Improvements in the Manufacture of Horse-shoe Nails.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 19th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 19th Jan., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Horse-shoe Nails.
-
I, ALFRED WILLIAM KNIGHT, of Cuckfield, in the County of Sussex, Iron-
monger and Farrier, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to nails for fixing shoes to the feet of horses and other
animals.
Horse-shoe nails as now used have flat shanks, the result of which is that, when
being driven and clenched, the hoof is more or less cracked or splintered owing to
the curved shape of the latter. Also flat nails are liable when being driven to bend
and so deviate from their proper course, thereby injuring the foot.
The objects of my invention are to construct horse-shoe nails so that the cracking
or splintering herein before referred to shall be obviated and so that the nails shall
be stronger and therefore less liable to bend than heretofore.
According to my invention nails are constructed with fluted, instead of with flat,
shanks one side of the nail being concave and the other convex, and the curvature
of the convex sides of the nails is by preference greater than the curvature of the
hoof. This convex side is also preferably made wider than the concave side.
It will be found when using a nail of this kind that it will penetrate the crust of
the hoof without cracking the same or with less cracking than heretofore. When
the point is bent over for the clench the concave face of the nail is bent outwards
so that, by rasping, the edges of the flute will be removed, the clench being thus
thicker at the centre than at the sides, whereby, when clenched onto the hoof, it
will readily embed itself. Also the concave side of the nail being narrower than
the convex side the clench will not be so conspicuously large as an ordinary clench.
It will be readily understood that the concavo-convex form of nail hereinbefore
described possesses more strength than a flat nail so that it will not so readily
bend.
Nails made as herein before described may be made thinner, for holding a given
shoe, than ordinary nails.
11
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Horse-shoe Nails.
I, ALFRED WILLIAM KNIGHT, of Cuckfield, in the County of Sussex, Iron-
monger and Farrier, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and 'ascertained.
in and by the following statement:-
'
My invention relates to nails for fixing shoes to the feet of horses and other
animals.

page_text: when being driven and clenched, the hoof is more or less cracked or splintered
owing to the curved shape of the latter. Also flat nails are liable when being
driven to bend and so deviate from their proper course thereby injuring the foot.
The objects of my invention are to construct horse-shoe nails so that the cracking
or splintering herein before referred to shall be obviated and so that the nails shall
be stiffer and therefore less liable to bend than heretofore.
According to my invention nails are .constructed with fluted, instead of with flat,
shanks, one side of the nail being concave and the other convex, and the curvature
of the convex side of the nails is by preference greater than the curvature of the
hoof. This convex side is also preferably made wider than the concave side.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawing, in which :-
Figures 1 and 2 are elevations at right angles to each other of a horse-shoe nail
constructed according to my invention; and,
Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Figure 1 drawn to an enlarged scale:
Figure 4 is a sectional view of the adjacent portions of a pair of roller shank
forming dies which may be employed in the manufacture of my improved
nail; and,
Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5, Figure 4:
Figure 6 is a sectional view showing another form of shank forming apparatus;
and,
Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7, Figure 6:
Figures 8 and 9 are elevations at right angles to each other of the head end of
a nail shewing some further improvements.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the shank of my improved nail which has the section shewn in Figure 3, one
side being made concave as at b and the other side convex as at c the curve of the
concavity and convexity being preferably greater than the curvature of the hoof.
The head d of the nail is preferably so formed that it projects an equal distance
beyond the shank upon both sides thereof and the point of the nail is bevelled at e
on the side having the concave groove in a well known manner.
Also
It will be found when using a nail of this kind that it will penetrate the crust of
the hoof without cracking the same or with less cracking than heretofore.
when the point is bent over for the clench the concave face of the nail is bent
outwards so that, by rasping, the edges of the flute will be removed the clench
being thus thicker at the centre than at the sides whereby when clenched onto the
hoof, it will readily embed itself. Also the concave side of the nail being
narrower than the convex side the clench will not be so conspicuously large as an
ordinary clench.
.
It will be readily understood that the concavo-convex form of nail described
possesses more strength than a flat nail so that it will not so readily bend, and can
be driven with more safety than the ordinary nail as the flute is felt in holding it
and determines the bevel of the point thereby avoiding the necessity of seeing
the point.
Nails made as described may be made thinner for holding a given shoe than
ordinary nails.
Any suitable means may be employed for manufacturing my improved nail, for
instance a flat nail may be passed between roller dies of the kind shewn in Figures 4
and 5, wherein one roller has a groove with a convex bottom to receive the nail
and form the concave side or flute thereof and the other a concave groove g which
forms the convex surface of the nail. Or the concavity or flute may be formed in
dies of the kind shewn in Figures 6 and 7 in which is a lower die having a
groove with a concave bottom into which the flat nails are placed and j is an
upper die or punch having a convex working surface designed to press the nails
into the lower die.
In practice I prefer to form the heads of my nails with small projections or
crowns k as shewn in Figures 8 and 9, so as to ensure that the blows delivered to

page_text: drive the nails shall act upon the nail more centrally than is the case with flat
headed nails if the hammer does not strike the head quite fairly or flat. Also
I prefer to curve the nail shanks longitudinally to enable them to hold more firmly
than a straight nail.
By forming the shank centrally with the head as hereinbefore described I render
the driving of my improved nails more easy than the driving of ordinary nails
having the shank at one side of the centre of the head as I avoid the excessive
bending of the nails which takes place when ordinary nails are used in grooved
shoes.
In order to facilitate the withdrawal of nails from grooved shoes I advantageously
provide the sides of nail heads with notches arranged obliquely as shewn in
Figures 8 and 9 to enable the head to be readily grasped by pincers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A horse-shoe nail having one side formed with a concave groove or concavity
and the opposite side with a convexity, substantially as described.
2. In a horse-shoe nail having a shank which is concavo-convex in transverse
section forming the head centrally upon the shank, substantially as, and for the
purpose, described.
3. The manufacture of horse-shoe nails, substantially in the manner hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated the 19th day of December 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.