IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC HANDLES FOR TABLE CUTLERY, DAGGERS, AND SUCH LIKE INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Russell and Robert Murray McTurk,
of Sheffield, in the County of York, Table Knife Manufacturers,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC HANDLES FOR
T
Sealed the 6th October 1853, and dated the 12th April 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Russell
and Robert Murray M Turk at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 12th April 1853.
We, SAMUEL RUSSELL and ROBERT MURRAY MCTURK, of Sheffield, in
the County of York, Table Knife Manufacturers, do hereby declare the
nature of our said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC HANDLES
FOR TABLE CUTLERY, DAGGERS, AND SUCH LIKE INSTRUMENTS" to be as
follows:-
The handles are cast without seams, and fastened to the blades by
solder; a ruffle is cast around the shoulder to balance the knives; and,
in order to reduce the cost of manufacture, a socket is formed which
renders the ordinary bolster blade unnecessary.

page_text: By the ordinary process metallic handles are manufactured in two
pieces, stamped and soldered together; by the new process they are
cast in one without a seam, as shown by (A, A, A); the metal is
run into the mould at the proper heat, and the superfluous metal
immediately thrown back, so that the thickness of metal cooled
by the mould alone remains, forming a hollow handle this handle
is filled with cement, into which the tang (B, B.) is pressed; the
blade is then fastened by having the neck or shoulder (C, C.)
soldered. The ruffle (D,) which may be of various patterns, is intro-
duced, not only as an ornamental feature, but also to balance the knife
without the use of lead or any other balancing medium.
The blades of ordinary knives at present are made with bolsters,
as (E); by the mode of connection shown in Fig. 1, the blade may be
made flat, without a bolster; it is simply let into the socket or
claw (F) of the handle and soldered.
The improvements which we claim as our Invention are the casting
of seamless metallic handles; the introduction of the ruffle (D),) and of
the socket or claw (F); and the mode of connecting the handles and
blades by solder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
and of an order of the Lord Chancellor, filed by the said Samuel
Russell and Robert Murray M Turk in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 10th November 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
SAMUEL RUSSELL and ROBERT MURRAY MCTURK, of Sheffield, in the
County of York, Table Knife Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Samuel Russell and Robert Murray
MTurk, Her special license that we, the said Samuel Russell and

page_text: Robert Murray McTurk, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Samuel Russell and Robert Murray
MTurk, 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 Inven-
tion for IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC HANDLES FOR TABLE CUTLERY,
DAGGERS, AND SUCH LIKE INSTRUMENTS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Samuel Russell and Robert Murray M Turk,
by an instrument in writing under our hand and seal, should parti-
cularly 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 we, the said Samuel Russell and Robert
Murray McTurk, do hereby declare the nature of our 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):
Our Improvements in the manufacture of metallic handles refer to
the casting of seamless handles whole at one operation; the introduction.
of collars, ruffles, or bolster edging to keep the blades, more particu-
larly of fruit and dessert knives, wholly off the table; the introduction
for general purposes, in order to reduce the cost of production, of
metallic bolsters, sockets, or claws, in lieu of the ordinary bolster forged
or worked on the blade; and to the mode of fastening the handles by
solder. By the ordinary process metallic handles are manufactured in
two pieces, they are stamped and soldered together; by the process
embraced in our Invention they are cast whole, without scam or joint,
and no core filling or internal mould is required. The die or mould
for casting is formed in two thicknesses, and is prepared, sunk, or cut
for handles of any required pattern in such manner that half the bed or
space formed for the reception of the casting is sunk in each of the

