to a square, bow-shaped, round, or other
desired form for the loop of required size, exactly at the middle of the
piece, so that the two hooks will be of the same size. The former,
around or against which the piece is thus bent once only, may be convex

page_text: or concave, and fixed or movable in a vertical or horizontal position, but
it is preferred to bend the loop around a fixed convex former standing in
a vertical position, thus forming the loop horizontal, and the two arms
of the piece are next sprung up and down respectively, the right-hand
arm being sprung up and the left down, or the right-hand arm being
sprung down and the left up, and sufficiently to allow the arms to be
crossed between the sides and the hooks, and to cause them to lie close
together where they are crossed. The angles of elevation and depression
of the two arms with the plane of the loop are the same, and have their
apexes in the two bends of the loop, and the arms are kept thus
respectively sprung up and down until they are crossed between the
sides and the hooks. The inward and outward bends in the two arms
are next formed successively by bending the arms against or around
suitable convex or concave formers, and it is preferred to make the
inward bends in the arms by bending them between the former on which.
the loop is made and a fixed round former of proper size, or about five-
eighths of an inch or more in diameter where the former for the loop is
seven-eighths of an inch wide, and the arms are then bent around this
round former, thus making the lateral outward bends or swell in the
sides of the snap hook. The crossing is next made in the arms by
bending the right-hand arm over and across the left-hand arm, and the
left-hand arm under and across the right, or conversely the right-hand
arm under and across the left, and the left-hand arm over and across the
right, and then making a nearly square bend in each arm, leaving the
unformed portions lying nearly parallel with each other, and lengthwise
of the snap hook. The arms are only bent over and under sufficiently
to cross one another, and thus both the arms at the crossing of the
hooks lie close together in the snap hook. The straight remaining
portions of the arms are next bent into the eye or hooks, which it is
preferred to form by two movable dies or plungers, both of the same
form and size but in reverse positions, one of which moves up and the
other down, bending the arms between them and partially forming the
hooks. That arm which passed above the other in crossing the arms is
bent downwards, and that the arm which passed below the other is bent
upwards between these plungers, thus locking the arms together at the
crossing. The hooks may also be formed in reverse positions by bending
that arm which passed over the other at the crossing upwards, and that
which passed under the other downwards, thus forming the hooks
without locking the arms together where they are crossed. The straight
A

page_text: ends of the material left standing vertical by these plungers are next bent
to finish the hooks, and it is preferred to pass a mandrel through the
partially formed hooks of a size and form to fit the hooks, and then bend
the ends of the wire by a movable concave plunger of the same size and
form as the extreme portions of the hooks round this mandrel, thus
preserving the bends already formed at the hooks, and making both of
the hooks of the same size, standing side by side and forming a close eye,
which completes the snap hook. Hence this improved snap hook is
formed without any twist, and by making the crossing and the hooks
successively. The snap hook is also made with the sides straight, or
without the inward or outward bends in the sides, or with the inward
and outward bends in one side, the right or the left, only of the snap
hook.
In case the loop is formed and stands vertical while the material
is bent into the snap hook the arms are sprung to the right and left
hand instead of up and down, and in forming the crossing and hooks
the arms are respectively bent up or down and across each other, and
then to the right or the left, partially forming the hooks so as to lock the
arms at the crossing or in the reverse manner, as already described.
The improved snap hook may also be made by keeping the arms in
the same plane as the loop without springing them up or down, and in
that case after the swell is made in the sides, or before crossing the
arms, they are respectively bent up or down sufficiently to allow them
to cross each other, and at the same time a nearly square bend is made
in each arm, leaving the unformed portions of the arms lying straight:
lengthwise of the hooks and nearly parallel with each other when they
are crossed, as before described.
The loop of the improved snap hook is composed of a single bend, and
when adapted to a strap or rein it is preferred to give it a slightly round
or bow-shaped form, and thus the whole elasticity of the material is
made available in the opening and closing of the hooks. And it is not
difficult to open the hooks, nor are they liable to become set in opening
them so as to remain open, but they always spring close together again
as originally made however, long they may be used although opened to
their full capacity, which it is preferred to make a little more than the :
inside transverse diameter of the hooks. And in order that the snap hook
may be taken off the ring easily, however large the material or small

