IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING IRON, STEEL, AND OTHER METALS, FOR CUTLERY, TOOLS, AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Barber, Spring Knife Cutler, of No. 60;
Thomas Street, and Henry De Garrs, Brass and Wood Turner, of No.
34, Pomona Street, both in the Township of Ecclesall Bierlow, Shef-
field, in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ROLLING IRON, STEEL, AND OTHER METALS, FOR CUTLERY, TOOLS, AND OTHER
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 6th January 1863, and dated the 12th July 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Barber and Henry
De Garrs at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 12th July 1862.
WC, HENRY BARBER, Spring Knife Cutter, of No. 60, Thomas Street,
and HENRY DE GARRS, Brass and Wood Turner, of No. 34, Pomona Street,
both in the Township of Ecclesall Bierlow, Sheffield, in the County of York,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ROLLING IRON, STEEL, AND OTHER METALS, FOR CUTLERY, TOOLS, AND OTHER
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in rolling iron, steel, and other metals, for the
purposes of cutlery, tools, and other articles, in such manner that the
material, when rolled, shall vary in thickness across its width, so as to
correspond with the varying thickness of the article for which the rolled
inaterial is intended. Thus, a table knife blade is thinnest at the point,
and thickest at the bolster, and from the point to the bolster the blade
gradually increases in thickness, and beyond the bolster it is thin again for

page_text: the tang.
Therefore the rollers for rolling the steel for table knives will
be so formed on their surfaces, as to roll the steel thin at one edge, and
to increase the thickness gradually towards the part for the bolster, and
thin again at the other edge for the tang.
In rolling steel for skate blades, it is rolled twice the breadth of one
blade, and thinnest up the centre. The blades are to be flyed off, and the
turned hook or toe of one blade comes out behind the heel of the other.
For skate clogs, the steel is rolled thin at both edges, and, a groove up
the centre for the blade to fit into, and then flyed off also. For solid skates,
it is rolled in a T shape, and afterwards flyed, and the toe turned by the
hammer. For bowl or bead files, the rollers have a groove turned in them
of the same design as the file is intended for, that is, if the file be intended
to file two beads, the groove in the roller has two beads on, to form two
corresponding hollows in the steel for the file.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,' filed
by the said Henry Barber and Henry De Garrs in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th January 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
BARBER, Spring Knife Cutler, of No. 60, Thomas Street, and HENRY DE
GARRS, Brass and Wood Turner, of No. 34, Pomona Street, both in the
Township of Ecclesall Bierlow, Sheffield, in the County of York, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Henry Barber and Henry De Garrs, Her special licence, that we, the said
Henry Barber and Henry De Garrs, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Henry Barber and Henry Do Garrs, our 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 ex-
pressed, 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 ROLLING IRON, STEEL, AND
OTHER METALS, FOR CUTLERY, TOOLS, AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Henry Barber and Henry De Garrs, our

page_text: forks, joiners' chisels, and broad bevelled steel for plane irons and turnscrews
to be cut off crosswise, can be rolled in the manner before mentioned out of
cast steel, as well as spring knife scales out of brass, German silver, and other
metals; the ingots in all cases being either cast or forged in the same propor-
tion crosswise as the articles for which they are intended are lengthwise, and
the rolls being also grooved proportionately for such articles. But we would
here observe that the rolls (being grooved in unequal surfaces) will travel at
unequal rates; thus, we will suppose the top-roller of Fig. 3 to be 13 inches in
diameter at a, a, it would only be 12 inches in diameter at 6, 6, so that at every
revolution of the roller the surface of the groove would travel 89 inches at a, a,
while at b, b, it would only travel 36 inches. Now if a great pressure were put
upon the rollers, the faster travelling portion would drag or break the ingot in
the slower travelling portions, so that the pressure must be so regulated that the
tenacity of the metal will resist the unequal dragging. But inasmuch as using:
a light pressure is a slow process, it would cause a great waste of heat in hot
rolling, such as-in rolling steel. We prefer rolling steel and iron with .ccoen-
tric rollers first, for articles having only one bolster,- such as table knife-
blades, forks, joiners' chisels, and single-ended iron spring knife scales.; this
process will be hereafter explained at Fig. 5. But for rolling bevelled steel:
without bolsters we prefer this way, and use taper rollers, as shewn at Fig: 4,.
where it will be seen that in turning a bevelled groove in taper rollers
the surface of such groove is all of one diameter, and thus any requisite
amount of pressure can be used. In the ordinary way of rolling bevelled
steel, it is first rolled straight to a suitable thickness, and then passed through;
bevelled grooves in straight rollers, but-in putting the steel through a bevelled
groove.when both its edges are of equal thickness, the thin edge of the groove
has more steel to roll than the thick edge; and the thin edge of a bevelled.
groove in straight rollers travels faster than the thick edge, on account of the
unequal diameter of the rolls in such groove. These two principles operating
together cause the steel to curve in a convex form on the thin edge, and in
order to prevent it from curving, guides are used to keep it straight. Now
taking advantage of these two principles which cause the steel to curve, we
apply them to the rolling of scythes with solid backs. A scythe is curved the
contrary way, being convex on the thick edge; to do this we have the rollers
made so much tapered, that when bevelled grooves are turned in them, the
diameter of the rollers will still be greater at the thick edge of the bevel than
at the thin edge, and the steel prepared with so much more substance for the.
thick edge than the thin one, as will be sufficient to cause it to curve in a
convex form on the thick edge..

