IMPROVEMENTS IN MARLINE SPIKES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International
Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MARLINE SPIKES."
-A communication from abroad by Calvin Torrey, of Boston,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st July 1869.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office,"
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MARLINE
SPIKES," a communication, to be as follows:-
Marline spikes employed for splicing rope have heretofore been made
solid (with or without an enlarged head) from a single piece of metal.
This construction is however objectionable for the following reasons:-

page_text: When the point of the marline spike has been withdrawn from the
opening which it has formed between the strands where the splice is to
be made, the said opening is liable to close before the end of the splicing.
strand can be inserted, owing to the strong tendency exerted by the
strands to recover their original twisted position, and it frequently
happens that the opening has to be re-formed several times before the
splicing strand can be successfully interlaced and laid as desired.
Furthermore, the end of the strand to be inserted within the opening in
the majority of cases requires to be "whipped" in order to avoid the
fagging" or unravelling of the fibres, otherwise it would be extremely
difficult to introduce it within the opening between the strands of
"
the rope.
To avoid the above-mentioned difficulties is the object of my Invention,
which consists in a marline spike having the whole or a portion of its.
length made hollow for the reception of the end of the strand to be
spliced between the strands of the main or standing portion of the rope.
The said marline spike may or may not be provided with a separate head
which may be readily removed to allow the remaining or chief portion
of the marline spike with the end of the strand in its hollow portion to
be pushed entirely through the opening, the head, if one be employed,
being provided with a hole for the passage of a lanyard, by which the
marline spike is suspended from the neck of the person using it.
My improved marline spike may be advantageously made with the
interior provided with a screw thread near its top for the reception of a
corresponding thread on the lower portion of a removable head. The
latter has a hole for the passage of the ordinary lanyard, by which the
marline spike is suspended or carried. These marline spikes may be
made of various sizes to adapt them to ropes and lines of different
diameters. Any suitable catch or fastening may be employed instead of
a screw for securing the head in place, and an opening for the lanyard
may be made through the top of the head instead of through its side, in
which case the end of the lanyard after being passed through is knotted
or a swivelling eye may be attached to the top of the head to prevent
the twisting of the lanyard by the revolutions of the marline spike.
The said improvements may be advantageously applied to the ordinary
"Ad" used by sail makers.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, South-
ampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third 1 year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 MARLINE SPIKES," a communication to me from abroad by Calvin
Torrey, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification :-
Marline spikes employed for splicing rope have heretofore been made
Bolid (with or without an enlarged head), from a single piece of metal.
This construction is however objectionable for the following reasons:-
When the point of the marline spike has been withdrawn from the
opening which it has formed between the strands where the splice is to

page_text: be made, the said opening is liable to close before the end of the splicing
strand can be inserted, owing to the strong tendency exerted by the
strands to recover their original twisted position, and it frequently
happens that the opening has to be re-formed several times before the
splicing strand can be successfully interlaced and laid as desired.
Furthermore, the end of the strand to be inserted within the opening in
the majority of cases requires to be "whipped," in order to avoid the
fagging" or unravelling of the fibres, otherwise it would be extremely
difficult to introduce it within the opening between the strands of the
"
rope.
To avoid the above-mentioned difficulties is the object of my Inven-
tion, which consists in a marline spike having the whole or a portion
of its length made hollow for the reception of the end of the strand to
be spliced between the strands of the main or standing portion of the
rope. The said marline spike may or may not be provided with a separate
head, which may be readily removed to allow the remaining or chief
portion of the marline spike with the end of the strand in its hollow
portion to be pushed entirely through the opening, the head, if one be
employed, being provided with a hole for the passage of a lanyard, by
which the marline spike is suspended from the neck of the person
using it.
To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use this Inven-
tion, I will proceed to describe the manner in which the same is carried
into practice.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is an external view of a marline spike of my improved
construction; Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the centre of
the same; Figure 3 illustrates the manner of using the said improved
marline spike.
In the said Drawing A represents the said improved marline spike,
the interior a of which, from 4 to 5, is made hollow, as seen in Figure 2,
and is provided with a screw thread 6 near its top for the reception of
a corresponding thread on the lower portion of a removable head b
having a hole for the passage of the ordinary lanyard by which the
marline spike is suspended or carried. These marline spikes may be made
of various sizes to adapt them to ropes and lines of different diameters.
When the operation of splicing is to be performed the point of the
marline spike is inserted between the strands, and pressure is applied to

page_text: с
the head 6 until the instrument is nearly forced through the opening, as
seen in Figure 3, when the head may be removed, and the end of the
strand c to be inserted is laid into the hollow portion a, after which
the instrument is drawn through carrying the strand c with it into the
desired position, and I am thus enabled to avoid the loss of time involved
in "whipping" the strand, and frequently making the opening in
the rope through which it is to be passed. By making this marline-
spike hollow for the whole or a portion of its length the quantity of
metal therein is materially diminished, consequently rendering the
marline spike lighter and more convenient to handle, and also reducing
its cost.
It is evident that any suitable catch or fastening may be employed
instead of a screw for securing the head in place, and an opening for
the lanyard may be made through the top of the head instead of through
its side, in which case the end of the lanyard, after being passed through
is knotted, or a swivelling eye may be attached to the top of the head
to prevent the lanyard from being twisted by the revolutions of the
marline spike.
These improvements may be advantageously applied to the ordinary
"fid" used by sailmakers.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I claim a marline spike A made hollow
for the whole or a portion of its length, and with or without a removable
head, substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.
▸ Witness,
H. J. GEDGE,
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Clerk to Haseltine, Lake, & Co.
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.