Hand Tools for Boot and Shoe Making.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 12th May, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 11th Feb., 1897--Accepted. 20th Mar., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Hand Tools for Boot and Shoe Making.
We. INNOCENZO GOLFARELLI, Engineer and Professor, of Viale Regina
Vittoria, 54, Florence, Italy, PAOLO BUOB, Merchant, and TORELLO BANCHI,
Shoemaker, both of Piazza della Signoria, 6, Florence, Italy, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
No one, even if he has no technical knowledge of the trade, is unacquainted
with the simple and few tools which are employed by shoemakers in the exercise
of their trade. Everyone knows how long it takes shoemakers to effect the
necessary manual operations for completing a shoe or a boot and everyone also
understands that the exactitude of the work depends to a great extent on the skill
which the workman acquires after a very long apprenticeship, which requires the
simultaneous training of the eye and of the band, and everyone also knows by
experience that sometimes, by accident, the shoemaker by inaking a small cut
(which is hardly visible) with his knife on the upper close to the sole, causes such
upper to soon break or burst, which occasions a loss to his customer; for these
reasons we have endeavoured and succeeded in finding the means for carrying out
the principal operations in shoemaking by sufficiently simple mechanical means,
which enable the work to be executed with greater care and much more exactly
than was possible in working in the usual manner.
To execute the abovementioned operations, a collection of 10 tools is employed
which constitute our invention.
The said tools are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which the same
letters indicate the same parts in each tool, and which are described below:
1st. The tool for dressing English heels, represented in front and in side elevation
and in plan in Figs. 1, 1b 1ter, consists in a small fork F, preferably of iron,
having its arms short and wide (Fig. 1bis and 1ter); on this fork are fixed, each by
means of two screws, two curved pieces of steel; the one 9 serving as a guide,
when the tool is caused to slide along the heel to be dressed, and the other c, which
is a little higher-about half a millimetre-than the guide; it forms a knife so
that it can easily cut the leather when being caught hold of by the handle M and
pressing it strongly against the heel it is caused to slide backwards and forwards
on said heel. It is evident that each time the cutter touches the leather it cuts off
small shavings in the same manner as a carpenter's plane cuts wood shavings when
it is pressed against a piece of wood. Whatever therefore the height of the heel
may be and its form in plan, the workman will impart thereto a regular figure by
employing this tool for cutting or dressing in the manner indicated, and it will
always be easier for him to effect the work with this new tool than with a rasp and
a file as has been done hitherto.
2nd and 3rd. Tool for dressing ordinary heels and tool for dressing the curved
or French heels for ladies boots or shoes. These two tools like the first are shown
in front elevation, side elevation and plan in Figs. 2, 2, 2, and 3, 3b's, 3ter, and
only differ from the 1st tool for dressing English heels in the more curved form of
the guides and of the knives; they are employed in the same manner.
4th. Tool for cutting the sole, dressing the underside of the heel, and removing
the bead from the heels.

page_text: The tool shown in Figs. 4, 4, 4, and 49star serves for the three purposes
abovementioned; it is formed of a handle M of wood pierced longitudinally and
traversed by a rod a of steel, which is wide and flattened in the form of a small
spade F at its exterior part, and square at its upper part inside the handle, sliding
in a square hole in the ferrule G, and screw threaded at its lower part. A
cylindrical spiral spring (Fig. 4) confined between the upper part of the rod and
the nut d, bearing against the said 'nut forres upwards the spade shaped iron F
which is retained by its screw thread in the knob B. In this manner this knob B
is held pressed to the lower extremity of the handle and serves by its movement
to adjust the spade piece in relation to the guider fixed at its lower end on the
metallic ferrule of the handle; and this guide by its upper bend limits the effective
length of the cutter c, the form of which is clearly seen in Fig. 4b. This cutter c
is pivotted at the bottom like the blades of scissors, and fixed in the desired
position by means of a second screw which traverses the curved hole f and presses
the knife against the plate F; the distance between the small nose b and the small
square is regulated according to the thickness of the sole of the boots and
according to the work to be done. It is moreover very easy to understand in what
manner this tool may be employed if it is borne in mind that it suffices to push the
part of the knife which is free and uncovered between the small nose b and the
small squares, and that it acts as a small plane about like the tools for dressing
the heels, with the one difference that these tools have not the screw adjustment
for small movements, whilst tool No. 4, on the other hand, is much superior to the
said tools Nos. 1, 2 and 3, because of the multiplicity of uses to which it may be
applied and on account of the more complicated mechanism of which it is
constructed.
