IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPOONS AND FORKS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Job Cutler, of Birmingham; in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF SPOONS AND FORKS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Sealed the 9th April 1853, and dated the 16th February 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Job Cutler at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th February 1853.
7
I, JOB CUTLER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu
5 facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM;
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPOONS AND FORKS, AND OTHER SIMILAR,
ARTICLES FOR DOMESTIC USE," to be as follows, namely:-..
The working or manufacturing such spɔɔns, forks, ladles, and other;
Csimilar articles of domestic utility, as herein-after mentioned, of cast, or
O wrought iron, and afterwards coating or plating them with tin, silver,:
or certain other inetals, as they may be required, in the manner herein-
after mentioned; and also of; casting such spoons, forks, ladies, knives,
and other articles of domestic utility, when made of brass, German
silver, or other similar alloys of metal, in manner herein-after mentioned,

page_text: in lieu of the present mode of casting into strips, rolling, cutting into
blanks, cross rolling, cutting out, and stamping into pattern.
In order to make spoons, forks, or other such like articles, of cast iron,
to be coated or plated afterwards with. metal or metals, I have a pair of
dies engraved to any pattern required; I then take metal impressions of
the required thickness from the engraved dies; these metal impressions
are then prepared by being filed up on the edges and made fit (as is well
understood), to enable a caster to mould them up in sand. The sand
mould being prepared with the impressions, I proceed to melt in a cast-
ing pot a quantity of iron (and the quality of cast iron I prefer to use is
that called and known as malleable or Cumberland pig iron, as being of
a nature to be softened by annealing more readily than the ordinary pig
metal used for many other purposes). The iron being melted and got
into a very fluid state, is then poured into the mould containing the
sand impression, when a perfect fac simile of the metal impression from
the dies is produced, which, when it has become tolerably cold, I remove
from the sand. (A number of these blanks may be cast at one pouring,
as is well known to metal casters. I afterwards pickle it to cleanse it
from all oxide or dirt that may attach to it, and this is done by
immersing them in diluted sulphuric acid, and if necessary scouring
them clean, and then well-washing them in clean water. I next proceed
to soften them by annealing them, and this I perform in the following
manner I prepare a suitable annealing muffle that will hold a large
quantity, say several tons, of blanks, although the size of the muffle is
not material; I then take some cast iron boxes or annealing pans; at
the bottom of the boxes or pans I place a layer of a mixture composed
of charcoal dust, coke dust, and Cumberland ore, and the proportions I
prefer are equal quantities of each; these are well mixed and rubbed
together; on this layer of the mixture I place a row of the iron blanks;
I again spread over them another layer of the mixture, and then place
another layer of the iron blanks, and so I continue placing alternate
layers of mixture and iron blanks until I have nearly filled the box or
pan. I then place the box or pan so filled within the muffle; this
process is continued until I have filled the muffle with the required
quantity of boxes or pans, all charged as herein-before described. I

page_text: then proceed to close the muffle, so as to prevent air getting in, and.
having got it to a good heat I continue such heat for several hours
(the time for keeping up the heat will depend in a great measure upon
the thickness of the article being so annealed). While the annealing
process is going forward, and after the fire is put out, great care must
be taken to exclude the cold atmospheric air from the inside of the
muffle, so that the articles may cool very gradually. When the muffle has
become quite cold, then it must be opened and the iron blanks taken out
of the boxes or pans, when they will be found to have become very soft.
I again clean them by pickling in diluted sulphuric acid, and wash
them well in clean water, when they are made quite dry; then they are
stamped or planished in the dies from which the impression was in the
first instance taken, and set in shape or bowled; the stamping sharpens
up the impression, and planishes and stiffens the iron, and makes it
quite smooth. It is essentially necessary to render them soft in the first
instance, for the purpose of bowling and stamping and planishing
them quite smooth, and for filing them in places; when they are in
this state I proceed to coat or cover them with other metal or metals,
and this may be done in several ways, either by dipping them into melted
metal where it is wished to coat them with a metal which will adhere to
iron by such process, as tin or zinc, or by precipitation by the aid of a
battery; but as a firm adhesion is essentially necessary to the durability
of the articles, I prefer for the first process the old plan of coating
by inmersing the article in the melted metals. If I proceed to tin
them, I prepare a pot of melted tin; and after immersing them in a
solution of sal ammoniac, or in what is commonly called stinking salt,
and letting them become dry, I then immerse them in the melted tin,
when a thick coat is deposited thereon; and this process may be
repeated until they are coated with such a quantity as may be deemed
necessary. If required to remain a tinned article only, I then proceed
to finish it by again restamping it, to smooth down and planish the tin
that has been deposited upon the iron, and to sharpen up the work, and
then either burnish or polish the article. To this may be added, if
necessary, (to soften down the color,) the boiling process.
If it is required that the articles should have a coat of silver, they may

