An Improved Safety or Sheath Handle for Crochet-hooks.
Year: 1895

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Safety or Sheath Handle for Crochet-hooks.
I, GEORGE LEWIS, of Clive Works, Redditch, in the County of Worcester,
Needle Manufacturer, trading as Lewis & Baylis, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
By means of this my invention I manufacture a crochet-hook handle which
serves at the same time as a sheath into which the crochet-hook can be withdrawn
when not wanted for use, and from which it can by a sliding appliance he readily
extended for use when required; this arrangement providing protection for
the hook in carriage, and also for the person carrying it, hence constituting a
safety handle.
This safety, or sheath handle, I make out of bone, ivory, wood, metal, or other
material possessed of a suitable elasticity, and my invention can be applied to
a handle of any shape, provided that its form admits of the attachment and action
of the sliding appliance named above, and to be described later on.
Through the length of this handle, if it be of wood, bone, or similar material,
I bore a hole of sufficient diameter in the upper part of the handle to allow the
crochet-hook to readily pass through, while in the middle and lower part of the
handle the diameter is sufficiently increased to allow of the passage up and down of
the sliding appliance. The handle when this is done is virtually a tube.
1 next by means of a small circular saw or other known means of performing the
same operation, cut lengthwise through one side of the handle, a slit extending
somewhat more than two-thirds of the length of this, and from the bottom towards
the top, the width of this slit being somewhat less than one-eighth of an inch
across; and on the other side of the handle and opposite to this slit, I cut from the
bottom of the handle upwards another slit, which may be somewhat shorter
in length and narrower in width than the first, and thus I obtain in the portions of
the handle between the two slits the requisite elasticity for carrying out the object
of my invention.
In case, however, employ sheet metal as a material for the crochet-hook
handle, the tubular form and the two opposite slits are both produced in the
making, which is by means of the ordinary and well known stamp and press
processes.
I then attach to the lower end of the crochet-hook, what I have above called
the "sliding appliance." This is a small metal disc with two shanks, in form
differing in no material respect from an ordinary "paper-fastener," and this I attach
10 the lower end of the crochet-hook by means of a rivet passed through the
crochet-hook and through the two shanks of the disc which embrace it, these two
shanks being bent closely round that part of the crochet hook to which they are
attached, so as to cause no appreciable bulk to the whole in this part; and this
little metal appliance I will now call the "slide pin."
The crochet-hook being thus provided with its slide pin, I pass it by the top, or
head, upwards through the hole in the handle, the shank of the slide pin moving up
the wider slit first mentioned, and by pressing the thumb-nail against the little
metal disc of the slide pin, I push the crochet-hook upwards through, the hole
in the handle until it projects beyond the top of this to the proper length
for use.

page_text: To fix the crochet hook in this position, I apply to the bottom of the handle a
small metal cap in form much resembling a percussion cap, and when this is applied
it brings the elastic sides of the handle together sufficiently to compress the shank
of the slide pin between them and prevent its moving or being moved upwards or
downwards, and the crochet-hook is thus held firmly in place for work.
To replace the crochet-hook, when not required for work, in the sheath handle,
it is only necessary to remove the cap and press the little metal disc downwards,
when the expansion of the sides of the handle caused by the removal of the cap,
allows the crochet-hook to slide readily down within the handle, and the metal cap
being re-adjusted upon the bottom of this, the crochet hook is held securely in the
body of the sheath handle by the compression of the sides of this on the application
of the metal cap, and in this position can neither suffer damage nor cause damage
in carriage.
And if in the making of a crochet-hook handle in accordance with my invention,
I use a moulded material possessing the requisite elasticity, the tubular form and
also the two slits above described, I produce in the process of moulding, and by the
ordinary and well known means used in such manufactures.
Dated the 22nd day of May 1895
I, GEORGE LEWIS, of Clive Works, Redditch, in the County of Worcester,
Needle Manufacturer trading as Lewis & Baylis, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what inanner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
By means of this my invention, I manufacture a crochet-hook handle which
serves at the same time as a sheath into which the crochet-hook can be withdrawn
when not wanted for use, and from which it can by a sliding appliance be readily
extended for use when required; this arrangement providing protection for the
hook in carriage, and also for the person carrying it, hence constituting a safety
handle.
This safety, or sheath handle, I make out of bone, ivory, wood, metal, or other
material possessed of a suitable elasticity, and my invention can be applied to
a handle of any shape, provided that its form admits of the attachment and action
of the sliding appliance named above, and to be described later on.
Through the length of this handle, if it he of wood bone or similar material,
I bore a hole of sufficient diameter in the upper part of the handle to allow
the crochet-hook to readily pass through, while in the middle and lower part of the
handle the diameter is sufficiently increased to allow of the passage up and down of
the sliding appliance. The handle when this is done, is virtually a tube.
I next by means of a small circular saw, or other known means of performing the
same operation, cut lengthwise through one side of the handle, a slit extending
somewhat more than two-thirds of the length of this, and from the bottom towards
the top. The width of this slit being somewhat less than one-eighth of an inch
across, or even narrower, its width being regulated partly by the elasticity
of the material of the handle, and partly by the thickness of the sliding
appliance.
On the other side of the handle and opposite to this slit I cut from the bottom
of the handle upwards another slit, which may be somewhat shorter in length and
narrower, in width than the first, and thus I obtain in the portions of the handle
between the two slits the requisite elasticity for carrying out the object of my
invention.

