Improvements in or connected-with-Scissors, Shears, and like Instruments.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 29th June, 1894
Complete Specification Loft 44th Mar 1905 Accented 13th Anr
1895
Date of Application, 29th June, 1894
Complete Specification Loft, 11th Mar, 1905.
Accented 13th Anr.
1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected-with-Scissors, Shears, and like
Instruments.
1 ERNEST NOWILL of Ranmoor, Rosendale Road, West Dulwich in the County
of Surrey Manufacturing Cutler do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
The invention relates more particularly to that class of scissors in respect of
which Letters Patent were granted to me dated the 5th day of January 1893 No. 270
but it is also applicable to other kinds of scissors or the like.
In scissors and like instruments there is generally considerable friction between
the blades at or near the heel in the working of the instrument consequent upon
the blades at that point being tightly held together by means of the pivot and the
object of the present invention is to minimise this friction and thus to lessen the
power required to be exerted more especially when cutting through considerable
thicknesses of material.
In carrying the invention into effect and when applying it to draw cut scissors
of the class herein first referred to I form the heel or shank of one of the blades
with a slot therein extending longitudinally of the blade and either straight or
curved and through this slot I pass the headed screw rivet which connects the
blades together and which forms the pivot or axis upon which they turn, and in the
shank of the opposite blade between the bow and the pivot or axis I form a curved
cam groove which extends outward and upward from a point in alignment with the
pivot and between the pivot and the bow as heretofore proposed by me but instead
of employing a stud to engage this curved cam groove I according to the present
invention form upon the inner face of the shank of the opposite blade a small recess
in which I mount a ball.
This ball is so located that when the scissors are closed it occupies a position in
alignment with the pivot or axis and at the commencement of the curved cam
groove of the opposite blade assuming the blades to be in their closed or normal
position and this ball takes the place of a stud to engage the curved cam groove
and thus produces the necessary draw-cut whilst at the same time it constitutes an
anti-friction bearing between the shanks of the blades at the point where they are
pressed together by the pivot.
In applying the invention to scissors of ordinary construction a groove is formed
in one blade curved to an arc struck from the axis or pivot whilst the ball is
mounted in the opposite blade in the manner herein before described or the groove
might be dispensed with and the ball mounted in a deep recess in such manner as to
form a bearing for the opposite blade.
By these means the friction caused by the tight fitting of the blades at the shank
is avoided and the tiring effect of cutting and especially cutting through several
thicknesses of material for a length of time is to a great extent obviated.
Dated this 29th day of June 1894.
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
27, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.

page_text: Improvements in or connected with Scissors, Shears, and like
* Instruments.
J, ERNEST NOWILL of Ranmoor, Rosendale Road, West Dulwich in the County
of Surrey, Manufacturing Cutler do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The invention relates to that class of scissors in respect of which Letters Patent
were granted to me dated the 5th day of January 1893 No. 270 but it is also
applicable to other kinds of scissors or the like.
In scissors and like instruments there is generally considerable friction between
the blades at or near the heel in the working of the instrument consequent upon
the blades at that point being tightly held together by means of the pivot and the
object of the present invention is to minimise this friction and thus to lessen the
power required to be exerted more especially when cutting through considerable
thicknesses of material.
In carrying the invention into effect and when applying it to draw-cut scissors
of the class herein first referred to I form the heel or shank of one of the blades
with a slot therein extending longitudinally of the blade and either straight or
curved and through this slot I pass the headed screw rivet which connects the
blades together and which forms the pivot or axis upon which they turn, and in the
shank of the opposite blade between the bow and the pivot or axis I form a curved
cam groove which extends outward and upward from a point in alignment with the
pivot and between the pivot and the bow as heretofore proposed by me but instead
of employing a stud to engage this curved cam groove I according to the present
invention form upon the inner face of the shank of the opposite blade a small recess
in which I mount a ball.
This ball is so located that when the scissors are closed it occupies a position in
alignment with the pivot or axis and at the commencement of the curved cam
groove of the opposite blade assuming the blades to be in their closed or normal
position and this ball takes the place of a stud to engage the curved cam groove
and thus produces the necessary draw-cut whilst at the same time it constitutes an
anti-friction bearing between the shanks of the blades at the point where they are
.pressed together by the pivot.
In applying the invention to scissors of ordinary construction a groove is formed
in one blade curved to an arc struck from the axis or pivot whilst the ball is
mounted in the opposite blade in the manner hereinbefore described or the groove
might take the form of a complete circle struck from the axis or pivot and several
balls might be arranged around the axis in connection therewith or the groove
might be dispensed with and the ball mounted in a deep recess in such manner as to
form a bearing for the opposite blade and similarly several balls might be employed
arranged around the axis.
The ball or balls when arranged at the rear of the pivot may be caused
to give a cant to the blades thereby dispensing with the necessity for the ordinary
set."
+66
And in order that the said invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings more fully to
describe the same.

