IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPRING KNIPE CUTLERY
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry George Whitehead, Spring Knife Cutler,
of No. 117, Hanover Street, in the Township of Ecclesall Bierlow,
in the Borough of Sheffield, in the County of York, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPRING KNIPE
CUTLERY"
Scaled the 12th November 1869, and dated the 17th May 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry George White-
head at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th May 1869.
I, HENRY GEORGE WHITEHEAD, Spring Knife Cutler, of No. 117,
Hanover Street, in the Township of Ecclesall Bierlow, in the Borough
of Sheffield, in the County of York, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPRING KNIFE
CUTLERY," to be as follows:-
In performing my Invention I fly or punch the springs out of sheet
steel the exact size and shape required according to the pattern of the
knives intended to be made, instead of punching them larger and then

page_text: hammering and filing them into shape as is now customary. I then
stamp the springs in a boss which has a recess in it to receive the spring
and prevent the spring from changing its shape while being stamped. I
also have dotting points in the impression in the boss to mark the
springs for boring, so that the springs are marked for boring in the
proper places at the same time that they are stamped. I treat the
blade tangs in the same way, that is, I fly or punch them out the exact
size, and stamp them in a boss the exact size, the boss having a
marking point in it to mark the blade tangs in the proper place for
boring.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters l'atent,
filed by the said Henry George Whitehead in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th November 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
GEORGE WHITEHEAD, Spring Knife Cutler, of No. 117, Hanover Street,
in the Township of Ecclesall Bierlow, in the Borough of Sheffield, in
the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, hearing date the Seventeenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Henry George Whitehead, Her special licence
that I, the said Henry George Whitehead, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry George Whitehead, 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 MANUFACTURE OF SPRING KNIFE CUTLERY," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henry George Whitehead, my exccutors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain tho
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be

page_text: 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 Henry George Whitehead, 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 (that is to say) :-
In performing my Invention I fly or punch the springs out of sheet
steel of the exact size and shape required according to the pattern of
the knives intended to be made, instead of punching them larger and
then hammering and filing them into shape, as is now customary.
I then stamp the springs in a boss which has a recess in it to receive
the spring and prevent the spring from changing its shape while being
stamped. I also have dotting points in the impression in the boss to
mark the springs for boring, so that the springs are marked for boring
in the proper places at the same time that they are stamped. I treat
the blade tangs in the same way, that is, I fly or punch them out the
exact size and stamp them in a boss of the exact size, the boss having
a marking point in it to mark the blade tangs in the proper place for
boring.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
In performing my Invention I take a piece of sheet steel of suitable
thickness and fly or punch the knife springs out of it of the exact size
and shape required, according to the pattern of the spring knife intended
to be made.
.Supposing Figure 1 to be the shape of the knife to be made, Figure 2
is the shape in which the spring is usually flyed or punched out for it,
and it is afterwards hammered and filed into the size and shape re-
presented in Figure 3. The reason why the springs are punched larger
than required for the knife is because all springs when punched out
have each a convex and concave side, and in hammering them flat and
level they change their shape. Now I fly or punch the springs out as
shewn in Figure 3, and one part of my Invention is to flatten and level
the sides of the springs and still preserve them in their proper shape.

page_text: To accomplish this I have a steel boss or bed, that is, a piece of steel
like Figure 4, which has a recess in it A, B, of the same size and shape
as the spring Figure 3, this recess is nearly as deep as the spring is
thick so that when the spring is put into the recess it will project
enough for the hammer or stamp to strike it. This operation prevents
the springs from changing their shapes. In the recess at B there is a
raised point which makes an impression in the springs where the holes
are to be bored. Some kind of knives require two holes in the springs
and for such the recess would require two raised points, but the sort
here described only requires one hole in the middle as shewn. It is
evident that the shape of the recess and the number of raised points
will depend upon the shape of the knife. The boss, Figure 4, is made in
two parts as shewn by the line F, so that the spring can be more easily
got out of the recess A, B, after having been stamped. The two parts of
the boss are held properly together by two steady pins O, O, passing
through them, and during the operation of stamping the boss is secured
in a slightly tapered or wedged-shaped groove made in an anvil as shewn
in Figure 9. 1 also make use of steel bosses for flattening the springs.
These bosses are made in two pieces as shewn in Figures 5 and 6, each
having a recess in it to receive rather more than one half of the spring.
I flatten one-half of the spring in one boss, say in Figure 5, and then
reverse it and flatten the other half in Figure 6, one of the recesses has
the dotting point B in it, sec Figure 5. The blade tangs are made in a
similar way.
I fly them of the exact size and flatten them in a boss
having a suitable recess with a dotting point in it, to prevent them from
changing in shape and to mark them for boring. Figure 7 represents
the boss for stamping the blade tangs; C is the recess, and D the
dotting point; Figure 8 represents a knife blade, and E the tang to be
flattened in the recess C, D, in Figure 7; Figure 10 is a view in per-
spective of a machine for holding the spring knife scales while being
bored, the scales are the covering of the knife handle, a pair of them
being the knife handle. Figure 1 may be taken as a knife scale, this
scale is put betwixt the clamps G, II, and a steel plate the same size as
the scale is put on the top of it, they are then screwed tight with the
thumbscrew K, the clamp II slides backwards and forwards with the
screw. Figure 11 is a plan of Figure 10, with the steel plate and scale
screwed tight ready for boring. I is the steel plate with three small
holes in it. The scale is supposed to be under, and is to be bored like the
muto I

page_text: Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I declare that I claim the bosses shewn
in Figures 4, 5, and 6 for stamping the springs in and preserving them
in their proper shape as shewn and described.
I also claim the boss shewn in Figure 7 for stamping the blade tangs,
as shewn and described.
I also claim the scale holder as shewn and described by Figures 10
and 11, having one of the clamps to slide backwards and forwards, and
the same to be worked with a thumbscrew.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry George Whitehead, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.
HENRY GEORGE WHITEHEAD. (L.S.)