IMPROVEMENTS IN MANU- FACTURING THE BLANKS OF FORKS, SCISSORS, CUTLERY, CHISELS, AND OTHER TOOLS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF SPRINGS FOR POCKET KNIVES AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES NOW PREPARED BY THE FORGING PROCESS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Levesley, of Sheffield, in the County of
York, Ivory Carver, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANU-
FACTURING THE BLANKS OF FORKS, SCISSORS, CUTLERY, CHISELS, AND OTHER
TOOLS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF SPRINGS
FOR POCKET KNIVES AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES NOW PREPARED BY THE FORGING
PROCESS."
Sealed the 23rd October 1857, and dated the 27th April 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Levesley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th April 1857.
I, WILLIAM LEVESLEY, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Ivory Carver,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MANUFACTURING THE BLANKS OF FORKS, SCISSORS, CUTLERY, CHISELS, AND OTHER
TOOLS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF SPRINGS FOR
POCKET KNIVES AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES NOW PREPARED BY THE FORGING PROCESS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the adaptation, under certain modifications, of my
improved process for manufacturing knife blades, (for which I obtained Her
Majesty's Letters Patent on the 12th July 1858) to the manufacture of blanks
for other articles of cutlery. The materials which I propose to employ are

page_text: shear steel and cast steel rolled out into sheets or plates suitable for being cut
into picces for forming the article required.
up
In the manufacture of cutlery of various kinds it is well known that the
usual plan is to form the blanks for any given article singly or in separate parts
by forging. Instead of this method, when using cast steel I prepare a mould
of suitable form into which I cast the molten metal. This casting will
in cross section shew inequalities in thickness, roughly corresponding to the
different thicknesses presented by the blank when viewed in one direction.
The casting is then tilted or hammered to bring it to a convenient shape for
rolling, and when submitted to the rolling process the variations in the thick-
ness of the cast plate are more clearly defined. The plate is then to be cut
up breadthwise into sections by means of a fly press or other contrivance,
and portions of these sections are afterwards to be clongated or reduced
as required in order to give them the requisite proportions for forming the
given article. Thus, in the manufacture of scissor blades, whero there is
.necessarily great inequality in the thickness of the metal, I cast in a mould
a plate, the cross sections of which conforms somewhat to the general figure of
such blade, as seen in plan, but the part which is destined to form the loop
when cast and rolled has a much greater sectional thickness than it is intended
to retain in order to simplify as much as possible the rolling operation. Then
when the rolled plate is cut up into sections I reduce the thickness of the
metal at the part which is to form the loop, and elongate it, that it may have
length sufficient to lap round into a bow or loop. It will thus be understood
that by very simple and inexpensive means I bring the blank to the state for
receiving the final finish from the hands of the workman.
When employing shear steel it must be reduced by forging to. a propor
shape for rolling. The rollers must of course bo grooved or undulated on their
periphery to suit the inequalities of the sheet which they are designed to
produce. Thus the sheets or plates destined to be formed into forks will
require rollers specially prepared for the purpose, and so with other articles
which have a peculiar sectional form.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Levesley, Her special license that I, the said William Levesley, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Levesley, 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, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING
THE BLANKS OF FORKS, SCISSORS, CUTLERY, CHISELS, AND OTHER TOOLS, WHICH
IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO THE MAKUPACTURE OF SPRINGS FOR POCKET
KNIVES AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES NOW PREPARED BY THE FORGING PROCESS," upou
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Levesley, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 calcular months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Levesley, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to the adaptation, under certain modifications, of my
improved process for manufacturing knife blades (for which I obtained Her
Majesty's Letters Patent on the Twelfth July, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-three) to the manufacture of blanks for other articles of cutlery, the object
being to introduce a great economy in their manufacture both as regards the
cost of labor and materials expended. The materials from which I propose
to form the blanks are shear steel and cast steel rolled out into sheets or plates
suitable for being cut up into pieces for forming the article required. In the
manufacture of cutlery of various kinds it is well known that the usual plau is
to form the blanks for any given article singly or in separate parts by forging.
Now, instead of this method, when using cast steel I provide a ribbed plate for
the rolls by preparing a mould of suitable form and casting therein the molten
metal. This casting will in cross section shew inequalities in thickness,