page_text: thicknesses, sides, or corresponding parts of the die; the thicknesses,
sides, or corresponding parts are put together or joined with stubs or
projections on the face of the one to fit into holes or sockets in the face
of the other, so that when the die or mould is once perfected and
adjusted for casting, the proper combination of the thicknesses, sides,
or corresponding parts for constant use is secured. From the part of
the bed or space sunk in the die or mould for the reception of the top
or closed end of the handle a channel or air-hole is cut at an angle,
with the axis of the bed for the handle, or of an imaginary line drawn
through its centre, so that when the molten metal is poured into the
die or mould at the opposite or tang end of the bed the metal rises in
such channel or air-hole, and indicates the quantity of metal in the
mould. In casting, the metal must be poured rapidly into the dic
or mould, and directly the channel or air-hole shows that sufficient
has been introduced,-that the casting is complete,-whilst the metal is
in a fluid state it must be thrown back or shaken out of the mould
by the same channel through which it was poured in, thus retaining
only the thickness of metal or scale cooled by and adhering to the die
or mould this forms the handle. When sufficient time has been.
allowed for the handle to set, it can be taken out by separating
sides or corresponding parts of the die or mould; the mould is again
re-joined, and the operation of casting may be proceeded with, as before
described, continuously and rapidly. The air operating on the metal in
the channel or air-hole above referred to admits of a large proportion
of the metal poured into the die or mould being thrown back.
A skilful workman can by this process cast handles as thin as may be
desired. The dies or moulds may also be made so that two handles
can be cast at one operation: this is effected by cutting the bed or
space sunk for the reception of the casting, not with the bed for each
handle in a straight line, but having an inclination towards each other;
that is to say, the bed or space for the two handles must be so cut that
the axes or imaginary lines drawn through the centre of the bed or
space for each handle form, with reference to each other, an angle, say,
of about forty-five degrees; at the apex of the angle a channel or com

page_text: munication between the two is formed. The main condition for a good
casting is, that the die or mould be open at both ends. The ruflic (C.)
shewn by Figures 3, and 4, is an important feature; it may be cast
separately or in connection with the handle; it admits of great variety
of design, and, as it prevents the blades from touching the table, is
especially useful for fruit or dessert knives. The holster, socket, or
claw (D,) shewn by Figures 5, and 6, is intended as a substitute for
the ordinary bolster (B, vide Figures 1, and 2); it may be cast of any
pattern, with the handle, or separately, and afterwards soldered. The
ordinary bolster (B,) is forged or made on the blade, and ground:
this Invention answers the same purpose and effects a considerable
be forged.or
saving in the cost of manufacturing the blades, which may
cut out of a flat piece of steel; a plain tang or prong only will be
needed for attaching the handles to. The handles are fastened to the
blades by solder. They are filled with plaster of Paris, cement, or other
material, and whilst such material is in a comparatively fluid state the
tang (E,) of the knife, fork, or other instrument is pressed into it;
the neck,, shoulder, or bolster is then soldered. Referring to the
accompanying Drawings, Figures 1, and 2, show the proposed seamless
handle (A,) attached to a blade with an ordinary bolster (B); Figures 3,
and 4, shew the handle with the proposed collar, ruffle, or bolster
edging (C); and Figures 5, and 6, shew the handle with the proposed
bolster, socket, or claw (D). The advantages of our improvements are,
that by the adoption of the means herein set forth a more ornamental
and durable article can be produced than by any other known method;
that the handles can be so securely fastened that neither immersion in
boiling water or the ordinary strains to which the articles comprehended
in the title of this Invention are subjected can affect them; that the
handles can be balanced without the use of lead or any balancing
medium other than the specific gravity of the handles; and that in the
labour and cost of production a considerable saving is effected. The
improvements which we claim as our Invention are, the casting of
hollow seamless metallic handles (A, A, A,) whole; the introduction
of the collar, ruffle, or bolster edging (C), and of the bolster, socket, or

page_text: claw (D); and the mode of connecting the blades and handles.
by solder.
In witness whereof, we, the said Samuel Russell and Robert
Murray MTurk, have heretofore set our hands and seals,
this Tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Signed and sealed by the
said Samuel Russell and
Robert Murray McTurk
in the presence of
ROB M. M TURK. (L.S.)
רוי
T
SAM. RUSSE
(...)
Signed and sealed by the
said Samuel Russell and
Robert Murray McTurk
in the presence of
ROB M. MTURK. (L.S.)
T. 1. CASHIN, C. 1.,
Highway Buildings, Sheffield.