page_text: be electro-plated by any of the known methods for that purpose: or
wrought iron articles of this kind for coating with metals may be niadé
as follows: I take a piece of sheet iron rolled to any required length and
thickness, and cut it into strips, and then beat one end of such strip hot;
and pass it through rolls so as to widen one end, and niake it sufficiently
thin to form the bowl of the spoon. This may be done by hamniering
out, but I prefer to. cross roll them, which process is well understood by
rollers who are in the habit of cross' rolling brass or German silver
blanks for spoons.. When the strip or blank is so prepared it is taken to
a.press containing a pair of cutting out tools, and cut into the required
form or shape; it is then annealed to render it soft. I next proceed to
pickle it in. a solution of diluted sulphuric acid'; when they are.well
pickled, scoured, cleansed, and washed well in clean water, and dried, I
proceed to stamp them; and when so stamped to any required impres-
sion, pattern, or shape, I proceed to coat them with some other metal;
if with tin or zinc, I perform this operation as herein-before described
in speaking of the coating of cast iron articles; they may be also electro
plated with silver; and then dressed ready for sale; and by these methods
articles of great beauty and durability may be produced, which' while
in outward appearance, from their smoothness and being nicely polished
or dressed, are superior to similar articles made of German silver, and
polished or electro plated and dressed, and are far superior to that
metal, inasmuch as they are stronger and more durable, and are free
from any unpleasant taste or injurious effect when in contact with the
mouth, and do not stain or discolour when in contact with vegetable
acids, besides being so much cheaper as to confer in a pecuniary point
of view a great benefit on the public.
And another of. my improvements in making or manufacturing
spoons, forks, ladles, and other similar articles of domestic use, consists
in the coating of such spoons, forks, ladles, and other similar articles of
domestic use, made of brass, German silver, and other metals or alloy's
of metals, in moulds, from patterns as above described, of such patterns
and forms as may be required, and then, after annealing in the
ordinary way in which such articles are ordinarily annealed, and com-
pleting the manufacture as herein-before described of boiling them

page_text: white, which is well understood in the trade, or of electro plating; them
as may be required,, in the ordinary way, and finishing them. ready,
for sale..
By this, improvement in casting, many expenses are saved, inasmucli
as by the present mode of making such metal spoons, forks, ladles, and
other, such' like, articles, the metal is, first cast, into strips, then rolled
into sheets, afterwards cut into smaller strips, and then what is termed
cross rolled, afterwards cut out by a press, and then stamped into such
pattern or shape as may be required. By my improved process as above
described; the expense of all, these processes may be saved, as well also
as the loss on scrap, from rolling, cutting out, and remelting the scrap.
I would have, it understood that I, claim as my said Invention the
mode of manufacturing spoons and forks, and other similar articles for
domestic use, of cast or wrought iron, in manner herein-before .de-
scribed, and then coating or. plating them with other metal or métals
as herein-before mentioned. And, in the manufacture of spoons, and
forks, and other. similar articles for domestic use; of:brass; German
silver, or other similar metals, I claim as an improvement the casting of
the blankas, herein before described...
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of thic conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Job Cutler 'in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th August 1853.
.;
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,,
JOB CUTLER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give, and grant unto me, the said Job Cutler, Her special license
that I, the said Job Cutler, my executors, administrators, and as-i
signs, or such others as I, the said Job Cutler, my executors, admi-.
nistrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with; and no others,