5th. Tool for removing the leather head. When leather is cut and struck on
the edge with the small end of the hammer a small elevation is nearly always
caused on its edges, which spoils the look of the work; to remove this bead of
leather the employment of the tool shown in Figs. 5, 5, and 5r, has been found
very useful. It is composed of four quite distinct parts; the handle M, the
adjustable guide g, regulated by the screw knob B, the knife with inclined cutting
edge c, the bead support E. The guide is forked at bottom and engages the bead
support so as to obtain its approach thereto by the screw knob B, and its removal
therefrom by the effect of the spring m, and of the button above indicated. To
remove the bead the guide g is adjusted, so that the sole or the soles remain
enclosed between the shoulder of tongue I and the pointed nose b; then also having
adjusted the knife so that its point lightly touches the nose A, the tool is pushed on
the edge of the sole and the bead is evenly removed.
6th. Tool for dressing the soles. This tool shown in Figs. 6, 6, and 6, has
for its object to make the edge of the sole more regular. The most important part
is the square S, preferably of iron, the longest side of which enters into the
handle M. On its upper part, which is rather wider than the other, a step is
formed on which is fixed the knife e, which is fixed in the most suitable position by
means of two screws placed in special oval holes, which are not shown in the
drawings on account of their smallness and because they can be readily imagined.
On the said smaller side of the square can slide a kind of ring with rectangular
holes A, in the lower part of which is pierced a screw threaded hole serving as a
But for a gudgeon V'having two heads, one of which carries a knob fixed by a
pin or key s. When the screw is turned, the ring A not being capable of turning
is caused to move longitudinally and it serves as a guide for the tool along the sole
and as a register according to the thickness of the said sole or soles. This tool is
used in the same manner as the tool for dressing heels, that is to say by pushing
the upper part of the square against the edge of the sole and forcing the ring A
against such sole on the side of the tread of the boot or shoe.
7th. Tool for making channels. In boots in which the upper is secured to the
sole by means of sewing, in order that such sewing may not wear out immediately,
for a long time it has been thought of making a groove in the sole right round at

page_text: a few millimetres distance from the edge; in this groove the stitching is hidden,
no matter what the length of the stitches. The making of this groove or channel
is a difficult operation by the ordinary means if one has not a firm hand and a very
true eye for following the contour of the sole regularly; on the other hand by
the employment of the tool illustrated in Figs. 7, 7bs, and 7ter, the operation is
rendered very easy, and the work produced is perfect both for the depth and tne
regularity of the channel in relation to the edge of the soles. This tool is
composed of a piece of flat steel E a small tail or tang of which enters the
handle M; at its upper part it is cut on the slant and is blunted as will be seen
in Fig. 7s on one of the sides of this piece is fixed by means of two screws a
knife c with a slanting cutting edge the height of the point of which may be
adjusted by means of a screw with a flat head V which slides in an elongated hole
as is shown in Fig. 7. This knife may be moved away from the part E at its
extreme end by means of the reaction of a screw v. If pressure is applied to the
end of this tool while holding the blunted part pressed to the edge of the sole and
the point of the knife on the tread of the boot, by turning slowly right round the
sole with a light pressure, a regular channel will be formed in which the stitching
will afterwards be made.
8th. Tuol for removing beads. This tool which is illustrated in Figs. 8, 8bia,
and 8ter, has for its object to remove the bead from the sole, heels etc., in the same
manner as indicated in the description of the tool for removing the bead from
leather, and only differs therefrom in that the guide indicated in Figs. 5, 5bla,
and 5ter, is abolished.
9th. Engraving tool. This tool is represented in Figs. 9, 9b1s, and 9ter, and is
formed of a piece of Hat steel F, which at its head bears a small cutter of V form
as seen in Fig. 9ter; it serves to form lines of ornaments on the tread. It is used
in the same way as an ordinary graver and it is fixed in a special handle M.
10th. Wedge tool. This is illustrated in Figs. 10 and 10, and consists in a
piece of steel wire E, flattened and thinned at its extremity like a screw driver
and slightly rounded, so as to enable it to enter between the upper and the sole, in
order to better remove the bead by means of any of the tools above referred to.
Dated this 11th day of May 1896.
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicants.