page_text: In case, however, I employ sheet metal as a material for the handle, the tubular
form and the two opposite slits are both produced in the making, which is by means
of the ordinary and well-known stamp and press processes, and as sheet metal is a
more elastic material for the crochet-hook handle than those previously mentioned
the shorter slit may be omitted altogether.
have, however, found it to be an advantage (at the distance of somewhat less
than half-an-inch from the bottom of the handle) to widen out the long slit so as to
form it there into a small circular, or oval opening, for when the sliding appliance,
next to be described, reaches the opening, this forms a stop regulating the distance
to which the crochet-hook has to be drawn down when not wanted for use.
I then attach to the lower end of the crochet-hook what I have above called the
sliding appliance. This is a small metal disc with two shanks in form differing in
no material respect from an ordinary "paper-fastener, unless it be that the shanks
are shorter and unpointed at the ends.
Then, having first flattened the lower end of the crochet-hook, I attach this
sliding appliance to the flattened part, by means of a rivet passed through the
crochet-hook and the two shanks of the disc which embrace it; these two shanks in
the rivetting process being bent. closely about that part of the crochet-hook to
which they are attached so as to cause no appreciable bulk to the whole in that
part; and this little metal appliance I will now call the "slide-pin."
The crochet-hook being thus provided with its slide-pin I pass it by the top, or
head, upwards through the hole in the handle, whether this handle be made
of metal, or of any other of the materials mentioned, the shank of the slide-pin
moving up the long slit, and by pressing the thumb-nail against the little metal disc
of the slide-pin I push the crochet-hook upwards through the hole in the top of the
handle until it projects beyond the top of this to the proper length for use.
To fix the crochet-hook in this position, I apply to the bottom of the handle
a small metal cap, in form much resembling a percussion cap, and when this
is applied it brings the elastic sides of the handle together sufficiently to compress
the shank of the slide-pin between them, and prevent its moving or being
moved upwards or downwards, and the crochet-hook is thus held firmly in place
for work.
To replace the crochet-hook, when not required for work, in the sheath handle,
it is only necessary to remove the little metal cap and press the little metal disc
downwards, when the expansion of the sides of the handle, caused by the removal
of the cap, allows the crochet-hook to slide readily down within the handle till the
little circular, er oval widening in the long slit receives the shank of the slide pin,
and the metal cap being then re-adjusted upon the bottom of the handle, the
crochet-hook is held securely in the body of this as in a sheath, by the compression
of the sides of the handle on the application of the metal cap, and in this position
can neither suffer damage nor cause damage in carriage.
And if in the making of a crochet-hook handle in accordance with my invention,
I use a moulded material possessing the requisite elasticity, the tubular form and
also the one or the two slits above described, I produce in the process of moulding
and by the ordinary and well known means used in such manufactures.
In the accompanying drawings A Fig. 1. represents a crochet-hook with the
sliding appliance or slide-pin B attached to the flattened end of it by a rivet passed
through this and the two shanks of the slide pin.
Fig. 2 is a view of a safety or sheath handle made in accordance with my
invention, and which is denoted by C. C. the letter D denoting the slit in which the
slide-pin B works, while the position of this near the bottom of the safety handle
shows that the crochet-hook is here withdrawn downwards, and only waiting for the
application of the metal cap E, to be fixed there securely by this act.
Fig. 3 shows the safety or sheath handle C. C. with the crochet-hook A extended
from it for use, by pushing the slide-pin B from the position it has in Fig. 2 to
that which it here occupies, and in which it is locked by the application of the
metal cap E, to the bottom of the handle.

page_text: In this figure, namely Fig. 3, the slit is denoted by D. while F. represents the
small circular or oval widening which forms the point of stoppage, when the crochet-
hook is withdrawn within the handle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The above described method of making a safety or sheath crochet-hook handle,
hollow for receiving within it the crochet-hook, and the sides of it rendered elastic
by its being furnished with one or more longitudinal slits, in one of which works a
slide-pin attached to the crochet-hook for the purpose of extending this from
or withdrawing it into the body of the handle, and further the method of locking
the crochet-hook in either position by the applying of a small metal cap, the whole
combined substantially as above set forth.
Dah 9th 1000
GEORGE LEWIS.