page_text: the diameter of the ring, it is preferred to give the hooks a rounding
form near the crossing, or make them of a longer diameter lengthwise
of the snap hook than sidewise, or with shorter ends.
The ends of the material are milled or dressed off upon their entire
circumference by machinery to a round, tapering, or other desired form,
after the piece is cut and before the loop is bent, and thus the ring is
not liable to catch on the ends of the hooks while the snap hoop is in
use, nor is it scratched or marred by them in taking the snap hook off
the ring.
The swell or lateral outward bends in the arms of the improved snap
hook is also made of larger diameter than that which is required merely
to prevent the thumb and forefinger from slipping in compressing the
sides, and sufficient to afford a good purchase for opening the hooks with
great ease without diminishing the strength of the snap hook, or of
larger diameter than the loop in case the snap hook is made of very
large or stiff wire. The outer surfaces of the sides of the snap hook are
also provided with finger pieces for the same purpose whenever desirable,
either by flattening the sides or by securing separate pieces to them.
The arms in the improved snap hook are so made when they are
crossed or locked together that they lie close together and always spring
back or become locked together again, as before, whenever separated by
compressing the sides, or by taking the snap hook off a ring, or by
moving that arm which is above the other at the crossing to the left of
the vertical plane of the sides, or the lower arm to the right, or by the
crosswise strain to which the hooks may be subjected in actual use, as
when connected with the inside reins of a double team of horses.
Two or more of the improved snap hooks may also be readily united
at their loops, which it is prefered to make of a round form for this
purpose, thus forming a secure link or chain of any length, which may
be readily separated into two snap hooks, or two or more chains, at any
link, or the chain may be lengthened or shortened by hand, and the
snap hooks are thus united by hand by snapping the hooks of one on
the loop of another, and then turning the hooks in the opposite direction,
opening the snap hook at the same time at the crossing of the arms
sufficiently to allow it to pass over the loop to which it is attached, and
thus cause the loops to hang one upon another. One of the improved
snap hooks may be readily used in the same way to form a link when

page_text: occasion requires, as for example to mend a broken chain of close links
by uniting the loop and one link of the chain and snapping the hooks
on the other link. And two of the improved snap hooks may be readily
united at their hooks, thus forming a strong connection between two
rings or links.
This Invention relates, secondly, to the class of snap hooks and other
similar articles of manufacture of given form, which are made of one
piece of wire or other suitable material and have a loop and two hooks
one upon the other, and consists in making the snap hook of wire or
other suitable material of oval form which imparts important advantages
to the snap hook not possessed by any snap hook heretofore made of
wire or containing a separate spring. The oval form of the wire makes
of itself an opening or lips in the hooks at the place where they are put
on the ring, and hence they pass on the ring more readily and may be
put on by simply pushing the hooks against the ring without pressing
the arms of the snap hook together with the thumb and forefinger at
all, and when the hooks are upon the rings the strain upon them is in
the direction of the longest diameter of the wire, and hence they are
much stronger with the same weight of wire, and in pressing the arms
together the semi-elliptical sides of the wire afford an easy and con-
venient purchase for the thumb and forefinger, and these advantages are
of especial importance in snap hooks of a large size as they materially
diminish the cost and increase the convenience in the use of them and
greatly increase the elasticity of the snap hook in which great strength|
is required.
* Another advantage of the oval snap hook is that the loop at the part
where the strap is attached is elliptical in form, and better adapted to
the flat strap to be buckled in it.
It is also proposed to make the oval snap hook of iron wire for many
purposes where little or no elasticity in the article is required, which
makes the snap hooks much cheaper than those made of brass or steel
wire. If a good spring is required in a wire snap hook it must be made
of brass or steel wire, but the lips and oval sides of the improved snap|
hook render it easy to put on and take off of the ring or link, although
made of inelastic iron wire.
This Invention relates, thirdly, to snap hooks and other similar articles
of manufacture of given form, and consists in making the snap or other

