A Tobacco Cutter.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 5th May, 1896-Accepted, 11th July, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Tobacco Cutter.
I, PATRICK GARDINER of 3 and 4 Lime Street Square, in the City and
County of London, Iron Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
as communicated to me by Charles Chase Morris of Waldeck, Riverton, Otago,
in the Colony of New Zealand, Colonel, Retired List, Madras Army, to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus for cutting cake tobacco and has for its
objects providing a cutter, which shall be more efficient and rapid in its action
than those at present in use; shall form its own gauge so that the tobacco is
cut up into shavings of uniform thickness; in one form may be carried in the
pocket, and in another form placed upon the table, shall be compact and occupy
little space; have little tendency to get out of repair, have few parts; be light
and cheap to manufacture.
In carrying the invention into effect, a cylindrical carrier is provided, within
which said carrier cutting knives are securely held by, and may be adjusted upon,
a screw. The edges of these knives pass through the circumference of the cylinder
and project sufficiently to slice the tobacco into shavings after the manner of a
carpenter's plane. This cylindrical carrier with its knives fits freely within a
circular case which has an opening in its circumference to feed a tube. The
tobacco to be cut fits loosely within this tube and may be pressed upon the cutting
knives by the finger, the tube being slotted to permit the finger to pass down its
whole length. One side of the cylindrical carrier is left open, whilst the other.
is closed and is supplied with a circular projection which passes through and fits
within a hole in the side of the circular case.
The portion of this projection which passes beyond the circular case, is squared
to engage within a corresponding hole in a dise, to which it is secured by a screw
and washer. The disc is provided with suitable projections to enable the operator
to effect a sure grip.
Dadh: 10th J
1000
A Tobacco Cutter.
I, PATRICK GARDINER, of 3 and 4 Lime Street Square, in the City and
County of London, Iron Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
Charles Chase Morris, of Waldeck, Riverton, Otago, in the Colony of New
Zealand, Colonel, Retired List, Madras Army, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to apparatus for cutting cake tobacco and has for its
objects providing a cutter, which shall be more efficient and rapid in its action

page_text: Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line C D of Fig. 1.
Figs. 5 and 6 are sections taken at right angles to each other through the
cylindrical carrier; and Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively front and side views of
same.
Within the cylindrical carrier a the knives bare securely held by screws b¹ and
nuts and may be adjusted to their work by means of slots 63. The knives b are
bent as shewn in Figs. 2 and 5 and have a cutting edge . The central portion
of the circumference a¹ of the carrier a is cut as shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 7, and 8 so
that the cutting edges of the knives b project beyond the same, but at the same
time the said cutting edges stand within the raised peripheries as of said carrier.
In this manner the tobacco f, Fig. 2, rests upon the circumference a¹ and as the
cylindrical carrier with the knives may freely revolve within the circular case c
in the direction shewn by the arrow, a slice of tobacco f¹ will be cut by each of
said knives every time the cylindrical carrier a is revolved within the case c.
The feed tube d is fixed to or made solid with, and has an unobstructed opening
at its lower end leading into, the circular case c, and may be made of any suitable
size to receive various sizes of tobacco. Its front part is left open as shewn
in Fig. 1, for admission, of the fore-finger and its back part has a portion d'
stamped out for lightness. Upon the back of the carrier a is provided a circular
boss a² and a square a³ which fit a circular hole in the case c and a square hole in
the disc e respectively. The disc e is shaped as shewn, has projections e¹ to enable
the operator to grip the same firmly, and is held in position by a screw e² and
washer e³.
The manner of operating the cutter is as follows;-A stick of tobacco f having
been placed in the feed tube d, as shewn in Fig. 2, the open side of the carrier a
and case c are held resting upon the palm of the left hand and said feed tube
grasped by the thumb and fingers, leaving the forefinger free to press upon the
tobacco. The disc e is then revolved by the right hand in the direction shewn by
the arrow, when the carrier a and knives 6 will revolve beneath the tobacco and
cut the same into slices f¹ which will fall into the interior of the carrier and

page_text: thence into the palm of the hand. The operation may be continued until sufficient
tobacco is cut, a fresh length of tobacco being introduced behind the first when
the latter is nearly cut away, so that there is no waste but the whole stick is
cut up.
From the beforegoing description it will be seen that the invention forms an
efficient tobacco cutter which gauges the thickness of the slices cut by means of
the circumference a¹ and the knives ; may be carried conveniently in the
pocket; is compact; occupies little space; has few parts; has little tendency to
get out of repair; is light, and cheap to manufacture.
It will be obvious that the carrier a may be mounted upon a stand, and the
disc e replaced by a cranked handle when the apparatus is required to cut
large quantities of tobacco, and that in the large sizes the number of knives
may be increased if required to give still further efficiency. Or the cranked
handle may be dispensed with and the feed tube d with the tobacco therein,
revolved backwards and forwards through an arc of a circle, over one of the
knives b.
The knives b are made of tempered steel, and the other parts may be made of
any suitable material. Sheet brass stamped out into the various forms is found to
answer the purpose admirably, and to give a finish the same is polished and in the
better class of articles electro plated with nickel or silver.
Machines for cutting tobacco have been made prior to this invention, but these
have had a reciprocating motion without adequate means for gauging the cut,
soon get out of order, and refuse to cut efficiently. With this apparatus these
objections are overcome.
It should, however, be understood that the invention is not confined to the
exact details hereinbefore specified as these may be varied in configuration and
materials in several ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.
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 ;-
1. In a tobacco-cutter the combination of carrier a having knives b and disc e
with feed tube d and case c substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore
described and as illustrated on the accompanying drawing.
2. A tobacco-cutter constructed, arranged and operating substantially as and
for the purposes hereinbefore set forth and as illustrated on the accompanying
drawing.
Dated this 5th day of May 1896
F. W. GOLBY,
36 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agent for the Applicant.