IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION OF CUTTING PLIERS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF CUTTING PLIERS."-A communication from abroad by
Nathan Thompson, of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, United
States of America.
Sealed the 20th May 1873, and dated the 6th December 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 6th December 1872.
I, ALFRED VINCEN NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF CUTTING PLIERS," to be as follows:―
This Invention relates, firstly, to improvements in cutting pliers,
whereby the cutting action will be greatly facilitated; and secondly,

page_text: to the combination in one and the same tool of holding jaws and
cutters.
In order to facilitate the cutting operation it is requisite to bring the
cutting edges of the pliers near to the centre of motion, or the pivot
which connects the two limits of the pliers together. It is also desirable
to make the action of the cutting edges gradual. To this end cutting
blades are applied to the side of the tool; and their cutting edges are
segment shaped, one being concave and the other convex. These
segment shaped edges are set excentrically to the pivot pin, but as near
as practicable thereto. When therefore they are brought into action,
on a piece of wire for example, the cutters as they are pressed home
will draw into the metal instead of attacking it at right angles to its
axis, and thereby greatly facilitate its severance. In applying holding
jaws to this construction of pliers an arched bracket piece is made to
project from the side of the limb, which carries the lower cutting blade.
This bracket piece carries at its extremity a nipping jaw, and it is slotted
to allow of a nipping jaw formed on the other limb of the pliers passing
through it, and moving freely up to or from the first-named nipping
jaw, as in the ordinary holding pliers.
In applying nipping jaws to cutting pliers, whose boss occupies the
space between transverse cutters and thus brings the axis of motion as
near as practicable to the cutting edges, the nipping jaws stand up
from the middle of the cutters, a sufficient breadth of cutting edge being
provided on either side of the nipping jaws.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said Alfred Vincent, Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th June 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,
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 THE CONSTRUCTION OF CUTTING PLIERS," being a com-
munication to me from abroad by Nathan Thompson, of Brooklyn,
in the State of New York, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing, under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
This Invention relates, firstly, to improvements in cutting pliers,
whereby the cutting action will be greatly facilitated; and secondly,
to the combination in one and the same tool of holding jaws and
cutters.
In order to facilitate the cutting operation it is requisite to bring the
cutting edges of the pliers near to the centre of motion, or the pivot
which connects the two limbs of the pliers together. It is also desirable
to make the action of the cutting edges gradual. To attain these ends
cutting blades are applied to the sides of the tool, and their cutting
edges are segment shaped, one being concave and the other convex.
These segment shaped edges are set excentrically to the pivot pip, but
as near as practicable thereto. When therefore they are brought into
action, on a piece of wire for example, the cutters as they are pressed

page_text: home will draw into the metal instead of attacking it at right angles to
its axis, and thereby greatly facilitate its severance.
In the accompanying Drawing the first head of the Invention is
illustrated at Figures 1, 2, and 3, Fig. 1 being a side view of the improved
cutting pliers in their closed position; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same;
and Fig. 3 is a partial side view shewing the pliers opened to their full
extent.
A, B, are the limbs of the pliers connected together by a pivot at C.
These limbs are made, by preference, of malleable cast iron, and they
are faced on one side with steel cutters A¹, B', which are rivetted to the
limbs, as shewn in Fig. 1. The limb A has a hook shaped termination,
which is formed to receive a steel cutter A¹, the breadth of which is
somewhat greater than the hooked termination to which it is rivetted.
The cutting edge of this cutter is, by preference, made concave, and the
cutting edge B', which stands out beyond the shoulder of the limb B,
is made convex; when therefore the two cutting edges are brought
together and made to close upon a piece of wire they will sever it by a
kind of draw cut, in contradistinction to the sudden clip of the ordinary
pliers. By this means not only is comparatively little exertion required
when using the improved pliers but the liability of the severed piece to
fly off and strike the workman is avoided.
The application of nipping jaws to cutting pliers, which constitutes
the second head of this Invention, is illustrated by two arrangements
in the Drawing. In applying holding jaws to the construction of pliers
just described for the conversion of the same into combination pliers
an arched bracket piece is made to project from the side of the limb
which carries the lower cutting blade. This bracket piece carries at its
extremity a nipping jaw, and it is slotted to allow of a nipping jaw
formed on the other limb of the pliers passing through it and moving
freely up to or from the first-named nipping jaw, as in the ordinary
holding pliers. This improvement is illustrated in Figures 4 and 5,
Fig. 4 being a side view of the cutting and nipping pliers; and Fig. 5
an edge view of the same. The limb B, which carries the cutter B¹, is
formed with an arched bracket piece B², which terminates in a nipping
jaw B³. This bracket' piece is made sufficiently broad to permit of its
being slotted to a width sufficient for passing up through it a nipping
jaw A', which forms the upward termination of the limb A, to which

page_text: the cutter A' is rivetted. These pliers it will be seen may be used with
equal facility as nipping pliers or cutting pliers.
A modified form of the combination pliers is shewn at Figures 6, 7,
and 8, Fig. 6 being a side view of the pliers in their closed position;
Fig. 7 an edge view of the same; and Fig. 8 a side view of the pliers
open. In this arrangement it will be seen that the nipping jaws A*, B³,
are extensions of the limbs A, B, whose boss occupies the space between
lateral cutters A', B', situate at opposite sides of the nipping jaws. In
these pliers the axis of motion is brought as near as practicable to the
cutting edges, and thus the greatest possible amount of leverage is
secured for operating the cutters. As the nipping jaws stand up from
the middle of the cutters (see Fig. 7) a sufficient breadth of cutting edge
has to be provided at opposite sides of the nipping jaws. This tool it
will be seen has the advantage of being both right and left handed,
which renders it unnecessary to turn the pliers in the hand to bring
them to operate upon the work.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements
in the Construction of Cutting Pliers," as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim, -
First. The construction of cutting pliers as described with reference to
Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the Drawings.
Secondly. The combination in one and the same tool of holding jaws
and cutters, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of June, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.