page_text: article of flat wire or other suitable material and forming the tongue or
spring of the article in one piece with the body.
In carrying out this part of the Invention a piece of flat wire, for
example, of requisite size, strength, and elasticity is taken and bent up
by hand or machinery into the desired form.
The advantages of the improved snap hook are, that it is much cheaper
than the ordinary snap hooks made in two or more parts of malleable or
cast or wrought iron or wire and having a separate flat or coil spring,
and it is equally as convenient to us and more durable, and especially the
spring is not liable to become weak in use as is the case with the
ordinary snap hooks, rendering the snap hook worthless in a short time.
In the improved snap hook the strain of the rein or strap buckled in the
loop is exerted upon the whole hook, including the tongue, but only
upon the body of the article in the ordinary snap hooks, and the spring
of the snap hook is afforded simply by the elasticity of the material of
which it is made, and accordingly the tongue which opens by the
elasticity of the whole snap hook may be made much stronger than in
the ordinary snap hooks, and thus remove the liability to get broken or
weak in use, and the rein or strap when pulled tends to keep the tongue
in contact with the body of the snap hook and the hook closed. The
flat wire also makes a more convenient loop for receiving the strap
or rein.
The improved snap hook is easily snapped on and off the ring in the
same way as the ordinary snap hook, but it has the advantage over the
ordinary snap hook that by reason of the continuous opening in the snap
hook it may readily be used as a link by bringing the two loops in
connection with each other, or one of the snap hooks may be used as a
link.in the same way to connect two parts of a chain together.
30
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 2nd September 1875.
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.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-eighth
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 SNAP
HOOKS AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES," a communication to me from abroad
by Francis C. Nye, of New York, in the United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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 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 the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say :-
The improvements embraced in the said Invention relate, first, in
general to snap hooks, which have a loop, sides, and close eye or hooks
standing about in a plane at right angles to the loop, and which may be
readily connected with the rein, strap, ring, link, or other article to
which they are applied and disconnected from it by hand, although
composed of one piece of wire or other flexible material of requisite
strength and elasticity, without any spring of a flat coil or other shape
fastened to or formed in the snap hook.
The use of snap hooks in harness and for other purposes has become a
practical necessity, but experience has proved that the snap hooks made

page_text: with a separate spring in them are of little practical value, while the
wire snap hooks heretofore invented are either worthless or require the
improvements embraced in this Invention in order to be fully adapted to
their purposes, and accordingly the use of snap hooks, though large in
harness for example on account of their convenience and economy in
comparison with buckles, is not general amongst those for whom they
are intended, nor is it increasing, and it is confined with little exception
to snap hooks made with a separate spring in them, and the cost of
manufacturing them is very high in comparison with the cheapness of
snap hooks made by machinery according to these improvements.
The said Invention relates, secondly, to the class of snap hooks and
other similar articles of manufacture of given form, which are made of
one piece of wire or other suitable material, and have a loop and two
hooks one upon the other, and consists in making the snap hook of
wire or other suitable material of oval form, which imparts important
advantages to the snap hook not possessed by any snap hook heretoforo
made of wire or containing a separate spring. The oval form of the
wire makes of itself an opening or lips in the hooks at the place where
they are put on the ring, and hence they pass on the ring more readily,
and may be put on by simply pushing the hooks against the ring
without pressing the arms of the snap hook together with the thumb
and forefinger at all, and when the hooks are upon the ring the strain
upon them is in the direction of the longest diameter of the wire, and
hence they are much stronger with the same weight of wire, and in
pressing the arms together the semi-elliptical sides of the wire afford an
easy and convenient purchase for the thumb and forefinger, and these
advantages are of especial importance in snap hooks of a large size, as
they materially diminish the cost and increase the convenience in the
use of them, and greatly increase the elasticity of the snap hook in which
great strength is required. Another advantage of the oval snap hook is
that the loop at the part where the strap is attached is elliptical in form,
and better adapted to the flat strap to be buckled in it.
The oval snap hook is also made of iron wire for many purposes where
little or no elasticity in the article is required, which renders the snap
hooks much cheaper than those made of brass or steel wire. If a good
spring is required in a wire snap hook it must be made of brass or steel
wire, but the lips and oval sides of the improved snap hook render it

