IMPROVE- MENTS IN INSTRUMENTS FOR CUTTING HUMAN OR ANIMAL HAIR
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Clark at the Office of the
Cominissioners of Patents on the 15th July 1879.
WILLIAM CLARK, of 232, Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN INSTRUMENTS FOR CUTTING HUMAN OR ANIMAL HAIR."
The Invention relates to that description of instrument employed for cutting or
clipping hair, in which a top plate provided with a number of saw like cutting
teeth is caused when worked by hand or power to slide to and fro over the comb
teeth of an under or bottom comb plate.
1st. The Invention in so far as it relates to the clipping of hair from the backs of
horses or other like animals, has for its object the severing or cutting the air
uniformly and at a distance from the skin, which will not destroy the original color
or shade of the animal's coat, which is invariably the case when the hair has been
newly cut with the clippers now in use, and further, a beautiful finished appearance,
the said coat presents when cut, together with the uniform length of hair left on
the animals back, which enables the clipping process to be carried on at any time
irrespective of seasons, whether winter or summer, are also objects embraced by
these present improvements.
Before describing the manner in which I carry my Invention into practice,
I would remark that I am well aware that clippers heretofore have been made with
the special object of clipping hair to any required length, and which has been
accomplished by making the under comb-plate of a thickness equal to the length of
hair, which it is desired shall be left on the animal's back, or otherwise, supple-
menting such under-plate with another additional plate; but in practice it is found
that such thick comb-plate or plates do not satisfactorily accomplish the object of
their design from the following reasons, that is to say:-The comb-teeth being of a
thickness equal to the plate in which they are formed, naturally at the root, the
spaces between the teeth form an abutment against which the hair as gathered by
the comb in its onward traverse is pressed, so as to assume a greater density at the
contracted spaces at the abutting root of the comb-teeth than at their points, thus
causing the upper cutting teeth when passing to chop or snip the hair in a manner
which leaves a slightly uneven surface, as it is evident the more dense or crowded
hair in the spaces against the abutments at the root of the comb-teeth must be cut
off sharp and close, whilst the hair in the spaces fartherest from the root yielding
to the cut will be slightly longer and cut off more slantingly, thereby leaving a cut
surface which does not present that uniformity of finish which is so desirable.

page_text: According to my present improvements I overcome the difficulties herein
described by a novel arrangement of under plate and comb-teeth, the peculiar
construction of which consists in reducing the thickness of the under-plate, and
increasing the thickness or depth of the comb teeth, so as to leave the same pro-
truding like bars or ribs below the under surface of the said plates; the thickness
or depth of such comb teeth represent the length of hair to be left on the animal's
back..
It will thus be seen that the spaces between the comb teeth being clear from the
-points where the hair-is-first-gathered-to-where it finally escapes, the said hair
merely passes through the spaces, during which the sliding of the upper-cutters
sever the protruding hair with ease and facility at one uniform length from the
skin, as the absence of uneven density when gathered in the comb prevents
chopping, and gives the upper cut surface a peculiar gloss like finish not hitherto
attainable.
A further improvement in instruments similar to that herein mentioned is
designed for cutting hair off human skin, and which is intended to be used as a
substitute for razors in cases where desirable.
According to this part of my Invention I construct the under comb-plate of
metal, sufficiently thick to carry the working parts of the instrument up to a point,
near the roots of the comb teeth where the plate is reduced in thickness, so as to
leave the teeth of the comb so fine that when pressed upon and passed over the
skin, the short hairs will protrude and be presented to the action of the upper
sliding cutter plate, which shaves them off close to the skin in manner similar as
though shaved with a razor.