page_text: from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, 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 THE MANU-
FACTURE OF SPOONS AND FORKS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES FOR DOMESTIC
USE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Job Cutler,
should, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Job Cutler, do hereby de-
clare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is. to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statements, that is to say:
My Invention of "Improvements in the Manufacture of Spoons,
Forks, and other similar Articles for Domestic Use," consists in making
or manufacturing spoons, forks, ladles, and other similar articles of
domestic utility, as herein-after mentioned, of cast or wrought iron,
and afterwards coating or plating them with tin, silver, or certain other
metals, as they may be required, in the manner herein-after mentioned;
and also of casting such spoons and forks, ladles, knives, and other
articles of domestic utility, when made of brass, German silver, or
other similar alloys of metal, in manner herein-after mentioned (in lieu
of the present mode of casting into strips, rolling, cutting into small
strips, cross rolling, cutting out, and stamping into patterns.
In order to make spoons, forks, or other such like articles, of cast iron,
to be coated or plated afterwards with one or more metal or metals,-if
for fancy patterns, I first have a pair of dies engraved to any pattern and
size required; I then take metal impressions of the required thickness
from the engraved dies. These metal impressions are then prepared
by being filed and smoothed upon the edges, and made fit (as is well
understood) to enable a caster to mould them up in sand in the usual
way; the sand mould being prepared with the impressions; and then I
proceed to melt in a casting pot a quantity of iron or mixtures of iron

page_text: as may be found most suitable; but (the quality of cast iron I prefer
to use is that called and known as malleable or Cumberland pig iron, as
being of a nature to be softened by annealing more readily than the
ordinary pig iron or mixtures of pig metal used for many other purposes...
The iron being melted and got into a very fluid state is then poured..
into the mould containing the sand impression, and which is well known
by casters, when a perfect fac simile of the metal impression from the
dies is produced, which when it has become tolerably cold, I remove
from the sand. (A number of these blanks may be cast at one pouring,
as is well known to metal casters. I afterwards pickle it, to cleanse it
from all oxide or dirt that may attach to it, and this is done.by
immersing them in diluted sulphuric acid, and if necessary scouring
them clean, and then well washing them in clean water. But blanks
may be cast without any device, ornament, or pattern upon them, and
when annealed and made very soft, and well cleaned, may then be
stamped into any shape or pattern required; and if not made. perfect at.
the first operation of stamping or pressing they must again be annealed.
to soften them, and then be restamped until the pattern or impression
shall become perfect. I next proceed to soften them by annealing them;
and this I perform in the following manner :-I prepare a suitable anneal-
ing muffle that will hold a large quantity, say several tons, of. blanks;
although the size of the muffle is not material; I then take some cast
iron boxes or annealing pans, at the bottom of the boxes or pans I place a
layer of a mixture composed of charcoal dust, coke dust, and Cumber-
land ore, and the proportions I prefer are equal quantities of each, but I
do not confine myself to these proportions, as they may be varied, and
saw-dust may be substituted for charcoal; these are well mixed and
rubbed together; on this layer of the mixtnre I. place a row of the
iron blanks; I again spread over them another layer of the mixture;
and then place another layer of the iron blanks; and so I continue
placing alternate layers of mixture and iron blanks until I have
nearly filled the box or pan. I then place the box or pan so filled
within the muffle; this process is continued until I have filled the
muffle with the required quantity of boxes or pans, all charged as
herein-before described. I then proceed to close the muffle, so as to

