Improvements in Machines for Sharpening Knives and other Cutters.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Mar., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Jan., 1891-Accepted, 28th Feb., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by JOHN ANTONE PEER, Inventor and Mechanic,
of 43, Smith Street, and CHARLES CHRISTOPHER ELY, Manufacturer, of
181, Congress Street, both in the City of Brooklyn, State of New York,
United States of America.]
Improvements in Machines for Sharpening Knives and other
Cutters.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to machines for sharpening knife or other blades.
In carrying out the said invention we employ a standard adapted to be secured,
by means of a set screw, to a table, shelf or other support.
A rotary shaft is mounted longitudinally in bearings on the standard and a
grooved pulley is secured to one end of the shaft in line and connected by a band
with a grooved power wheel rotating on a stud having a vertically adjustable
connection with the standard.
On the rotary shaft are mounted cutter plate discs which rotate with the shaft.
One, or both, of the discs has a longitudinal movement on the rotary shaft and for
this purpose I provide the shaft with a longitudinal channel into which a key or
screw inserted through the hub of the discs, extends. This insures the rotation of
the discs with the shaft and also allows them to be removed by drawing them off
the end of the shaft.
The discs are provided on their inner or adjacent faces with inwardly projecting
cutting or abrading pieces made of hardened steel, firmly embedded in the discs
during the process of casting, or we may employ pieces of emery or other grinding
material seated in the discs. These pieces are inclined at their edges so that the
end nearest the axis of the discs has a greater projection than the outer end, and
the pieces of one disc come between, or alternate with, those of the other disc.
I have described both discs as provided with cutting or abrading pieces but in
some cases but one of the discs need be supplied with the cutting or abrading pieces
and the other have a smooth face. One of the discs has a yielding pressure against
a blade being sharpened. This yielding pressure is provided by a spring coiled
around the extended end of the rotary shaft and bearing at one end against the
disc and at the other end against a nut engaging a threaded end of the shaft. By
means of the nut the tension of the spring may be varied.
I may also attach an emery or other finishing wheel to the rotary shaft at a point
between the band pulley and the cutter discs.
A rest for a blade being sharpened is mounted on a stud projecting from an arm
on the standard. The rest prevents the blade from being forced too far toward the
rotary shaft and it preferably is made of soft material, such as wood, so that the
edge of the blade will not be injured.
Dated this 31st day of March 1890.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Sharpening Knives and other
Cutters.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention relates to machines for sharpening knife or other blades.
In carrying out this invention we employ a standard adapted to be secured, by
means of a set screw, to a table, shelf or other support.
A rotary shaft is mounted longitudinally in bearings on the standard and a
grooved pulley is secured to one end of the shaft in line and connected by a band
with a grooved power wheel rotating on a stud having a vertically adjustable
connection with the standard.
On the rotary shaft are mounted cutter plate discs which rotate with the shaft.
One, or both, of the discs has a longitudinal movement on the rotary shaft and for
this purpose I provide the shaft with a longitudinal channel into which a key or
screw inserted through the hub of the discs, extends. This insures the rotation of
the discs with the shaft and also allows them to be removed by drawing them off
the end of the shaft.
The discs are provided on their inner or adjacent faces with inwardly projecting
cutting or abrading pieces made of hardened steel, firmly embedded in the discs
during the process of casting, or we may employ pieces of emery or other grinding
material seated in the discs. These pieces are inclined at their edges so that the
end nearest the axis of the discs has a greater projection than the outer end, and
the pieces of one disc come between, or alternate with, those of the other disc.
I have described both discs as provided with cutting or abrading pieces but in
some cases but one of the discs need be supplied with the cutting or abrading pieces
and the other have a smooth face. One of the discs has a yielding pressure against
a blade being sharpened. This yielding pressure is provided by a spring coiled
around the extended end of the rotary shaft and bearing at one end against the disc
and at the other end against a nut engaging a threaded end of the shaft. By means
of the nut the tension of the spring may be varied.
I may also attach an emery or other finishing wheel to the rotary shaft at a point
between the band pulley and the cutter discs..
A rest for a blade being sharpened is mounted on a stud projection from an arm
on the standard. The rest prevents the blade from being forced too far toward the
rotary shaft and it preferably is made of soft material such as wood, so that the edge
of the blade will not be injured.
In the drawing,
Figure 1 is an end view of a knife sharpener embodying my improvement.
Figure 2 is a side view thereof.
Figure 3 is a top or plan view.
Figure 4 is a section through the linea a of Figure 5.
Figure 5 is a section through the line y y of Figure 4 and
Figure 6 shows different views of a sharpener or cutter employed.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures, of
the drawing.
