Improved Fish Holding and Scaling Device.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 16th Jan., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Fish Holding and Scaling Device.
We, CARL SCHMIDT of 19 Hochmeister Strasse, Gentleman, and FRIEDRICH
HAASE of 48, Schwedter Strasse, Commercial Traveller, both of Berlin in the
German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of our invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to an improved fish holding and scaling device the
object of the same being to facilitate the scaling of fish and to hold the same onto
the table board or other place where such fish are cleaned and scaled. Every
housewife and cook will know the difficulty of holding fish with the one hand and
scaling the same with the other, the time consumed and the injury often done to
the fish. Now all these disadvantages are overcome by our improved fish holder
and scaler the main features of which are represented in the accompanying drawing
of which
Fig. 1 is a side view of the fish holder.
Fig. 2 a top view or plan of the same whereas
Fig. 3 represents the scaling knife or instrument in side view and
Fig. 4 in bottom view the slime knife and scaler being seen from their operating
surfaces.
Fig. 5 is a vertical section of Fig. 4 on the line y y
Our holding device is preferably fixed to a board B of suitable size and consists
mainly of a peculiarly formed clamping device of which the part A is screwed or
otherwise securely attached to the board and can be provided with a roughened,
corrugated or other suitable surface a for gripping the fish and with appropriate
notches c at the rear end to receive the pawle or other attachment for retaining
the holder in closed position said lower part A. being provided with appropriate
lugs or uprights to which similar lugs or parts g of the upper part C are pivotted
or otherwise attached or the said lugs can be provided with suitable borings or
bearings for a spindle connecting all the lugs or parts fg so that the said upper
part can make a partial revolution around or with the said spindle.
The upper part C is preferably also provided with roughened corrugated or other
suitable surfaces in order to give the same a good grip on the fish to be cleaned
and is preferably held firmly in grip by means of a pawl or stay e or a mechanical
equivalent of the same for preventing the jaws of the clamp from being opened by
the fish. It will be evident from the drawings accompanying this Specification
that the clamp or fish holder can be made of metal, wood or other material
according to size and requirements. The next part of our invention relates to the
scaling knife or instrument with preferably two blades the corrugated blade with
plough like lower ends and so pronged that each ploughlike part forms either a
prong of the blade or the said prongs can be made in separate pieces or part
blades with any desired number of prongs can be used and further the blade k
consisting preferably of a flat piece of sheet steel and serving to scrape off the slime
and follow the scaling knife; or the scaling knife can be used alone although we
prefer to use both knives in combination as this facilitates the operation
considerably.
Now in order that our invention may be more clearly understood we will proceed
to describe the same reference being had to the accompanying drawings.
The tail of the fish to be scaled and cleaned is laid on the fixed part A of the
clamp at and the upper part C lowered so as to securely clamp the tail of the
said fish between the two parts or jaws but in order to make sure that the fish
cannot open the clamp the rear end of the part C is provided with a movable pawl

page_text: or stay for retaining the said jaws in position. Or a screw, spring, or other
similar and suitable device may be employed for retaining the said jaws in
position.
When the fish is securely clamped, the same is held down on the board, table,
slab or the like and can now be scaled readily by employing our peculiarly shaped
scaling knife with plough like shaped prongs i said prongs being so constructed and
formed that they readily remove the scales with considerably less torture to the
fish, much more rapidly and without injuring the skin of the said fish. The
knife following the knife h removes any slime or particles left behind by the said
knife h.
Exhaustive experiments have proved to evidence that an enormous amount of
time and work is saved by employing our improved device.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed we declare that
what we claim is :
1. Our improved fish holder or clamping device consisting of the lower part A
fixed or otherwise attached to the board, slab, table or the like B and the upper
part C arranged to make a partial revolution around suitable axis and being held
in closed or clamped position by means of a pawl, stay, screw, spring or other
similar device substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. Our improved scaling knife characterised by the ploughlike prongs i of one
piece with the blade or otherwise substantially as described.
3. Our improved scaling knife with its ploughlike prongs i in combination with
the knife substantially as specified.
4. Our improved fish holding or clamping devices substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
Dated this 26th day of November 1891.