IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING KNIVES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Boggett, of Saint Martin's Lane, in
the City of Westminster, Gentleman, and William Smith, of
Margaret Street, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the
Tuvention of IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CLEANING AND
POLISHING KNIVES."
if
Sealed the 18th January 1854, and dated the 18th July 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Boggett
and William Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 18th July 1858.
Wė, WILLIAM BOGGETT, of Saint Martin's Lane, in the City of
Westminster, Gentleman, and WILLIAM SMITH, of Margaret Street,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CLEANING AND
POLISHING KNIVES" to be as follows:-
The objects of this Invention are to produce certain apparatuses for
cleaning knives which shall be less expensive and more efficient than
any now in use.
These objects are accomplished chiefly by the use of springs forming
(or being inserted in the space left between) two concentric cylinders,

page_text: which springs exert a constant and uniform pressure on both sides of
the knife blades inserted between them. If a piece of stout cord or
other suitable material be laid along a board as a fulcrum, about an
inch from one side, and we then place, side by side across this cord, a
series of narrow laths, and by a scrow in each fasten their ends to the
board just outside the cord, it will have the effect of raising their
opposite ends, which when pressed form very efficient springs. If
another board similarly prepared is inverted and placed on the first
(their ends being held tightly together), the top and bottom laths exert
their resilient force against each other. An apparatus of this kind,
actuated by a crank movement to and fro, the springs being covered
with leather or other cleaning or polishing material, will effect the
intended purpose; but a rotary movement is obviously much more
convenient. We, therefore, so apply the aforesaid springs that they
either constitute of themselves two concentric cylinders, or we attach
springs to the exterior of an inner cylinder and the interior of an outer
one, so that when the cylinders revolve the springs act upon the knives
placed between them. In order to hold the different sizes of knife
handles securely we use two dises with corresponding apertures in each,
one fixed and the other moveable; we make holes in the periphery of
the inner cylinder to supply the apparatus with emery or other polishing
powder. These and other details we reserve, however, the power to
alter and modify; but the above are the principal features of the
Invention we now seek to protect.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said William Boggett and William Smith in the
Great Scal Patent Office, on the 18th January 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
WILLIAM BOGGETT, of Saint Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster,
Gentleman, and WILLIAM SMITH, of Margaret Street, in the County of 3
Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Ier
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seventeenth

page_text: year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said William Boggett and William Smith, Her
special licence that we, the said William Boggett and William Smith,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said William Boggett and William Smith, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 Kingdon of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING KNIVES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said William Boggett and William Smith,
or one of us, by an instrument in writing under our hands and scals, or
the land and seal of one of us, 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 we, the said William Bogget and William
Smith, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
The object of our said Invention is to produce a cheaper and more
efficient apparatus for cleaning knives than those hitherto in use; and
this we effect by constructing our machines with two cylindrical frames
or drums composed of a series of slightly clastic laths of wood or other
material, attached at one curl only to a flanged disc or plate, the frames
or drums being placed concentrically, and made to revolve in contact
with both sides of the knives introduced between them. The interior
surfaces of the laths constituting the outer drum or frame, and the
exterior surfaces of the laths forming the inner drum or frame, are
covered with strips of buff leather or other cleaning and polishing
material, and the knives are thus cleaned and polished as the drums
or frames revolve in contact with them. The peculiar arrangement of
the slightly elastic laths or strips of wood, or other material of which