page_text: easy to put on and take off of the ring or link although made of inelastic
iron wire.
The said Invention relates, thirdly, to snap hooks and other similar
articles of manufacture of given form, and consists in making the snap
or other article of flat wire or other suitable material, and forming the
tongue or spring of the article in one piece with the body.
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.
Figures 1 to 10, inclusive, of the accompanying Drawings each
represent one side view and one edge view of snap hooks containing
the improvements which form the subject of the first part of this
Invention. The remaining Figures will be herein-after referred to. In
Figure 1 the left-hand arm a is shewn sprung up and bent over and
across the right-hand arm a', which is sprung down and bent under and
across the left-hand arm a, and the arms are locked together next to the
hooks C which are of oval form. In Figure 2 the arms are shown
sprung and locked together in the reverse manner to Figure 1, that is,
the right-hand arm a² is sprung up and bent over and across the left-
arm a, which is sprung down and bent under and across the right-hand
arm a¹. In Figures 3 and 4 the hooks are shown formed in the reverse
manner to those shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the arms in Figure 3 are
shown sprung respectively as shown in Figure 1, and those in Figure 4
as shown in Figure 2.
The snap hooks shown in Figures 5 and 6 are similar respectively to
those shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively, except that there is no
swell in the sides of the snap hooks, and those shown in Figures 7 and 8
respectively are similar to the snap hooks shown in Figures 3 and 4
respectively, except that there is no swell in the sides.
In Figures
9 and 10 are shown snap hooks with round loops A linked together at
their loops, and otherwise similar respectively to those shown in Figures
1 and 2 respectively.
Figure 11 illustrates a snap hook partly formed, the hook not being
hant to shane

page_text: Figures 12 and 13 represent snap hooks provided with finger pieces d
for the thumb and forefinger to bear against in opening the hooks C;
these pieces may be made of metal or other material, soldered or other-
wise firmly secured to the arms, as shown in Figure 12, or they may be
made as part of the snap hook itself by flattening or spreading the sides,
as illustrated in Figure 13.
In Figure 14 the hooks C and arms a, a', are shown distorted out of
shape, as they speedly become in use when the snap hook is made
without the improvements which form the subject of this part of the
Invention.
Figures 15 and 16 illustrate various snap hooks containing the
improvements linked or coupled together at their loops or hooks, and of
various sizes, from one half of an inch to about six inches in length,
and suitable for small and large chains, travelling bags, harness, and
shipping purposes. The ends of the snap hooks may be milled upon
their entire circumference. The snap hooks may be made of all sizes of
wire or other flexible material of requisite strength and elasticity, with
the loop square, bow-shaped, round, or of other desired form, and adapted
to a strap, rein, ring, or link of any desired width or diameter, with or
without inward bends or swell in the sides of the snap hook, with the
hooks round, oval, or of any desired form or size, with the arms crossed
one upon the other, or each across the other, or not crossed or locked
together, and made of steel, iron, brass, or gold of an oval form, as
herein-after described, or of a round, square, or other suitable form, and
with or without a nickel plated, silver plated, tinned, japanned, or other
coating or finish. It is preferred to construct the improved snap hook
by means of the machinery for which Letters Patent were granted to me,
No. 767,
75
•
The mode of constructing it is by first bending the piece of wire to a
square, bow-shaped, round, or other desired form for the loop of required
size, exactly at the middle of the piece so that the two hooks will be of
the same size. The loop is thus formed, by preference, horizontal, and
the two arms of the piece are next sprung up and down respectively,
the left-hand arm being sprung up and the right down (see Figure 1),
or the left-hand arm being sprung down and the right up (see Figure 2)
sufficiently to allow the arms to be crossed between the sides and the
hooks and to cause them to lie close together where they are crossed.