Hand Tools for
We, INNOCENZO GOLFARELLI, Engineer and Professor, of Viale Regina
Vittoria, 54, Florence, Italy, PAOLO BUOB. Merchant, and TORELLO BANCHI,
Shoemaker, both of Piazza della Signoria, 6, Florence, Italy, 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 :-
No one even if he has no technical knowledge of the trade, is unacquainted with
the simple and few tools which are employed by shoemakers in the exercise of
their trade. Everyone knows how long it takes shoemakers to effect the necessary
manual operations for completing a shoe or a boot and everyone also understands
that the exactitude of the work depends to a great extent on the skill which the
workman acquires after a very long apprenticeship, which requires the simultaneous
training of the eye and of the hand, and everyone also knows by experience that
sometimes, by accident, the shoemaker by making a small cut (which is hardly
visible) with his knife on the upper close to the sole, causes such upper to soon

page_text: break or burst, which occasions a loss to his customer; for these reasons we have
endeavoured and succeeded in finding the means for carrying out the principal
operations in shoemaking by sufficiently simple mechanical means, which enable
the work to be executed with greater care and much more exactly than was
possible in working in the usual manner.
To execute the abovementioned operations, a collection of 10 tools is employed
which constitute our invention.
The said tools are illustrated in the drawings filed with the Provisional
Specification in which the same letters indicate the same parts in each tool, and
which are described below:
1st. The tool for dressing English heels, represented in front and in side elevation
and in plan in Figs. 1, 1 1, consists in a small fork F, preferably of iron,
having its arms short and wide (Fig. 1 and 1; on this fork are fixed, each by
means of two screws, two curved pieces of steel; the one 9 serving as a guide,
when the tool is caused to slide along the heel to be dressed, and the other c.
which is a little higher-about half a millimetre-than the guide; it forms a
knife so that it can easily cut the leather when being caught hold of by the
handle M and pressing it strongly against the heel it is caused to slide backwards
and forwards on said heel. It is evident that each time the cutter touches the
leather it cuts off small shavings in the same manner as a carpenter's plane cuts
wood shavings when it is pressed against a piece of wood. Whatever therefore
the height of the heel may be aud its form in plan, the workman will impart
thereto a regular figure by employing this tool for cutting or dressing in the
manner indicated, and it will always be easier for him to effect the work with this
new tool than with a rasp and a file as has been done hitherto.
2nd and 3rd. Tool for dressing ordinary heels and tool for dressing the curved
or French heels for ladies boots or shoes. These two tools like the first are shown
in front elevation, side elevation and plan in Figs. 2, 2, 2, and 3, 3, 3, and
only differ from the 1st tool for dressing English heels in the more curved form of
the guides and of the knives; they are employed in the same manner.
4th. Tool for cutting the sole, dressing the underside of the heel, and removing
the bead from the heels.
The tool shown in Figs. 4, 4bs, 4tor, and 4quatuor, serves for the three purposes
abovementioned; it is formed of a bandle M of wood pierced longitudinally and
traversed by a rod a of steel, which is wide and flattened in the form of a small
spade F at its exterior part, and square at its upper part inside the handle, sliding
in a square hole in the ferrule G, and screw threaded at its lower part.
A cylindrical spiral spring (Fig. 4) confined between the upper part of the rod
and the nut d, bearing against the said nut forces upwards the spade shaped iron F
which is retained by its screw thread in the knob B. In this manner this knob B
is held pressed to the lower extremity of the handle and serves by its movement
to adjust the spade piece in relation to the guider fixed at its lower end on the
metallic ferrule of the handle; and this guide by its upper bend limits the
effective length of the cutter e, the form of which is clearly seen in Fig. 4.
This cutter c is pivotted at the bottom like the blades of scissors, and fixed in the
desired position by means of a second screw which traverses the curved hole fand
presses the knife against the plate F; the distance between the small nose b and
the small square a is regulated according to the thickness of the sole of the boots
and according to the work to be done. It is moreover very easy to understand in
what manner this tool may be employed if it is borne in mind that it suffices to
push the part of the knife which is free and uncovered between the small nose b
and the small square s, and that it acts as a small plane about like the tools for
dressing the heels, with the one difference that these tools have not the screw
adjustment for small movements, whilst tool No. 4, on the other hand, is much
superior to the said tools Nos. 1, 2 and 3, because of the multiplicity of uses to
which it may be applied and on account of the more complicated mechanism of
which it is constructed.

