CERTAIN IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF WHETTING OR SHARPENING THE EDGES OF THE BLADES OF KNIVES OR OTHER CUTTING INSTRU- MENTS
Year: 1828

page_text: WESTBY, of Leicester, Cutler, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
did, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Sixth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and
twenty-eight, in the ninth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the
said Francis Westby, His special licence that I, the said Francis Westby,
my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Francis
Westby, my exors, adiñiors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF WHETTING OR
SHARPENING THE EDGES OF THE BLADES OF KNIVES OR OTHER CUTTING INSTRU-
MENTS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that I,
the said Francis Westby, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Francis Westby, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described and

page_text: ascertained in and by the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, together
with the following description thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in combining together a number of short steel
bars, which are properly prepared-(and-suitably hardened) for the purpose of
whetting or sharpening the edges of the blades of knives or other cutting
instruments, and I fix such steel bars in a row side by side in parallel vertical
planes within a suitable frame or box, in such manner that every other bar in
the row shall incline one way, whilst the intermediate bars incline in an
opposite direction, whereby every alternate bar-will cross and intersect the
neighbouring and adjacent bars, making a suitable angle therewith to receivo
the cutting edge which is required to be sharpened between them, the bars
which incline one way being in contact with one side of the edge, and the other
intermediate bars which incline the other way being in contact with the opposite
side of the same edge, in order that by pressing the edge within the angle
formed between the said intersecting, steel bars, and at the same time drawing
the blade backwards and forwards in such angle in the direction of the
length of the edge, the same shall be whetted or sharpened; the action
wherewith the steel bars then operate upon the cutting edge being nearly tho
same as that whereby cutting edges. are usually whetted or sharpened with a
steel, but by my plan of combining several steels to act in concert, and on both,
sides of the blade at once, the operation of whetting or sharpening the edge
thereof is rendered very easy, and expeditious.
:
Figure 1 of the Drawing represents the improved apparatus viewed in per-
spective, and explains, the manner in which it is, to be used for whetting
the edge of a table knife. Figure 2. is a vertical section taken transversely
across the apparatus; and Figure 3 is, a vertical section taken longitu-
dinally. Figure. 4 is a vertical elevation, corresponding to the longitudinal
section; and Figure 5 is a similar elevation of an apparatus with some
small difference in its frame or box. The figures are drawn the real size.
of the apparatus, and the same letters of reference are used to denote the same
parts in all the. Figures. A, A, A, A, B, B, B, B, are the steels. They are
short, square bars of hardened steel which have been draw-filed lengthways;
with a coarse file, so as to leave the surfaces with furrows or deep scratches in
the directions of their lengths, in the same manner as steels for sharpening:
knives are commonly prepared. D, D, E, E, is the box or frame to receive.
the said steels and hold them fast in a row side by side. The box is made-in
two parts, the lower part E, E, forming the basis or stand for the whole
apparatus, and the upper part D, D, is fixed upon the lower part by screws, as
shewn at a, a, at Figure 3, or by any other suitable fastening. The upper

page_text: part D, D, is narrower at the top than at the bottom, and has a narrow
opening along the top to receive the row of steels A and B. Also in the top
of the lower part E, E, two similar narrow openings are made to receive the
lower ends of the steels, which pass down through those openings, as is shewn
in Figures 2 and 3, and the lower extremities, of all the steels rest upon a?
moveable bottom plate F, which is contained within the base E. The steels.
are inserted into those openings in the manner represented in the Figures, with
their upper ends standing up and projecting out above the box; they stand side,
by side in a row, so as to fill up all the length of opening at the. top of the.
upper part D, D, and are firmly fastened therein by two binding screws, ète,!
which pinch all the steels A, B, together. Every other steel is inclined in an
opposite direction to its neighbours, so that the alternato steels cross each other
with an acute angle, into which the blade of the knife-K
may be inserted, as
is shewn in Figures 1 and 2; and when it is in that position the steels will apply
to its edge across the length thereof, every other alternate steel being in contact
with one side of the edge, and the other intermediate steels being in contact
with the other side of that edge. The blade being gently pressed downwards
into the angle between the steels, and at the same time moved briskly back-
wards and forwards endways, the lateral friction of the edge part of the blade
against the several steels will very quickly sharpen that edge. In t the use. of
the instrument no attention is required, except to hold the blade in a vertical
plane with the back upwards, in a suitable manner to cause the several steels
to apply fairly to both sides of the edge. For common knives, which are
ground equally on both sides, the blade must, be held so that its plane will
bisect the angles formed by the intersections or crossings of the several steels..
Note, the steels which apply as aforesaid to the opposite sides of the edge.
which is to be sharpened between them are not in contact with the same, parts
of the length of the edge; for wherover a steel applies to one side of the edge,
the other side of the edge immediately opposite to that steel is detached from con-
tact with the opposite steel, whereby the edge is left at liberty to bend laterally
aside before the pressure of each of the steels, in the same manner as takes placo
in the operation of whetting a cutting edge by a steel in the common way. And
whereas the faces of the said steels will wear smooth by the friction of frequent
use at the part where the edge applies across them, and will not then have so
much effect to whet or sharpen the cutting edges, they may be occasionally let
loose by slackening the two binding screws e, e, to withdraw the steels, and then
each one may be turned round to present another of its square faces to the cutting
edge; and when all the four faces of each steel have been thus employed
and worn the steels may be turned end for end, or the other way upwards;

page_text: also the steels may be raised higher up or let lower down into their box, in
order to bring different parts of their length into use, and thus every part of
each steel may be used. For this purpose the internal moveable plate F, upon
which the lower ends of all the steels rest, can be raised up or lowered down
by means of two screws m, m, Figures 1 and 5, by which screws each end of
tho plate F is suspended within the box E, E, or else the plate F may be
supported by one screw G in the centre of the box, that screw being turned
round by a head at the lower end thereof, beneath the centro of the bottom of
the lower box E, E, in which case the same may be supported on four small
balls or feet at the angles, as shewn in the Figures.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Westby, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of July, in the year of our Lord One
Inrolled the Fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-eight.