Year: 1888

page_text: We, DAVID JOHNSON BROUGHER, Butcher, and CHRISTIAN STUKI FUNK, Miller,
both of Harrisburg, in the County of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, United States
of America, 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 :-
My invention relates to butchers' knives specially adapted for skinning, to the
handles of which my attachments are applied or are formed as parts thereof, the special
features of my improvements being a blunt parting-bit arranged to project rearward
from the rear end of the knife-handle, and adapted to be thrust between the flesh and
the skin for disengaging the latter after the skinning has been begun with the knife,
thus severing the skin by means of the parting-bit instead of with the knuckles of the
clenched hand, as is now usually done, the parting-bit being preferably provided with
a socket, by which it is attached to an ordinary skinning-knife bandle; and my
improvement also employs a guard upon the front end of the knife-handle for keeping
the operator's hand protected against slipping from.its hold on the handle while working
said parting-bit.
The form and application of my device will be better understood by reference to the
accompanying drawings thereof, of which-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a butcher's skinning-knife with my parting-bit and
guard attached thereto; Fig. 2, a basal view of the guard detached; Fig. 3, a cross
section of the socket of the parting-bit, taken on the line d d¹ in Fig. 4; and Fig. 4
denotes an edge view of the parting-bit.
Similar reference letters denote the same parts in all the views and in the further
description and claims
Letter A denotes the skinning-knife blade, the part A¹ being detached by a broken-
away portion.
B denotes the knife-handle; G the guard upon the same at its front end, it being a
hook-formed projection adapted to stop the hand against slipping off the handle toward
the knife-blade A. Said guard is secured upon the knife handle in any suitablo
manner, it being shown as provided with the socket H, adapted to embraco the wood
sections of the handle, and formed with the slot I, through which the blade A is
{ } ។

page_text: admitted to bring the socket to its seat on the handle, on which it is secured by the
rivet E, as shown. The parting-bit D is also formed with the socket C, into which
the handle B is fitted, and secured therein by the screw a. I, however, do not limit
the construction to a parting-bit attached by a socket thereon to a knife-handle, as
other means for attaching the bit to said handle may be substituted, for the parting-
bit may be formed as a part of the handle or of the knife-shank. I, however, prefer
to form the parting-bit and socket as one piece and to attach it to an ordinary skinning-
knifo handle, as shown. The parting-bit D is located or directed to be nearly in the
plane of the side of the knife-handle, as shown in Fig. 4.
The inclined part D is so formed that it shall serve to thrust the skin aside from the
flesh while the parting-bit D is thrust down in the act of severing the skin from the
flesh.
The knife-blade A is ground beveled to bring the edge to a side thereof to lessen
the liability to cut the skin.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, wo declare that what wo
claim is :-
1. In combination with the handle of a skinning-knife, the parting-bit D, formed
with blunt edge and arranged on the side of the handle B, as and for the purpose set
forth.
2. In combination with a butcher's skinning-knife, the parting-bit D, formed with
the inclined shoulder D and the socket C, and secured upon the knife-handle B,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. The combination, with a butcher's skinning-knife of a parting-bit D, attached
to the rear end of the knife-handle, and the guard G, attached to the front end of the
said handle, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 10th day of March 1888.
HORN & SON,
Applicants' Agents.