page_text: approaching to or roughly corresponding with the varying thicknesses presented
by the blank when viewed in one direction. The casting is then tilted or
hammered when thought desirable to bring it to a convenient shape for
rolling, and when submitted to the rolling process variations in the thickness
of the cast plate will thus, by reason of the metal being passed in a heated
state through a series of rolls, (the grooves in each succeeding pair of which
will conform the more nearly to the ultimate form required for the plate,)
become clearly defined, and the plate will thus be prepared for the next
operation; this is, to cut up the rolled plate breadthwise, into sections, which
is effected by means of a fly press or other contrivance. Portions of these
sections are afterwards to be elongated or reduced as required in order to give
them the requisite proportions for forming the given article.
In the accompanying Drawing I have illustrated the application of my
Invention to the manufacture of blanks for articles of cutlery other than table
-knife blades, by reference to forks, scissors, and back springs for pocket knives,
from which examples the manner of producing plates to be cut up into other
and kindred articles will be at once apparent.
.
Fig. 1 shews a pair of rolls suitably grooved to effect one of the intermediate
rollings required to reduce the plate of shear or cast steel from its primitive
to its ultimate shape, and Fig. 2 is an edge view of the finished fork blank;
Figures 3 & 3* 'represent, in plán view and cross section, a plate cast to the
form required for making scissor blanks according to my Invention, and Fig. 4
is a side view of the detached blank after it has received its finished form by
rolling Figures 5 and 6 illustrato my improved mode of making springs for
four-bladed pocket knives, and will be hereafter more particularly referred to.
By comparing the Drawing of the fork blank, Fig. 2, with that of the scissor
blank at Fig. 4, both of which represent the sectional Figure of the plates of
which they are supposed respectively to have formed a part, it will be seen that
while the edge view of the fork blank corresponds to the cross section of the
fork blank plate, the scissor blank plate is caused to take in edge view the
Figure which the scissor blade represents in plan. This arrangement is
rendered necessary in order to adapt the Invention to this class of article. In
order, therefore, to manufacture scissor blades, I cast in a mould a plate, the
cross section of which conforms somewhat to the general figure of such blade
when viewed in plan, but the part which is destined to form the loop when
cast and rolled has a much greater sectional thickness than it is intended to
retain, and a proportionately diminished length, to simplify as much as possible
the rolling operation. When the rolled plate is reduced to the required shape

page_text: y the grooved rolls I cut it up into sections, as shewn by the dotted lines,
Fig. 3, and subsequently reduce the thickness of the metal at the part a; which
s to form the loop, by means of excentric rolls, and thereby elongate it, that it
nay have length sufficient to lap round into.a bow or loop. It will thus be
anderstood that by very simple and inexpensive means I bring the blank
o the state for receiving the final finish from the hands of the workman.
By reference to Figures 5 and 6 the economy in material which I am
enabled to effect by the application of my Invention will be illustrated. Fig. 5
shews, in plan, the ordinary mode pursued in cutting out springs for the backs
of four-bladed pocket knives by means of a fly press. This plan necessitates a
waste of nearly half the weight of the plate metal subjected to the action of the
press, by reason of the projection formed on the spring to receive the attaching
pin. In this Figure a, a, represents the used portions of the plate, and b, b,
the waste metal. To avoid this waste, I roll the metal plate to the sectional
form shewn at Fig. 6, and I then cut it up into strips, as explained with
reference to Fig. 3, and thus produce spring blanks of the required shape,
using up the whole of the rolled plate.
When employing shear steel, it must be reduced by forging to a proper
shape for rolling. The rolls used must of course be grooved or undulated on
their periphery to suit the inequalities of the sheet which they are designed
to produce, and as these inequalities are greater or less, so more or less pairs of
rolls must be used to bring up the plate to the required form, the grooves in
cach succeeding pair of rolls approaching somewhat nearer to the ultimate
sectional figure required for the plate. It will be understood that the sheets
or plates destined to be formed into forks will require rollers specially prepared
for the purpose, as also will the plates for forming blanks for other articles
which have each their own peculiar sectional figure. The number of rollings,
and consequently pairs of rolls, or sets of grooves, which any special form will
require, will be readily estimated by any competent workman accustomed to
the rolling of irregular figures.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
Manufacturing the Blanks of Forks, Scissors, Cutlery, Chisels, and other
Tools, which Improvements are applicable to the Manufacture of Springs for
Pocket Knives and other like Articles now prepared by the Forgoing Process,"
and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that I lay no claim to the application of the above-described
improvements to the manufacture of table-knife blades; but what I claim
under the above in part recited Letters Patent is, modifying and adapting my

page_text: improved and patented system of forming table-knife blanks as above explained,
so as to render the same applicable to the economical manufacture of other
articles of cutlery, & of tools or instruments, and parts of the same, heretoforo
prepared by the forging process.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Levesley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lano.
WILLIAM LEVESLEY. (L.S.)