page_text: The angles of elevation and depression of the two arms with the plane of
the loop are the same, and have their apices in the two bends of the
loop, and the arms are kept thus respectively sprung up and down until
they are crossed between the sides and the hooks. The inward and
outward bends in the two arms are next formed successively, thus
making the swell in the sides of the snap hook. The crossing is next
made in the arms by bending the left-hand arm over and across the
right-hand arm and the right-hand arm under and across the left (see
Figures 1 and 5), or conversely the left-hand arm under and and across
the right and the right-hand arm over and across the left (see Figures 2
and 6), and a nearly square bend is made in each arm, leaving the
unformed portions lying nearly parallel with each other and lengthwise of
the snap hook, as shown in Figure 11. The arms are only bent over and
under sufficiently to cross one another, and thus both the arms at the
crossing of the hooks lie close together in the snap hook. The straight
remaining portions of the arms are next bent into the cyc or hooks.
That arm which passed above the other in crossing the arms is bent
downwards, and that arm which passed below the other is bent upwards,
thus locking the arms together at the crossing, as shown in Figure 1,
but the hooks may also be formed in reverse positions by bending that
arm which passed over the other at the crossing upwards, and that
which passed under the other downwards, thus forming the hooks with-
out locking the arms together where they are crossed, as shown in
Figure 3. The straight ends of the material left standing vertical aro
next bent to finish the hooks, the bends already formed at the hooks
being preserved, and both of the hooks made of the same size standing
side by side and forming a close eye which completes the snap hook.
Hence this improved snap hook is formed without any twist and by
making the crossing and the hooks successively. The snap hook is also
made with the sides straight, as shewn in Figure 5, or without the
inward or outward bends in the sides, or with the inward and outward
bends in one side, the right or the left, only of the snap hook.
In those cases in which the loop is formed and stands vertical while
the material is bent into the snap hook the arms are sprung to the right
and left hand instead of up and down; and in forming the crossing and
hooks the arms are respectively bent up or down and across each other,
and then to the right or the left, partially forming the hooks so as to lock
the arms at the crossing or in the reverse manner, as already described.

page_text: The improved snap hook may also be made by keeping the arms in
the same plane as the loop without springing them up or down, and in
that case after the swell is made in the sides or before crossing the arms
they are respectively bent up or down sufficiently to allow them to cross
each other, and at the same time a nearly square bend is made in each
arm, leaving the unformed portions of the arms lying straight lengthwise
of the hooks, and nearly parallel with each other when they are crossed,
as before described.
To put the improved snap hook on a ring the hooks are placed straight
against the ring, and then the sides are pressed slightly between the
thumb and forefingers, when the snap hook slips on the ring by a gentle
push, and it is taken off the ring by bringing both ends of the hook in
contact with the inner surface of the ring, and then turning the sides
slightly to the right or the left between the thumb and forefinger, which
opens the hooks, when the snap hook is casily pulled off from the ring
and the hooks spring close together again. The operation of it is there-
fore the reverse of those snap hooks which have a flat or coil spring
fastened to them as they are put on the ring by placing them against
the ring, pressing the spring or tongue and pulling the hook on the
ring, and they are taken off by pressing the spring or tongue and
pushing the hook off the ring. When the left-hand arm a of the
improved snap hook is carried above the right-hand arm a¹at the locking
of the arms (see Figure 1) the snap hook is taken off the ring by turning
the snap hook to the right, and vice versa, and similarly with the other
arrangements.
The loop A of the improved snap hook is composed of a single bend,
and when adapted to a strap or rein it is preferred to give it a slightly
round or bow-shaped form, and thus the whole elasticity of the material
is made available in the opening and closing of the hooks. It is not
difficult to open the hooks, nor are they liable to become set in opening
them so as to remain open, but they always spring close together again
as originally made,. however long they may be used, although opened to
their full capacity, which it is preferred to make a little more than the
inside transverse diameter of the hooks. And in order that the snap
hook may be taken off the ring easily, however large the material or
small the diameter of the ring, it is preferred to give the hooks a
rounding form near the crossing, or make them of a longer diameter
lengthwise of the snap hook than sidewise, or with shorter ends.

