AN AMBIDEXTROUS SCISSOR
Year: 1886

page_text: I, THOMAS RICHARDSON ELLIN of Rockingham Street Sheffield in the County of
York Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for AN
AMBIDEXTROUS SCISSOR to be as follows :-
This invention (as its name implies) is to produce a scissor that can be used with
equal facility in either hand, and is therefore especially useful for Nail Scissors, as the
difficulty of cutting the nails of the right-hand is well known.
It consists in making the scissors with a centre blade working between two outside
blades or what may be termed a divided blade, and as both the outside blades are
bevilled on the cut towards the centre blade, it follows that one side is suitable for
cutting with the right hand, and vice versa. The centre blade may be solid or it may
be formed by bending or folding a piece of sheet steel, so as to produce a double edge.
The outside blades being made to close against the centre blade, the scissors are always
well on the "cut."

page_text: Manufacturer, 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 (as its name implies) consists in the construction of a Scissor that:
is especially adapted for use in either hand; and is therefore particularly useful as a
Nail Scissor as by its use the nails of the right and left hand can be cut with equal
facility, thus overcoming a difficulty that is well known.
The accompanying sheet of drawings illustrates the method of carrying the
invention into practice; similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in any of
the figures in which they may occur.
Fig. 1, represents a pair of Scissors made according to my invention.
Fig. 2, Edge view of same.
Fig. 3, Front and edge of the double blade of a pair of Ambidextrous Scissors.
Fig. 4, Front view of a double blade, with method of securing same by ring.
Fig. 5, Front and edge view of ring.
The invention consists in making the scissors with a centre blade A, working
between two outside blades B, B, or what may be termed a divided or double blade,
and as both the outside blades are bevilled on the cutting edge towards the centre
blade, it follows that one side is suitable for cutting with the right hand and the
opposite side is suitable for cutting with the left hand.
The centre blade A, may be made solid, that is in one piece, or it may be made of
two pieces doubled over, or otherwise fastened together, so that a double edge is
produced, and the outside blades being made to spring against the centre blade, the
scissors are always well on the cut on either side.
Fig. 3, illustrates a method of making the double blade, this is done by punching
out two complete blades with the shanks and bows giving them a suitable form for
clasping the inside or centre blade, finishing them to shape and then securing them
together by one or more rivets near the bow, marked E.
In Fig. 1, the outside blades are made separate from the Bow, and are secured to
the shank by the rivets D.
In Fig. 4, I illustrate a method of securing the outside blades, without the use of
rivets, and at the same time of giving a smooth and comfortable finish to the inside
of the bow without employing skilled labour. I take two of the blades, a right and
a left hand, and I roughly round the inside edges of the bows, I then take a flat ring,
shown in Fig. 5, of any suitable ductile metal, corresponding in diameter with the

page_text: opening in the bow, pass it into the opening, and expand it by pressure or other
suitable means round the convex shaped inside periphery of the bow as clearly shown
in Fig. 4. For uniformity of appearance and finish I put a similar ring in the bow
of the central blade.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
An "ambidextrous" Scissor, constructed with an inside blade, and two outside
blades for the purpose specified, and substantially as described and shown.
ROBT. F. DRURY,
Agent for the Applicant.