AN IMPROVED HAND SAW
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
HAND SAW." A communication from Jackson Gorham, of Bairdstown,
in the State of Georgia United States of Amonias
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 30th September 1857.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED HAND SAW," a communication from Jackson Gorham, of
Bairdstown, in the State of Georgia, United States of America, to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists in so constructing the handle of a hand saw at or
near the point where it is secured to the blade, that a shoulder may be formed
on each side the blade, each shoulder being at right angles to the upper edge
of the blade, so that a hand saw and square may be combined in one instru-
ment; the instrument may also be rendered more perfect by marking the upper

page_text: edge of the blade into divisions, and an ordinary scriber may be inserted into
an orifice in the handle, which may be taken out, used, and replaced at
pleasure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th March 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or
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
"AN IMPROVED HAND SAW," a communication from Jackson Gorham, of
Bairdstown, in the State of Georgia, United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention consists in so constructing the handle of a hand saw at
or near the point where it is secured to the blade, that a shoulder may be

page_text: formed on each side the blade, each shoulder being at right angles to the
upper edge of the blade, so that a hand saw and square may be combined in
one instrument. This instrument may also be rendered more perfect by
marking the upper edge of the blade into divisions, and an ordinary scriber
may be inserted into an orifice in the handle, which may be taken out, used,
and replaced at pleasure.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout both
Figures.
Figure 1 (of the annexed Sheet of Drawings) is a side view of the instru-
ment, and Figure 2 is a section on the line 1, 2, in Figure 1. A is the
handle, and B the blade of the saw, the latter being secured to the former by
rivets in the manner usually adopted in the construction of ordinary hand
saws. On each side of the handle are secured two metal plates C and C',
either by the same rivets employed to secure the handle to the blade, or by
any other suitable means. The outer edges of the plates being at right angles
with the upper edge of the saw, the latter will form the blade and the former
the but of the square. Although the employment of plates C and C¹ are
preferable on account of their durability, a saw and square combined may be
made cheap by dispensing with the plates and simply forming the handle
where it is secured to the blade at right angles to the latter, instead of making
it of a curved form as usual. In order to render the instrument still more
perfect, I propose to mark the upper edge of the blade into divisions one inch
long, and each division into eighths of an inch. I also propose to insert into
an orifice in the handle, an ordinary scriber D, which can be taken out, used,
and replaced at pleasure.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as variations may be made therefrom without deviating
from the principles or main features of the said Invention; but what I
consider to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the forming the bandle of an ordinary hand saw in such a manner, in
respect to the blade, that the two combined shall form a square.
Second, the dividing of the upper edge of a hand saw of the description

page_text: herein-before refered to into inches or other convenient spaces for the facility
of taking measurements.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)