page_text: Now, as before stated, we prefer rolling steel and iron for articles having
only one bolster with eccentric rollers, Fig. 5 being an end view of a pair cut
in two. We will take these rollers to be 14 inches long; 1 inch at each end
is left round, as shewn by the dotted lines, and the 12 inches between them is
made eccentric; but it will be observed that about two-thirds of the eccentric
portions are cut away, leaving only one-third of the circumference of the
rollers A, A, eccentric; the hands represent the workman rolling a piece of
steel, and the arrows indicate the direction of the motion of the rollers, which
is towards the operator. To roll a sheet of steel for common flat-tanged table
knife blades, a piece is required 12 inches long, 2 inches broad, and ths of
an inch thick, being the thickness of the blade bolster. Now, this piece of
steel is as long as the eccentric parts of the rollers, and it is put edgewise
(not endwise) under them. When those parts of the rollers which are cut
away are passing together, there will be an open space between the rollers;
the steel is then held so far under them that when the eccentric parts A, A,
begin to meet, they will roll out about ths of an inch of the breadth of the
steel, which is to be placed between the rolls a sufficient number of times to roll
the gths of an inch to the length of 3½ inches; it is then to be reversed, and
about 14th of an inch of the other edge rolled out to 5 inches in length;
the latter is for the blade part, and the former for the tangs, and as the steel.
was originally 2 inches broad, there will be th of an inch between the blade
and tang parts left unrolled, forming a rib along the steel, which is for the
bolsters. The steel will now be a sheet 12 inches long by 9 inches broad;
it is now to be put endwise through a pair of grooved rollers to finish the
bolster portion, and which groove would be the same as the last-mentioned
groove for finishing .an ingot of steel for table knives by our previously
described proportionate system. The blade part of the sheet is then put under
another pair of eccentrics similar to Fig. 5, but instead of the eccentric
parts A, A, being smooth and even, they are turned into bevelled grooves,
each
groove being as broad as a table knife blade, Fig. 6 being a front view of
one of these rollers, which will give the blade part of the sheet a ribbed form,
alternately thick and thin, as shewn at Fig. 7, so that when the blades .are
flyed off, as shewn by dotted lines, each blade will have a thick back and thin.
edge. For forks and joiners' chisels, only such eccentrics as Fig..5 will be
required, and.for single-ended spring knife scales the eccentric parts A, A,.in
Fig. 5 would have to be made concentric, as the scale is all one thickness, not
tapering thinner towards the point like a knife or chisel.
We also roll tenon saws with solid stiff backs with similar rollers as for
scales; the rollers are, however, required to be longer on account of the

