IMPROVEMENTS IN SCYTHES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Edward Boyd, of Hither Green, Lewisham,
in the County of Kent, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SCYTHES,"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Edward Boyd at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd February 1856.
I, JAMES EDWARD BOYD, of Hither Green, Lewisham, in the County of Kent,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SCYTHES, to be as follows:-
Hitherto the scythe has left the manufactory in an unfinished and incomplete
state, as it afterwards requires the assistance of a blacksmith or some other
person to bend the heel or tang of the scythe to a certain angle, before it can
be fitted to the handle and be made ready for use. Now my Invention consists
in so adjusting, contriving, bending, turning, cranking, and completing the heel
or tang of the scythe, before it leaves the manufacturer's hands, to the various
angles and shapes required, as to suit the convenience of operators and persons
wishing to use the same. The manner in which this is effected is as follows:-
The heel or tang of the scythe, instead of being sent out of the factory bent at
right angles, as at present, is by me bent to a certain angle, according to a
graduated scale; each such angle is known by a particular number, for
instance, angle No. 1 may be calculated to suit a man 5 feet in height; angle
No. 2 to suit a man 5 feet 1 or 2 inches in height, and so forth, altering the
number of the angle according to the height of the man.
thus prepared is then attached either to an ordinary scythe
The scythe being
handle, or to one

page_text: contrived by me with a double joint fastened by bolts and nuts, which being
adjusted by a wrench or key, facilitates its being put into any required shape
or position. The lower joint of this handle enables the plane of the blade to
be adjusted, moved, or regulated, so that its cutting edge shall be higher, lower,
or on a level with the back of the blade. The upper joint regulates the angular
distance between the handle and point of the scythe, by permitting it to be
increased or decreased at pleasure; by means of these appliances, the scythe
can be regulated to the greatest nicety, and made to cut all descriptions of
crops without change of scythes, an advantage which the ordinary implement
does not possess.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Edward Boyd in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 22nd August 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
EDWARD BOYD, of Hither Green, Lewisham, in the County of Kent, Gentle-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Edward Boyd, Her special licence that I, the said James
Edward Boyd, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said James Edward Boyd, my 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, usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN "SCYTHES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said James Edward Boyd, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals should particularly
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 I, the said James Edward Boyd, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:―
Hitherto the scythe has left the manufactory in an unfinished and incomplete
state, as it afterwards requires the assistance of a blacksmith or some other
person to bend the heel or tang of the scythe to a certain angle, before it can
be fitted to the handle and be made ready for use. Now my Invention consists
in so adjusting, contriving, bending, turning, cranking, and completing the heel
or tang of the scythe, before it leaves the manufacturer's hands, to the various
angles and shapes required, as to suit the convenience of operators and persons
wishing to use the same. The manner in which this is effected is as follows:-
The heel or tang of the "scythe," instead of being sent out of the factory bent at
right angles as at present, is by me bent to a certain angle or angles, according
to a graduated scale; each such angle is known by a particular number or
name, for instance, angle No. 1 may be calculated to suit a man 5 feet in
height; angle No. 2 to suit a man 5 feet 1 or 2 inches in height, and so forth,
altering the number of the angle according to the height of the man. The
scythe being thus prepared is then attached either to an ordinary scythe handle,
or to one contrived by me with a double joint fastened by bolts and nuts, which
being adjusted by a wrench or key or other instrument, facilitates its being put
and firmly fixed into any required shape or position. The lower joint of this
handle enables the plane of the blade to be adjusted, moved, or regulated, so
that its cutting edge shall be higher, lower, or on a level with the back of the
blade. The upper joint regulates the angular distance between the handle and
point of the scythe, by permitting it to be increased or decreased at pleasure;
by means of these appliances the scythe can be regulated to the greatest nicety,
and made to cut all sorts and descriptions of crops without change of scythes,
an advantage which the ordinary implement does not possess.
I also claim the right of making the tang. or heel of the scythe with a more
malleable and softer description of metal than that at present used for this
purpose.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Edward Boyd, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of August, in the year of
Witness to Signature,
CHARLES BOYD, Jun'.
JAMES EDWARD BOYD. (L.8.)