page_text: The ends of the material are milled or dressed off upon their entire
circumference to a round, tapering, or other desired form after the piece
is cut, and before the loop is bent, and thus the ring is not liable to
catch on the ends of the hooks while the snap hook is in use, nor is it
scratched or marred by them in taking the snap hook off the ring.
The swell B or lateral outward bends in the arms of the improved snap
hook is also made of larger diameter than that which is required merely.
to prevent the thumb and forefinger from slipping in compressing the
sides, and sufficient to afford a good purchase for opening the hooks
with great ease without diminishing the strength of the snap hook.
The outer surfaces of the sides of the snap hook are also provided with
finger pieces d for the same purpose whenever desirable, either by
securing separate pieces to them or by flattening the sides, as shewn
respectively in Figures 12 and 13.
In wire snap hooks heretofore mado with the hooks brought about at
right angles with the sides by twisting the arms at the crossing the
hooks slide easily upon each other and work apart and become displaced,
as shown in Figure 14, and are not easily disengaged from the ring, thus
rendering the snap hook unfit for use.
The arms in the improved snap hook are so made where they are
crossed or locked together that they lie close together and always spring
back or become locked together again as before whenever separated by
compressing the sides or by taking the snap hook off a ring or by moving
the arms to the left or right, as the case may be, or by the crosswise
strain to which the hooks may be subjected in actual use, as when 2
connected with the inside reins of a double team of horses.
Two or more of the improved snap hooks may also be readily united at
their loops A, which it is preferred to make of a round form for this
purpose (see Figures 9 and 10), thus forming a secure link or chain of
any length, which may be readily separated into two snap hooks or two
or more chains at any link, or the chain may be lengthened or shortened
by hand, and the snap hooks are thus united by hand by snapping the
hooks of one on the loop of another, and then turning the hooks in the
opposite direction, opening the snap hook at the same time at the crossing
of the arms sufficiently to, allow it to pass over the loop to which it is 3
attached, and thus cause the loops to hang one upon another. One of
the improved snap hooks may be readily used in the same way to form a

page_text: link when occasion requires, as for example to repair a broken chain of
close links by uniting the loop and one link of the chain and snapping
the hooks on the other link. And two of the improved snap hooks may
be readily united at their hooks, as shewn at D (Figure 16), thus
forming a strong connection between two rings or links.
The improved snap hook is a perfectly safe and effectual article,
having abundant strength to withstand all the strain to which it may
be subjected in practical use without ever breaking or even pulling the
hooks out of their manufactured form, and can never become accidentally
disengaged from the ring or other article to which it may be attached.
And the durability of the snap hook is much increased by having the
improvements, and it will last till the material wears out by friction, and
does not become worthless from the loss of the spring or the distorting
of the shape of the snap hook in using it. And the improved snap hook
can be taken off the ring or other article with one hand, and much more
readily than those snap hooks which have a separate spring fastened to
them, especially when used on harness in cold and wet weather, and it
can be put on the ring as casily as the class of snap hooks heretofore
used, having a separate spring fastened to them, and with a convenience
and rapidity much superior to buckles, with which they are to be
compared rather than with the snap hooks heretofore used, by reason
of the insufficiency, insecurity, and costliness of such snap hooks.
The small snap hooks are suitable for ladies' chains or watch chains
ás a substitute for the swivel or snap hook with a separate spring that
connects the watch and chain, or for uniting the handle to the frame
of satchels and travelling bags, or for securing sabres to belts; and
the large snap hooks are suitable for shipping purposes and traces of
harness.
The improved snap hooks made of oval iron wire, according to the
second part of this Invention, and coated with tin, are shown in full size
in Figures 17 and 18, the loop A being horizontal in Figure 17, and the
hooks C horizontal in Figure 18, but these improved snap hooks may be
made of all sizes, from a quarter of an inch or less to five or more inches
in length, with or without an elevation or depression in one or both of
the arms of the article, or the inward bends or swells B in the arms
shown in the Drawings, and with but one crossing in the arms, or
without crossing the arms at all, as the Invention may be applied to any

