IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRINO KNIPE HANDLES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ridal, of Sheffield, in the County of York,
Working Cutler, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRINO KNIPE
HANDLES."
Sealed the 29th July 1856, and dated the 10th May 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ridal at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th May 1856.
I, JOHN RIDAL, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Working Cutler, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING
KNIFE HANDLES," to be as follows (that is to say):-
My Invention, which has for its object to improve the form and construction
of spring knife handles, consists in forming the outer casing or sheath in one
piece of any suitable solid material, such as wood, bone, horn, ivory, shell, or
pearl, in lieu of the ordinary divided and separate outer scales, the re-acting
spring or springs being fitted or secured to the said handles by an improved
arrangement, for which object I cause the inner. end of the said spring or
springs to be inserted and secured within the body of the said handle either
with or without an inner casing, and suitably held in its position by the
projecting shoulder of the blade.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Ridal in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th November 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RIDAL, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Working Cutler, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Ridal, Her special licence that I, the said John Ridal, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Ridal, my
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 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 SPRING KNIFE
HANDLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Ridal,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 John Ridal, do hereby declare 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 statement, and
the Drawings therein referred to (that is to say):-
My Invention, which has for its object to improve the form and manufacture
of spring knife handles so as to render them more durable and convenient to
the hand, and less complex in their construction than those at present in use,
consists in forming the said handles of an outer casing or sheath in one piece
of any suitable solid material, such as wood, bone, horn, ivory, shell, or pearl,
in lieu of the ordinary divided and separate outer scales, and causing the said
spring or springs to be inserted and secured within the body of the said handle
(either with or without an inner casing), and suitably held in a re-acting
position by the projecting shoulder of the blade.
But in order that this my said Invention may be more fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I now proceed to describe it by the aid of the

page_text: accompanying Drawings, reference being bad to the letters and figures thereon
marked (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 represents a side view of a solid handle single-bladed knife of my
improved construction; Fig. 2, a vertical front view thereof; Fig. 3, a back or
edge view; Fig. 4, a longitudinal section; Fig. 5, a corresponding view with
the blade removed; Figs. 6, 7, and 8, transverse vertical sections, taken con-
secutively through the dotted lines in Figs. 1, 4, and 5. Fig. 9, a single-
bladed solid handle knife, of different form, but of the same principle of con
struction; Fig. 10, a top or plan view; Fig. 11, a vertical section, taken longi-
tudinally through the same, as represented; Fig. 12, an end view, showing the
face of an initial plate or stamp. Fig. 13, a side view of an ordinary two-
.bladed knife fitted with a solid handle of my improved construction; Fig. 14,
back view thereof; Fig. 15, front or edge view; Fig. 16, longitudinal section
through the solid handle; Fig. 17, a similar view, with the blades inserted;
Fig. 18, transverse vertical section of the same, taken through the dotted line.
Fig. 19, a side view of a two-bladed knife handle of another form; Fig. 20,
front view; Fig. 21, a back or edge view; Fig. 22, a transverse section,
through the dotted line in Fig. 19. Fig. 23, a side view of the knife with both
blades open; Fig. 24, a longitudinal section through the handle and inner
scales; Fig. 25 a sectional side view of the handle separately shown; and
Figs. 26 and 27, side and edge views of the inner casing. In each Figure the
same letters of reference denote similar corresponding parts.
. A, A, outer casing or sheath of the handle; B, B, slot or opening for
the reception of the blades; C, C, re-acting springs; D, D, re-acting socket
springs; E, E, socket, drilled or otherwise formed in the back of the handle
for the purpose of inserting and holding the socket spring and retaining it in
its position by the pressure of the blade upon it, as represented at Fig. 4;
F, F, small metallic shield, protecting the slot or opening, and forming a stop
or rest for the shoulder of the blade when open; G, G, pins or rivets; II, II,
blades; I, I, initial plate or seal; J, J, inner casing.
In conclusion to the foregoing description I would here briefly remark, that
the above-mentioned principle is also applicable to any other of the various
forms or denominations of spring knives in which it is usual for one or more
blades to be fitted or employed; and I would further note, that a considerable
saving of expense is effected in the manufacture of the said knives by dis-
pensing with the ordinary mode of fixing the springs by means of rivets, and
causing the same to be simply placed or inserted within the small sockets made
or formed in the back of the solid handle, and kept, as aforesaid, in their
position by the pressure of the blade.

page_text: Having now fully described the nature of this my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed and carried into effect, I would
have it clearly understood that I do not by any means confine myself to the
precise details herein-before described, as the same might be varied without
departing from the general principle of these my said improvements; but that
which I do claim as new and of my said Invention is,―
Firstly, the construction of knife handles in one solid piece from either of
the above-mentioned materials, with or without an inner casing.
And, secondly, the construction and arrangement of the socket spring and
socket in connection with the solid handle, in the manner and for the purposes
herein-before set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ridal, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fourth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
G. H. BLACKWELL, Solicitor,
Sheffield.
JOHN RIDAL. (L.S.)