An Improved Knife or Mechanical Contrivance for Cutting or Bleeding India-rubber Trees.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 30th Jan., 1889-Accepted, 6th July, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by HULERO BRUJO DE BLANCANEAUX, of Belize, British
Honduras, Gentleman.]
An Improved Knife or Mechanical Contrivance for Cutting or
Bleeding India-rubber Trees.
I, CARLOS MELHADO of Belize House Upper Norwood in the County of Surrey
Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention consists of an improved.knife or mechanical contrivance for cutting
or bleeding India-Rubber Trees so as to extract the India-Rubber therefrom in an
improved manner. The said knife as I will call it is constructed as follows-A
good stout handle is made of wood or other suitable material with a strong curved
blade of steel or other suitable material terminating in a shoulder made on each side
of the blade. Across this blade which I call the main blade at right angles to it
and next the shoulder is fixed (by means of a bolt passing through the two blades and
then a screw) a second blade made of steel or other suitable material formed in the
shape of a pothook with the sharp edge of the pothook downwards and at right angles
to the sharp edge of the main blade. This second blade I call the cutter. The bolt
I prefer should pass through a slot made in the cutter lengthways in the long end
of the pothook in order that the depth to be cut in the tree may be varied as desired
by unscrewing the bolt. The knife is worked by hand and its dimensions may be of
any suitable requirement. The cutter may likewise be shifted by unscrewing the
bolt to either side of the main blade. By means of this knife the operator can cut
at one stroke a groove of the proper size and depth in the India-Rubber Tree.
Dated this 30th day of October 1888
J. EVANS JACKSON.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Knife or Mechanical Contrivance for Cutting or
Bleeding India Rubber Trees.
I, CARLOS MELHADO of Belize House, Upper Norwood in the County of Surrey,
Merchant, 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 :-
This invention consists of an improved knife or mechanical contrivance (shown in
the accompanying drawings) for cutting or what is technically known as bleeding
India Rubber Trees. The dimensions of such knife or contrivance may vary according
to the fancy or requirements of the operator as it is worked by hand. For brevity
I will call it a knife.
The knife is constructed as follows
--
A stout handle is made of wood or other suitable material, see figure A in drawing
(of sufficient size to give a good purchase to the hand of the operator and to hold the
blade) into which a strong blade made of steel or other suitable material is inserted
and fixed in the ordinary way. This blade, which I call the "main blade" (to
a short
distinguish it from the small blade after mentioned) may commence
distance from the handle and is of the following shape. It has a straight or other
shaped back, I prefer it a little concave, with a convex cutting edge terminating at
the end in a strong shoulder on either side formed square with the main blade (see
figure B in drawings).
Across the main blade-at right angles to it, so to speak, and having it's back next
and level with the shoulder a small blade is fixed. This blade is made of steel or other

page_text: suitable material and is curved in the shape of a pothook. It's breadth should be
suitable to the length of the main blade i.e. the cutting edge of the small blade crossing
the cutting edge of the main blade at nearly it's centre. The small blade is shewn
in figure (.
a
When I use the term "fixed" above I prefer to adopt the means of fixing by
screw-bolt, ring, and nut (shown in figures d & e) the screw-bolt passing through a
hole made in the main blade near the shoulder, so as to admit of the back of the small
blade being level with the shoulder, and then through a slot made in the long end of
the small blade. By using a slot it is obvious that the cutter can be lengthened out
or shortened to cut deeper or shallower into the tree surface.. Again by means of the
double shoulder and the slot with screwbolt the small blade can be reversed at will.
I prefer a screwbolt of the square shape shown in figure E as it has more
tenacity.
Having described the nature of my said Invention communicated by my foreign
Correspondent and the manner of performing the same I declare that what I claim
as the Invention to be protected is.―
"
An improved knife or mechanical contrivance, constructed of the materials and in
such a manner as that the knife or contrivance may be used for the purpose of
bleeding" India Rubber Trees by cutting grooves therein in a speedier more effective
and improved manner.
Dated this 30th day of January 1889.
JOHN EVANS JACKSON,
Agent for Carlos Melhado.