page_text: length of the saw. If it be more than 12 inches long, a piece of steel is
taken as long as a saw and as thick as the intended saw back, and about
2 inches broad, or more or less, according to the width of the required saw
blade; the steel is put edgewise as far between the rollers as to roll it about
1inch of its breadth, thin enough for a saw blade, leaving about an inch
unrolled, which forms the saw back.
We also use these eccentric rollers for shaping things singly, and for this
purpose the steel must always be as broad as the broadest part of the article
for which it is intended, and as thick as its thickest part. We will take, for
example, a file 12 inches long, 1 inch broad, and inch thick; (a file tapers
both narrower and thinner towards the point), therefore a piece of steel about
9 inches long, 1 inch broad, and tinch thick, is required for this purpose;
it is placed edgewise up under a pair of eccentric rollers similar to Fig. 5,
such rollers having a groove cut in them to take it edgewise, and the groove
is to be so cut as to roll it narrower towards the point; it is then put flatwise
under another part of the eccentrics to roll it out thinner towards the point.
Where one groove is not sufficient to roll it narrow enough, two or more
grooves may be used, each succeeding groove being rather shallower than the
preceding one. The other end of the steel is then put between the rollers
alternately edgewise and then flatwise, so as to roll out the tang, the rollers
having suitable grooves cut in them for that purpose. It will now be seen
that the working of the steel alternately edgewise and then flatwise is effected
by this process in a similar manner to that of ordinary forging, and almost all
kinds of articles, whether tapering or plain, like a file, or bevelled edgewise,
like bowie kuives, daggers, and spring knife blades, or having only one bolster,
such as table knives, forks, and chisels, can be made in this manner singly,
always having suitable grooves cut in the eccentrics to take the steel
alternately edgewise and flatwise; but we deem the processes for rolling table
knives and such like in the sheet, as before described, as the most expeditious,
at least for the commoner classes of such goods, but for the more superior
classes of knives, and the larger sizes of joiners' chisels, it may be more
economical to do them singly, as flying such large articles off the sheet would
leave a large amount of steel wasted.
In rolling steel for skate blades it should be rolled twice as broad as the
width of a single blade, and concave on both sides, the thin centre forming
the upper part of the skate blade, and the stout outer edge the bottom of the
blade, as shewn at Fig. 8, and the blades are flyed off, as shewn in dotted lines;
the curved toes coming out of the steel behind the heels of each other, and
the fleams out of the screw holes of each other respectively.

page_text: In rolling steel for skate clogs it is rolled somewhat in the shape shewn at
Fig. 9, having a small groove D running along the under side for the blade to
fit into; it is then to be flyed into shape, as shewn, and the blades secured
with screws in the usual way.
In rolling steel for solid skates it is to be rolled into the shape shewn at
Fig. 9, having the blade fast to it, as shewn at D (Fig. 10, being an end view
of the same), and to be flyed off, as shewn in dotted lines, the toe part being
afterwards finished by hand.
In rolling steel for bowl or bead files, the rollers should have grooves
turned in them to shape the steel to any desired design. The rollers may be
grooved to roll a piece of steel the shape of Fig. 11, (which is an end view).
This steel is cut into a file having two flat side surfaces, and the top and
bottom to file fancy designs.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention of "Improvements
in Rolling Iron, Steel, and other Metals, for Cutlery, Tools, and other. Pur-
poses," and the manner in which the same is.. to be performed, we would
remark, in conclusion, that we are aware of attempts having before been made
to roll steel for the above-mentioned purposes, but without success; for
instance, steel has been rolled for. table knife blades in order to fly them off
crosswise, but in such cases the ingots have not been cast in proportion, nor
have the rolls been grooved proportionately. We would also wish it to be
understood that we do not confine or restrict ourselves to any length, propor-
tion, or shape of the rolls or rollers to be used, as the same may be varied or
modified according to the nature of the articles to be manufactured; but what
we claim as our Invention, and therefore desire to have secured to us by the
herein in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
Firstly, the application and uso of ingots cast as nearly as possible or
practicable in the same proportion crosswise as the articles intended to bo
rolled are lengthwise; and of rolls grooved proportionately to them.
Secondly, the application of taper rolls for all kinds of bevelled rolling, as
herein specified.
Thirdly, the application of excentric rolls for rolling table knife blades,
forks, joiners' chisels, and single-ended spring knife scales, in the sheet, as
described.
Fourthly, the application of excentric rolls for rolling goods singly alter-
nately edgewise and flatwise, the rolls being suitably grooved for such
purpose, as herein described.
We are aware that various articles, such as
table knives, trowels, plane irons, the ends of railway carriage springs, and
bayonets, are already rolled singly with excentric rolls, but flatwise only.

page_text: Fifthly, the methods of rolling scythes, tenon saws, skates,. and bead files,
as herein specified.
And, lastly, the application of any other modified forms. of rolls, and of
ingots suitablo thereto, according to the principles on which our Invention is
based, for the purpose of rolling steel or other metals, in order to manufacture
various articles of cutlery, tools, and hardware, other than those specially
mentioned herein, for the purposes of illustrating our proportionate system of
rolling.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Barber and Henry De Garrs,
have hereunto.set our hands and seals, this Third day of January, in
-the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three:
Witness,
ROWLAND HODGKINSON,
.49, Pomona St.,
Sheffield.
(L.9.)
HENRY BARBER.
HENRY DE GARRS. (L.S.)