AN IMPROVEMENT IN TAILORS' AND OTHER SHEARS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN TAILORS' AND OTHER SHEARS."-A
communication from abroad by James H. Roome, of New York, in the
United States of America.
Sealed the 15th November 1859, and dated the 21st June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st June 1859.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN TAILORS' AND OTHER
SHEARS," to be as follows:-
This Invention of an improvement in tailors' and other shears, consists in
combining one limb of a pair of shears with a handle forming part of a
separate lever, and of combining the said limb and handle with the other
limb of the shears, whereby the leverage exerted by the thumb or hand in
cutting is gradually increased as the shears close, and a drawing cut is
produced.
The essential feature of novelty in the Invention consists in combining one
limb of a pair of shears with its handle, which forms part of a separate lever,
this limb and handle is combined with the other limb of the shears by means

page_text: of an arm attached to the lever, which connects the first limb and handle
together; this is made to operate on the rear portion of the first mentioned
limb. A link connects the first limb with the lever, and there is a moveable
fulcrum connection between the lever and the other limb, and the whole
operates to cause the power of the said lever to increase as the shears close,
and to make a draw cut.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 In-
vention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN TAILORS' AND OTHER SHEARS," being a com-
munication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention of An Improvement in Tailors' and other Shears," consists

page_text: in combining one limb of a pair of shears with a handle forming part of a
separate lever, and of combining the said limb and handle with the other
limb of the shears, whereby the leverage exerted by the thumb or hand in
cutting is gradually increased as the shears close, and a drawing cut is
produced.
In the accompanying Drawing Figs. 1 and 2 are views of the opposite
sides of a pair of shears constructed according to the present Invention;
Fig. 3. is a top view of the same; Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same
taken in the line x, x, of Fig. 1. Similar letters of reference indicate cor
responding parts in the several Figures.
A is the blade, and B the handle, which together form the lower limb of
the shears, this limb is made in one piece, and of such forin that the handle
as well as the blade may rest upon the cutting board or table during the
cutting operation. At the junction of the blade and handle this limb is made
much deeper than is common in other shears in order that the pin a, on
which the upper blade works, may be arranged some distance above the edge
of the lower blade. C, D, is the upper limb made in the form of a lever, of
which the upper blade C constitutes one arm, and the other arm D is
extended rearward from the blade, and from the point where this limb is
attached to the lower limb by the pin a this upper limb C is maile deep
enough below the point where it receives the pin a to reach nearly to the
bottom of the limb A, B, as shown in Fig. 1; and below the pin a it contains
a slot b, having the form of an are described from the pin a, the said slot
receiving a broad headed screw c, which screws into the lower limb. The
part of the upper limb surrounding the said slot is rather thicker at that end
of the slot, nearest the blade than at the other end thereof, so that in the
closing of the shears the faces of the blades will be drawn towards each other
or gradually pressed. tightly against each other. The arm D contains a slot d
to receive a pin e, which is carried. by an arm f which is attached to the
lever, of which the upper handle forms a part, and whose duty will be 'herein-
after explained. E is the upper handle constituting a portion of a lever E, G,
and, attached to the lower limb of the shears by a fulcrum pin g, which is
situated much nearer to the front end than to the rear end, which terminates
in, the thumb bow. A slot h is provided in the lever E, G, for the fulcrum
pin g to pass through, to allow the handle to have a longitudinal as well as a
lever-like movement, and the pin g is fitted with an antifriction roller within
the slot h. The front end of the lever E, G, is connected with the upper
limb C, D, by a link F and two joint pins i, j;.the pin j attaches the said
link to the said limb, and is arranged a little in rear of and some distance:

page_text: below the pin a; the other pin i which attaches the link F to the lever E, G,
is so arranged that when the shears are closed the link will be parallel or
nearly so with the edges of the blades. The arm fis attached to the front
extremity of the lever E, G, and stands up nearly at a right angle to the
portion of the handle that is in front of the fulcrum pin 9, and the arm is
made of forked form, as shown in Fig. 4, to receive the arm D of the upper
limb. The fork of the arm ƒ also contains a roller k, which turns on a pin l;
inserted through the arm f, and above the roller is the before-mentioned
pin e, working in the slot in the arm D, of the upper limb. The roller k
works against the bottom of the arm D of the upper limb for the purpose of
forcing up the arm D and bringing down the blade C to effect the cutting
operation by the depression of the handle E; and the pin e is for the purpose
of drawing down the arm D to open the shears as the handle E is raised. To
provide for wear by the grinding away of the blades by repeated sharpenings
of the shears, and to insure the proper closing of the shears and their cutting
to the points when ground away, the arm f is made detached from the
lever E, G, and is secured thereto by a screw m, passing through a slot n in
the arm f, and screwing into the lever E. The slot n permits the adjustment
of the arm f higher or lower; and to keep the arm steady and prevent it
from being forced out of place by the force applied to it in cutting, there is a
steady pin p, projecting from the lever E, G, into the slot n, and there are
a series of teeth and notches q, q, provided in the arm, as shown in Figs. 1
and 4, and in the face of the lever to which it is attached. H is a spring
secured to the lower limb A, B, of the shears, and pressing against an anti-
friction roller r, attached to the lever E, G, for the purpose of raising and
throwing forward the rear or bowed end of the lever, and so opening or
assisting in opening the shears when the lever is relieved from the pressure
of the thumb or hand. In operating with these shears the lower limb is
allowed to rest on the cutting board or table, and the cut is produced by
depressing the upper handle, and at the same time pulling or pressing it in a
backward direction from the position shown in Fig. 2, and in black outline in
Fig. 1. This movement of the handle causes the front end of the lever E, G,
which is connected with the upper limb, to rise, and the arm f to move back-
ward, and so causes the roller to pass along the lower edge of the arm D of
the upper limb, and so depress the upper blade C, but at the same time the
end of the link F, which is attached to the rising front end of the lever E, G,
is raised by the lever, and the link F is forced bodily backward by the move-
ment of the limb C, D, and so caused to force back the lever bodily on its
fulcrum g, thus gradually increasing the length of the lever behind the pin-

page_text: and diminishing its length in front thereof, and so increasing its power as the
blade C descends; and while this increase of power of the lever is taking
place, the roller k in gradually receding from the pin a or fulcrum of the
upper limb C, D, is also causing the power applied by the lever to act with
increased effect on the blade, and thus the power exerted by the hand is
increased as the cutting takes place farther from the pin or fulcrum a, and so
offers a greater resistance to the closing of the blades. This operation is
illustrated in Fig. 1 by the representation of the shears in a closed condition
in red outline. The operation of the shears is also greatly assisted by the
drawing cut" that is caused by the elevated position of the pin a.
Having now described the Invention of an improvement in tailors' and
other shears, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the mode herein shewn and
described of constructing, arranging, and operating the several parts so as to
produce the effect berein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFatt,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)