page_text: 5th. Tool for removing the leather bead. When leather is eat and struck on.
the edge with the small end of the hammer a small elevation is nearly always
caused on its edges, which spoils the look of the work; to remove this bead of
leather the employment of the tool shown in Figs. 5, 5, and 5, has been found:
very useful. It is composed of four quite distinct parts; the handle M, the
adjustable guide g, regulated by the screw knob B, the knife with inclined cutting
edge r, the head support E. The guide is forked at the bottom and engages the
bead support so as to obtain its approach thereto by the screw knob B, and its
removal therefrom by the effect of the spring m, and of the button above
indicated. To remove the head the guide is adjusted, so that the sole or the
soles remain enclosed between the shoulder of tongue and the pointel nose b;
then also having adjusted the knife so that its point lightly touches the nose b,.
the tool is pushed on the edge of the Lole and the bead is evenly removed.
6th. Tool for dressing the soles. This tool shown in Figs. 6, 6, and 6, has. 1
for its object to make the edge of the sole more regular. The most important
part is the square S, preferably of iron, the longest side of which enters into the
handle M. On its upper part, which is rather wider than the other, a stop is.
formed on which is fixed the knife e, which is fixed in the most suitable position
by means of two screws placed in special oval holes, which are not shown in the
drawings on account of their smallness and because they can be readily imagined.
On the said smaller side of the square can slide a kind of ring with rectangular
holes A, in the lower part of which is pierced a screw threaded hole serving as a
nut for a gudgeon V having two heads, one of which carries a knob fixed by a pin
or key. When the screw is turned, the ring A not being capable of turning is.
caused to move longitudinally and it serves as a guide for the tool along the
sole and as a register according to the thickness of the said sole or soles. This.
tool is used in the same manner as the tool for dressing beels, that is to say by
pushing the upper part of the square against the edge of the sole and forcing
the ring A against such sole on the side of the tread of the boot or shoe.
7th. Tool for making channels. In boots in which the upper is secured to the-
sole by means of sewing, in order that such sewing may not wear out immediately,
for a long time it has been thought of making a groove in the sole right round at
a few millimetres distance from the edge; in this groove the stitching is hidden,
no matter what the length of the stitches. The making of this groove or channel
is a difficult operation by the ordinary means if one has not a firm hand and a
very true eye for following the contour of the sole regularly; on the other hand
by the employment of the tool illustrated in Figs. 7, 7%, and 7, the operation is.
rendered very easy, and the work produced is perfect both for the depth and the
regularity of the channel in relation the edge of the soles. This tool is-composed
of a piece of flat steel E a small tail or tang of which enters the handle M; at its
upper part it is cut on the slant and is blunted as will be seen in Fig. 7 bls; on one.
of the sides of this piece is fixed by means of two screws a knife c with a slanting
cutting edge the height of the point of which may be adjusted by means of a screw
with a flat head V which slides in an elongated hole as is shown in Fig. 7. This.
knife may be moved away from the part E at its extreme end by means of the
reaction of a screw v. If pressure is applied to the end of this tool while holding
the blunted part pressed to the edge of the sole and the point of the knife on
the tread of the boot, by turning slowly right round the sole with a light
pressure, a regular channel will be formed in which the stitching will afterwards.
be made.
8th. Tool for removing beads. This tool which is illustrated in Figs. 8, 8,
and 8ter, has for its object to remove the bead from the sole, heels etc., in the same
manner as indicated in the description of the tool for removing the bead from.
leather, and only differs therefrom in that the guide indicated in Figs. 5, 5,.
and 5, is abolished.
9th. Engraving tool. This tool is represented in Figs. 9, 9bs, and 9ter, and is
formned of a viece of flat steel E, which at its head bears a small cutter of V form

page_text: It is
as seen in Fig. 9ter; it serves to form lines of ornaments on the tread.
used in the same way as an ordinary graver and it is fixed in a special handle M.
10th. Wedge tool. This is illustrated in Figs. 10 and 10s, and consists in a
piece of steel wire E, flattened and thinned at its extremity like a screw driver
and slightly rounded, so as to enable it to enter between the upper and the sole,
in order to better remove the bead by means of any of the tools above
referred to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
The improved hand tools for boot and shoe making substantially as described and
shown in the drawings.
Dated this 11th day of February 1897.
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicants.