ROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNIVES AND FORKS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Shaw, of Allen Street, Sheffield, in
the County of York, Britannia Metal Manufacturer, for the
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Shaw at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th March 1853.
I, GEORGE SHAW, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNIVES AND FORKS"
to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in a new mode of connecting the blade of a
knife and prongs of a fork to the handle thereof, for the purpose of
rendering such articles more durable than hitherto, by preventing, the
handles from becoming loose upon being immersed in boiling water, or
from other causes, and this is effected in the following manner:

page_text: That part of the tang of the knife or fork, upon which the bolster is
to be, is first tinned, after which molten metal is run about such part, of
the desired shape for the bolster, by which these two parts become one
solid mass. The handle, which is also of metal, is then cast in a mould,
and when cool is fitted to the bolster of the knife or fork, and is finally
securely attached thereto by soldering.
It is further proposed by this Invention, to make the tang of the
blade or fork of the full length of the haft, and to further secure it
upon the handle in addition to soldering, so as to prevent the tang
from oscillating or becoming loose in the haft, and thereby effecting
improvements in the manufacture of knives and forks.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Shaw in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 29th October 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
GEORGE SHAW, of Allen Street, Sheffield, in the County of York, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, 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 succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said George Shaw, Her special
licence that I, the said George Shaw, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or, such others as I, the said George Shaw, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE. MANUFACTURE OF KNIVES AND FORKS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Shaw, by an instrument in'
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describo and

page_text: 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Shaw, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say):
The first part of my said Invention relates to a new mode of con-
necting the tangs of the blades of knives, and the tangs of forks, to
the handles thereof, for the purpose of preventing such handles from
becoming loose upon being immersed in boiling water, or from other
causes, and for rendering such articles more durable than when manu-
factured by the modes hitherto practised, of manufacturing knives and
forks in which the bolsters thereof are made of distinct and separate
pieces of metal from the blades or tangs thereof.
The second part of my Invention relates to the casting of hollow
metal handles for knives and forks in one entire piece of metal. The
mode hitherto practised of casting hollow metal handles has been
to cast them in two parts called "scales," which parts have been
afterwards soldered together, and thereby produced a hollow handle, to
the haft of which the bolster of the knife or fork has been fixed by
rosin, and in some instances by soldering these parts together. But in
casting hollow handles according to my said Invention, I employ a
metal mould of the construction exhibited by the Drawing at Figures 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, as follows:-Figure 1, is a top plan view of the mould, as
it would appear when ready for use; Figures 2, and 3, exhibit the
inside of the two halves of the mould, as they would appear when
detached from each other; Figure 4, is a side elevation of the mould
at A, Figure 1; Figure 5, is a longitudinal and vertical section through
the line B, C, at Figure 3. At each of these Figures I employ similar
letters of reference to denote corresponding parts, in so far as such
parts appear or can be seen at each of the Figures respectively.
A, B, mark the two halves of the mould, which I form of yellow brass;
and the, recessed portions thereof have a pattern or device chased

page_text: therein with suitable tools, in accordance with the required design, and
the surfaces are made flat, so as to bring the halves of the mould close
together. The parts a, a, of the half A, of the mould at Figure 2, are
formed recessed, and correspond with projections b, b, formed upon the
other half of the mould, as exhibited at Figures 1, 3, 5, and employed
for the purpose of bringing the recessed parts of the two halves of the
mould coincident with each other. The hole or opening d, is that into
which the metal is poured, and the hole c, is that out of which the air
escapes and re-enters, as follows; that is to say, in using this mould
for casting hollow handles, proceed in the following manner :-
place the two halves of the mould together, as at Figure 1, and I
hold them firmly together by pliers, tongs, or other convenient means;
and into the hole d, of this mould I pour molten metal, and I allow it
to remain therein for about the space of one second of time, and
sufficiently long for the surface of the molten metal, which is in imme-
diate contact with the mould, to become cool and solidify. I then
pour out the remainder of the metal, whilst in a molten state, through
the same hole d, as that which it was poured in, by which leave a
shell or casing of metal, the exterior of which is of the shape of the
interior mould. The hole c, is to allow the air to escape as the metal
is poured in at d, and to allow it to re-enter as the metal is being
poured out at d, thus preventing the two sides of the hollow haft from
collapsing. And in this manner, and by these means, I am enabled to
east hollow metal handles in one piece, instead of being obliged to
form the same in scales, and afterwards soldering them together, as
hitherto practised in manufacturing hollow metal handles for knives
and forks.
And as regards the mode hitherto practised, of forming the bolsters
of knives and forks, it is as follows:-The bolsters are first cast in a
mould upon a maundril placed therein, and when taken off such said
maundril, they are then driven one by one upon the tang of the blade
of the knife or fork, and such said bolster is afterwards fixed to the
handle by rosin or solder as herein-before stated. And I would remark,
that this mode of attaching bolsters to the blades and tangs of knives
and forks is subject to the objection of getting loose.

page_text: And the object and intention of this part of my said Invention is to
obviate this objection, which I effect in the following manner, and by
the following means, that is to say:-I form the blade of the knife or
fork with a tang, in the manner usually practised by cutlers when
manufacturing knives and forks in which the bolsters thereof are
formed of a distinct and separate piece of metal from the other part,
and проп this tang I cast a metal bolster, and I cause said bolster to
adhere firmly to such said tang, by first tinning or covering or sur-
rounding the upper part of such tang with tin by any of the known
means, before running around such part the molten metal which is to
form the bolster; and in casting said bolster, I employ a mould of the
form exhibited at Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, of the accompanying
Drawing. Figure 6, is a top plan view of the mould, as it would appear
when ready for use. Figure 7, is a view of that side and part of the
mould through which the tang of the blade of the knife or fork passes.
Figure 8, is a view of that side and part of the mould through which
the blade of the knife passes. Figures 9, and 10, exhibit the inside of
the two halves of the mould, as they would appear when detached from
each other. Figure 11, is a longitudinal and vertical section through
the line D, E, at Figure 9. The construction of this mould being
similar to that before described for casting hollow handles, I employ
similar letters of reference to denote corresponding parts. And in using
this mould for casting bolsters, I proceed as follows:-I first place the
blade and tang thereof in the recessed parts e, and f, of the two halves
of the mould, as denoted by the red lines at Figure 10; and holding
them firmly together in a vice, or convenient tools as before stated, I
then pour the molten metal into the hole g, of the mould, which, running
around and about the tinned part of the tang of the blade, will self-
solder itself, and adhere firmly thereto. And in this manner I securely
connect the bolster to the blade and tangs of knives and forks, and
thereby prevent the possibility of their becoming loose, except by sub-
jecting them to such a heat as would melt the tin which is around the
tang; and I form the said tang the full length of the haft of the handle,
to prevent the tang from oscillating therein; and I connect the handle
to the bolster by soldering such parts together.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner, the same is to be and may be performed, I desire it to be
distinctly understood, that I do not claim as of my Invention' the manu-
facturing of the tangs of the blades of knives and forks, by casting
bolsters and fixing them thereon, as I am aware of the same having
already been done; neither do I 'claim the casting of the handles of
knives and forks hollow, as I am aware of that also having been done.
-But I do claim as of my Invention of "Improvements in the manufac-
ture of knives and forks," firstly, the tinning of the tang of the blade
of a knife, and the tang of a fork, and then casting around such tinned
párt a metal bolster, for the purpose of causing such said bolster to be
firmly united to the said tang, as herein-before particularly described,
set forth, and represented by the illustrative Drawing hereunto annexed;
secondly, the mode set forth, described, and represented of casting
.metal handles hollow, and in one entire pieco of métal, as constituting
." Iimprovements in the manufacture of knives and forks."
In witness whereof, I, the said George Shaw, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
GEORGE SHAW. (L.S.)
Witness, SAMUEL FURNESS HOLMES,
Surveyor.
46, High Street, Sheffield.