Referring by letter to the drawing, A designates a standard adapted to be
secured to a table or other support. The standard has an arm or plate a which
bears upon a table or other support and an arm a' which extends beneath the same
and has a tapped opening to engage a clamping screw a².
The upper portion of the standard is bifurcated or provided with arms a³, which
have the bearing blocks a' for a shaft B.

page_text: The shaft B has keyed to its outer end a grooved pulley 6 in line with a grooved
power wheel B', and connected thereto by a band 6. The wheel B' rotates on a
stud b. The stud 62 is provided with a rigid collar or shoulder ³ which bears
against a downward extension of the standard and projects through a slot in
which it is vertically adjustable to tighten the band. A nut on the inner tapped
end of the stud serves to clamp it in its adjusted position.
CC' designate cutter or sharpener discs or carriers rotating with the shaft B,
and one or both of them is designed to have a longitudinal movement on the shaft.
For this purpose I provide the shaft B with a longitudinal channel or key seat c
and keys c from the discs C C¹ engage in the channel. I have shown the keys c¹
in the form of screws passing through tapped holes in the hub c² of the discs and
having the end extended into the channel."
A tension spring c³ surrounds the projected inner end of the shaft B and bears at
one end against the hub e² of the disc C' and the other end bears against a nut c
on the threaded end of the shaft. By means of the nut et the tension of the spring
against the disc C¹ may be varied, and by removing the nut and spring it is evident
that the discs may be drawn off the shaft.
While the disc C may be rigidly secured to the shaft, it is preferable to have it
removable.
D designates cutting or sharpening plates arranged radially or at right angles to
the length of the shaft B and projecting inwardly from the inner adjacent faces of
the discs. These cutters consist of plates of hardened steel or other suitable
material firmly attached to the metal of the discs. The inner cutting ends of the
plates D are inclined from the upper to the lower end, that is, the end of a plate
nearest the axis of the disc has a greater projection from the disc than the
other end.
The plates are so arranged that those on one disc will alternate or come between
those on the other disc, as seen in Figure 5, and it will be seen by reference to
Figure 4 that the space between the plates of the opposite discs is substantially
V-shaped and the edge of a knife blade will be beveled accordingly, and also that
there is quite a distance between the inner ends of the plates and the shaft B
so that particles from a knife blade will fall into said space and not clog the
blades.
I have described and shown both discs as provided with cutters D, but it is to
be understood that one only of the discs may be so constructed and the other
disc provided with a smooth inner face. In this latter construction a blade may be
sharpened where it is desired that only one side be beveled, such for instance, as
mowing machine knives or scissors.
E is a rotary rest loosely mounted on a stud e extending from an outstanding
arm e¹ on the standard. This rest is in line with the cutting plates and is prefer-
ably of soft material, such as wood, so that it will not injure the edge of a knife
blade resting thereon.
.
E is an emery or other finishing wheel affixed to the shaft B, between the
bearings a. This wheel may be employed to put a keener edge on the blade.
In operation, the knife blade, as shown in Figure 1, is held between the discs
which are set in motion through the power wheel. As the blade is forced or drawn
downward toward the shaft B, the disc C will yield so that the angle imparted to
the edge will not be too abrupt. It will be understood that the steel plates do not
grind the blade in the sense of a grindstone but that a portion of the sides of the
blade is cut away.
The power wheel may be rotated by hand or it may have a foot power attached
thereto.
I have described the cutter plates D as made of steel, but I do not limit myself
to such material as emery or analogous plates may be sealed in. the discs. In
the latter combination the plates would act more in the nature of grinding surfaces
than that of cutting plates, but as the result obtained is practically the same the
plates are equivalents.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
:-
1. In a knife sharpener the combination with a rotary shaft and mechanism
substantially such as described for rotating the shaft of discs or carriers mounted
on said shaft to rotate therewith, and one of said dises or carriers having a
yielding longitudinal movement on the shaft and cutter plates arranged radially
on the discs or carriers, the cutter plates of one disc or carrier projecting into the
space between the projecting plates of the opposite disc, each of said discs having
front faces inclined towards the periphery of the discs or carriers, substantially as
specified.
2. In a knife sharpener, the combination with a standard and a power wheel,
of a shaft having bearings on the standard, a pulley on the shaft having a band
connection with the power wheel, discs mounted on the shaft having cutting
projections, a rotary rest in line with the discs, and a finishing wheel also on the
shaft, substantially as specified.
3. In a knife sharpener, the combination with a rotary shaft, of cutter discs
rotating with said shaft, cutter plates imbedded in the discs during the casting of
the discs, one of the discs being movable longitudinally on the shaft, a spring on
the shaft bearing against the movable disc and a nut on the outer end of the
shaft to vary the tension of the spring, substantially as specified.
Dated
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.