page_text: the drums or frames are composed, causes a continuous but moderate
and uniform resilient pressure to be maintained against both sides of the
knives from end to end. This arrangement constitutes a main feature
of novelty in our machines, and upon it their superior efficiency in a
great degree depends. Another of our improvements consists in fitting
to such machines an adjustable end plate to receive the handles of the
knives, and hold them in a proper position whilst being cleaned.
Figure 1, of the Drawings annexed is a front elevation, and Figure 2,
a side elevation of our improved apparatus. Figure 3, is a detached
view of an adjustable plate A, (Figures 1, and 2,) having three slots
c, c, c, which move on shouldered pins or studs projecting about two
inches from the end frame of the machine, so as to enable the plate to
be moved a short distance on its axis for the purpose of keeping the
handles of the knives B, B, whether large or small, in a proper position
whilst being cleaned. The plate is adjusted to the required distance by
means of the screws and wing nuts d, d. Figure 4, is a section of
Figure 2, showing the manner in which the knives are inserted at any
part of the drums at the notches in the plate A, and through the
holes C, C, Fig. 1, in the end frame, and their position between the
drums; the number of holes C. C, and notches in the plate A, being
regulated by the number of knives to be cleaned by each machine.
Figure 5, is an exterior clevation of one of the revolving drunns; and
Figure 6, an end view of the machine with the plate A, and end frame
removed, showing the position of a ratchet wheel and pall for prevent-
ing the spindle on which the drums are mounted from being turned in
the wrong direction, and also shewing the ends of the laths, which being
covered with leather, as partly shewn in the Drawing, serve to clean
the shoulders of the knives. The drums D, E, are each composed of a
flanged disc or circular plate, keyed or fixed to the spindle F, which
bas its bearings in the end plates of the machine, and is provided with
a handle G, for setting it and the drums in motion. Each flanged
dise D, E, has attached to it on its entire circumference a series of
wooden laths about 10 inches long, 14 inches wide, and th inch thick.
each of them being divided by two fine saw cuts for about 3rds of their
length to equalize their pressure. These laths are attached to the
flanged parts of the discs D, E, by means of screws, e, and they are

page_text: covered on their meeting sides with strips of leather, a portion of cach
strip projecting and overlapping the next adjoining one, so as to form a
series of ridges and furrows. Figures 7, and 8, are sectional views on
an enlarged scale of part of the revolving drums, shewing the method
of arranging and fixing the laths. D, is a cast iron plate or disc about
13 inches diameter, forming the head or end of the outer drum; this
plate is flanged (as shewn in Figure 8), and is provided with projecting
knobs ff on its periphery, about inch square, and 1 inches apart,
which serve to keep the laths from shifting sideways. The outer
surface of the flanged part of this plate D, in place of being horizontal,
is made rather lower towards the inner side, in consequence, of which
the laths when screwed down at e, e, have their opposite ends somewhat.
lepressed. The drum head E, is about 11 inches diameter; it is
flanged similarly to D, and has similar knobs g, y, projecting from its
inner periphery to keep its laths from shifting. The outer edge of the
flange of this disc is rather lower than the inner one, so that the
opposite ends of the laths which are screwed down at e', e', are slightly
raised, by which means the surfaces of both sets of laths constituting
the drums D, and E, are kept lightly in contact throughout their
length. It will be seen, that in place of fixing the laths parallel to the
axis of the drums, they are placed diagonally at an angle of about
70 degrees, which causes the knives to pass between them with greater
facility; when the druins are keyed on their spindle F, the laths con-.
stituting the drum E, enter within the set of laths of the drum D, and
exert a slight pressure against them in an upward direction, while the
laths of the drum D, return this pressure in a downward direction, so
that the blades of the knives B, B, arc acted on equally on both sides.
The pressure can be regulated with great facility by means of the
screws e, e, its amount being determined in a great measure by the
number of knives to be operated on. The above stated dimensions are
merely given as a measure of proportion for a useful size of machine;
but the machines may obviously be made of various sizes to suit the
requirements of particular circumstances. The laths may also be made
of metal or other materials, and covered with felt or other substance in
place of leather. either in strips or bands; but we consider the above

page_text: described arrangement to be generally preferable. In working our
machine the knives are to be placed in it in such a position that the
blades may be parallel with the spindle of the drums, and that the
backs of the blades may meet the revolving drums or frames, as shewn
by the dotted lines in Figure 7, the handles B, resting against the
square parts of the notched plate A, and being passed through the
apertures in the end plate. The drunis being supplied with emery or
other polishing powder applied to the laths in any convenient manner,
they are set in motion by the handle G, when a few turns will suffice
to clean the knives, the grain or polish of which will be straight across
the blades.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim as our Invention is,-
The construction of knife cleaning and polishing machines of the
class wherein the cleaning and polishing is effected by introducing the
knives between concentric revolving drums or frames, in such manner
that the surfaces of the drums or frames shall be caused to exert an
equal resilient pressure against both sides of the knives introduced
between them, to be cleaned and polished by means of the clasticity or
springiness of the materials of which such drums or frames are com-
posed, or by means of springs applied to and exerting pressure against
the opposite sides of such drums or frames. And we also claim, in
combination with such arrangement, the use of an adjustable plate to
receive and support the handles of the knives to be cleaned or
polished.
Jn witness whereof, I, the said William Boggett, for myself and
on behalf of the said William Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Eighteenth day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
WILLIAM. BOGGETT. (L.S.)