page_text: 5
prevent air getting in, and having got it to a good heat. I continue
such heat for many hours (the time for keeping up the heat will depend
in a great measure upon the thickness of the article being so annealed);
While the annealing process is going forward, and after the fire is put out,
great care must be taken to exclude the atmospheric air from the inside
of the muffle, so that the articles may cool very gradually; when the
muffle has become quite cold, then it must be opened, and the iron blanks
taken out of the boxes or pans, when they will be found to have become
very soft; I again clean them by pickling in diluted sulphuric acid, and
wash them well in clean water, when they are made quite chry; then
they are stamped or planished in the dies; but as the blanks, when cast,
are rendered smaller than the pattern from which they are moulded
and cast, in consequence of the sinking of the metal from its hot state
to cold, I prepare other dies of the same patterns, suitable to receive
the cast blank, and then give them a light tap by the stamp, or a
pressure by the press, to, sharpen up and. perfect the impression, to
planish the metal smooth, and to stiffen the metal. They are then taken
to undergo the filing and smoothing process, and which is well under-
stood in the trade; (if spoons) they are then bowled; both spoons and
forks are then set into the proper shape required. It is essentially,
necessary to render them soft in the first instance; for, the purpose.of
bowling and stamping and planishing them quite smooth, and for filing,
them in places; when they are bowled and set, and made smooth. by
stamping, filing, &c., I proceed to coat or cover them with one or
more metal or metals; and this may be done in several ways, either.
by dipping them into melted metal, where it is wished to coat them,
with a metal which will adhere to iron by such process; as tin or zinc
or other metal, or by precipitation by the aid of a battery or electric
machine; but, as a firm adhesion is essentially necessary to the
durability of the articles, I prefer for the first process the old plan of
coating by immersing the article in the melted metals, and then cover
them with another metal, but do not confine myself to this mode. If I
proceed to tin them, I prepare a pot of melted tin, and after immersing
them in a solution of sal ammoniae, or in what is called stinking salts,
and letting them become dry, I then immerse them in the melted tin,

page_text: when a thick coat is deposited thereon.; and this process may, be
repeated until they are coated with such a quantity as may be deemed
necessary, and which process is well understood. If required to remain
a'tinned article only, I then proceed to finişli it by again restamping-it,
to smootli down and planish. the, tin that has, been deposited upon the
iron, and to sharpen up the work, and then either burnish or polish the
article. To this may be added, if necessary, (to soften down the color,)
the boiling process, which is well known to spoon makers....
If it is required that the articles should have a coat of silver, they
may be plated or electro-plated by any of the known methods for, that
purpose; for wrought iron articles of this kind for coating with metals
may be made as follows:-I take a piece of sheet iron or steel, rolled
to any required length and thickness, and cut it into strips, and then heat
one end of such strip hot, or this process may be performed cold, and
pass it through rolls, so as to widen one end. I make it sufficiently thin
to form the bowl of the spoon; this may also be done by hammering
out, but I prefer to cross roll them, which process is well understood by
rollers who are in the habit of cross rolling brass or German silver
blanks for spoons and forks, or by sheet iron rollers. Wlien the strip.or
blank is so prepared it is taken to a press containing a pair of cutting"
out tools, and cut into the required form or shape; (it then undergoes
an annealing process) to render it soft. I next proceed to pickle it in'a
solution of diluted sulphuric acid. When they are well pickled, scoured;
cleansed, and washed well in clean water, and dried, I proceed to stamp
them; and when so stamped to any required impression, pattern, or shape,
but if the impression of the dies is 'not quite perfect on the article:so
stamped, I again proceed to anneal it to soften the metal, and, again
pickle and clean it, and then restamp it to make the impression perfect
on the article or blank I proceed to coat them with some other metal;;
if with tin or zinc, I perform this operation as herein-before: described
in speaking of the coating of cast iron articles; they may be älso
electro-plated with silver, and then dressed ready for sale; and by these
methods articles of great beauty and durability may be produced, which
while in outward appearance, from their smoothness and being nicely
polislied or dressed, are superior to similar articles made of German