page_text: Figure 2 is an edge view thereof and
Figures 3 and 4 are inside face views of the blades separately.
Figure 5 is a plan representing a portion of an ordinary pair of scissors having
the present invention applied thereto.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 5 and
Figures 7 and 8 are inside face views of the blades separately.
Figure 9 is a similar view to Figure 5 representing a further slight modification.
Figure 10 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 9 and
Figure 11 is an inside face view of one of the blades separately.
In the several figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
Referring to Figures 1 to 4 ab represent the blades of a pair of draw-cut scissors
of that class described in the Specification of the herein before recited Letters
Patent and a represent the bows thereof.
The heel or shank of one a of the blades is formed with a slot a³ therein extending
longitudinally of the blade and either straight or curved and through this slot a³ is
passed a headed screw rivet c which screws into a tapped hole 3 in the opposite
blade band connects the blades ab together and forms the pivot or axis upon which
they turn.
In the shank of the opposite blade between the bow and the pivot or axis c
(or pivot hole &³) is formed a curved cam groove which extends outward and
upward from a point in alignment with the pivot c and between the pivot c and the
bow bas heretofore proposed, but instead of employing a stud to engage this
curved cam groove ³, according to the present invention a small recess a² is
formed in the face of the shank of the opposite blade a in which is mounted a steel
ball a*.
The recess a² and ball a²* are so located that when the scissors are closed the
ball a occupies a position in alignment with the pivot or axis c and at the com-
mencement of the curved cam groove 2 of the opposite blade b, assuming the
blades to be in their closed or normal position, as represented at Figures 1 and 2,
and this ball a* takes the place of a stud to engage the curved cam groove b² and
thus produces the necessary draw-cut whilst at the same time it constitutes an anti-
friction bearing between the shanks of the blades a b at the point where they are
pressed together by the pivot c.
It is unnecessary to refer more specifically to the draw-cut action of these scissors
as the same was fully described in the Specification of the herein before recited
Letters Patent.
It will be evident that in lieu of the cam groove 2 a slot might be employed but
the groove is considered preferable for several reasons one of which is that it serves
as a holder for lubricating material.
In the example given at Figures 5 to 8 the draw-cut action is dispensed with, and
in lieu of the eccentric or cam groove 6 herein before described, such groove b³ is
curved to an arc of a circle struck from the axis or pivot c whilst the ball a²* is
mounted in the opposite blade a in the manner hereinbefore described.
In the example given at Figures 9 to 11, the groove is dispensed with and two
balls a² are mounted in deep recesses a² in the blade a in such manner that they
project only sufficiently to form a bearing for the opposite blade b, and it will be
obvious that the number of balls employed may be varied according to
circumstances.
In all the examples before given the pressure of one blade upon the other caused
by the screwing up of the rivet c is borne by the ball or balls a* and thus the
friction which is ordinarily occasioned by the tight fitting of the blades at the
shank is avoided and the blades are caused to work with greater smoothness and
freedom than heretofore and thus the tiring effect of cutting and especially of
cutting through several thicknesses of material for a length of time is to a great
extent obviated.
In ordinary scissors the blades are for part of their length bent and twisted in
order to give them a "set" that is to say to cause the cutting edges to sweep across

page_text: each other and this greatly adds to the friction and causes the blades to bind
together and the scissors to work stiffly whilst at the same time it speedily destroys
or blunts the cutting edges.
Now a
further advantage of the device hereinbefore described and more
especially as applied to ordinary scissors when the ball or balls is or are located
between the pivot and the bows is that a slight longitudinal cant is given to the
blades with relation to each other whereby they are caused to more or less overlap
each other and thus the "set" ordinarily given to the blades may if desired be
modified or dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a pair of scissors or the like the combination of a straight or curved slot in
one blade through which the pivot passes to the other blade, a curved or inclined
cam slot or its equivalent in one blade, a recess in the opposite blade, a ball seated
in the recess and engaging said cam slot and forming a bearing for the blades
substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.
2. In a pair of scissors or the like the combination of a deep recess or recesses
or groove in one of the blades near the pivot and a ball or balls seated therein so
as to form a bearing for the opposite blade substantially as herein shown and
described.
3. In a pair of scissors or the like the combination of a recess or recesses or
groove in one of the blades near the pivot a corresponding circular groove in the
other blade and a ball or balls seated in the recess or recesses and engaging the
circular groove in the opposite blade substantially as herein shown and described.
4. In a pair of scissors an anti-friction ball or balls located between the blades
or shanks adjacent to the pivot and means for holding the same in place substantially
as herein shown and described.
Dated this 11th day of March 1895.
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
27, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.