page_text: description of snap hook or similar article made wholly of one piece of
wire or other suitable material.
Figure 19 represents a snap hook of well-known construction.
Figure 20 is an elevation of an improved snap hook made according
to the third part of this Invention.
Figures 21 and 22 are elevations of modifications of the snap hook
shown in Figure 20.
In carrying out this part of the Invention a piece of flat wire, for
example, of requisite size, strength, and elasticity is taken and bent up
by hand or machinery into the desired form, examples of which are
clearly shown in the Drawing.
Figure 19 represents the only kind of snap hook heretofore made
wholly of one piece of metal with a flat tongue, and the different
improvements made upon it in accordance with this Invention are
clearly shown in the other Figures.
The advantages of the improved snap hook are that it is much
cheaper than the ordinary snap hooks made in two or more parts of
malleable or cast or wrought iron or wire, and having a separate flat or
coil spring, and it is equally as convenient to use and more durable,
and especially the spring is not liable to become weak in use, as is the
case with the ordinary snap hooks, rendering the snap hook worthless
in a short time.
In the improved snap hook the strain of the rein or strap buckled in
the loop is exerted upon the whole hook, including the tongue, but only
upon the body of the article in the ordinary snap hooks, and the spring
of the improved snap hook is afforded simply by the elasticity of the
material of which it is made, and accordingly the tongue which opens
by the elasticity of the whole snap hook may be made much stronger
than in the ordinary snap hooks, and thus remove the liability to get
broken or weak in use, and the rein or strap when pulled tends to keep
the tongue in contact with the body of the snap hook, and the hook
closed. The flat wire also makes a more convenient loop for receiving
the strap or rein.
The improved snap hook is easily snapped on and off the ring in the
same way as the ordinary snap hook, but it has the advantage over the
ordinary snap hook that by reason of the continuous opening in the snap
hook it may readily be used as a link by bringing the two loops in

page_text: connection with each other, or one of the snap hooks may be used as a
link in the same way to connect two parts of a chain together.
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 improved snap hook herein described, consisting of loop,
swell, or flat sides, and two hooks or eye, and having the loop and the
swell or flat sides in about the same plane, and the eye in a different
plane with the arms locked together between the swell or flat sides and
the eye, substantially as described.
Second. The improved snap hook, herein described, made of wire or
other equivalent material of similar strength and elasticity, and of an
oval or half round form, substantially as and for the purpose herein
described.
Third. The improved snap hook herein described made of flat or
square wire or equivalent material of similar strength and elasticity, and
composed of loop and swell or its equivalent, and two hooks or close
eye, substantially as described.
Fourth. The nearly square bend in the arm of a snap hook, consisting
of the loop, sides, and hooks made where the arms are crossed, sub-
stantially as described.
Fifth. In a snap hook consisting of loop arms or sides and hooks, the
locking together of the arms composed of two bends in each arm in
planes nearly at right angles to each other, substantially as described.
Sixth. The finger piece upon the convex side of a snap hook, sub-
stantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, this First day of
September One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.