page_text: silver, and polished or electro-plated and dressed, and are far superior
to that metal, inasmuch as they are stronger and more durable, and are
free from any unpleasant taste or injurious effect when in contact with
the mouth, and do not stain or discolor when in contact with vegetable
acids, besides being so much cheaper as to confer in a pecuniary point
of view a great benefit on the public.
And another part of my improvements in making or manufacturing
spoons, forks, ladles, and other similar articles of domestic use, consists
in the casting of such spoons, forks, ladles, and other similar articles of
domestic use, made of brass, German silver, and other metals or alloys
of metals, in moulds, from patterns, as above described, of such patterns
and form as may be required, and then (after annealing in the ordinary
way in which such articles are ordinarily annealed) completing the
manufacture, as herein-before described, by boiling them white, as is
well understood in the trade, or by electro-plating them, as may be
required, in the ordinary way, and finishing them ready for sale. By
this process of casting many expences are saved, inasmuch as by the
present mode of making such metal spoons, forks, ladles, and other such
like articles, the metal is first cast into strips, then rolled into sheets;
afterwards cut into smaller strips, and then what is termed cross rolled;
afterwards cut out by a press, and then stamped into such pattern or
shape as may be required. By my Invention these processes may be
saved, as well also as the loss on scrap, from rolling, cutting out, and
remelting the scrap.
Another mode of coating or covering iron spoons, &c. to prevent, the
oxidation or rust by the atmospheric air acting upon them, and to
render them useful for domestic purposes, is to enamel or glaze them
over in a similar manner to the way of enamelling or glazing other
articles of domestic use; this will render them clean and wholesome
in use, and render them very cheap.
The present mode of setting spoons, forks, &c. into their proper shape
or form is now performed by hand, by hammering the various articles
on a wooden block into the required shape. This consumes a deal of
time, thereby becoming expensive, and a great uncertainty as to their
being uniform and correct in their form or shape when done by hand;

page_text: to obviate this difficulty, and to render the setting into one uniform
shape certain, I have prepared suitable tools, which forms another part
of my Invention, a Drawing of which is hereunto aunexed, and of which
the following is a full description:-
Figure 1, on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed is a plan of
the bottom die for bending or setting forks, shewing a fork placed
thercon for the purpose of being. bended or set; and Figure 2, is a side
view of the same. a, a, is the dic; b, b, is. the stop for keeping the
fork in place, which stop is attached to the die by a screw c, c, or by
any other suitable fastening; d, is a small countersunk part of the
die, merely so receive and keep in place the top end of the fork; e, e,
is the fork about to be bended or set. Figure 3, is a side view of the
upper die, shewing at f, a, small space hollowed out to receive the nib
on the fork,, so as not to deface or damage it when the two dies are
struck together. This hollow is better shewn in Figure 4, which is a
plan of the upper die. Figure 5, is an edge or side view of the fork
when set; and Figure 6, is a like view of a fork before it is so set.
Figure 7, shews a side view of a spoon when set; and Figures 8 and 9,
shew, the first a plan, the other a side view of the bottom dies for
bending or setting spoons. g, g, is the die; h, h, is a guide or clip
against which the spoon rests, and which by clipping a small portion of
the spoon holds it better in place, and prevents the bowl of the spoon
from springing up while the bending or setting process is being per-
formed, which clip is held in place by the screw i, i, or some other
proper fastening;. j, j, is the spoon placed in the die ready for bending
or setting. Figure 10, is a side view of the top die, which is made to
cover the whole of the handle of the spoon to set it properly.
It is obvious that these setting or bending tools may be used for
various articles of domestic utility, such as fish knives, butter and soup
ladles, and other things where the handles have to be set to a certain
position; and variations in the tools may be made, so that the principle
be adhered to. The tools or dies may be used in a stamp or press,
or in any way by which a sufficient pressure may be exerted.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I would bave it under-

page_text: stood that what I claim as my Invention is, the manufacture of spoons,
forks, butter knives, ladles, and other similar articles for domestic use,
sof.cast or wrought iron,, in the manner herein-before described, and
covering or coating or enamelling them in the manner herein-before
described; and also the. casting of spoons, forks, butter knives, ladles,
and other similar articles for domestic use, of brass, 'German or nickėl
silver, and other metal or metals and alloys of metals, and afterwards
finishing them for the market as herein-before described. ..And; also
in course: of manufacturing, the ..bending or setting of spoons, forks,
butter knives,. ladles, and other similar articles for domestic utility, in
manner. herein-before mentioned.
In witness whereof, I, the said Job Cutler, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of August, in the year
Cof our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Taken and acknowledged by the above-
named Job Cutler, at Birmingham, in
JOB (L.S.) CUTLER..