IMPROVEMENTS IN POCKET KNIVES AND THE LIKE
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Julius Boult of the firm of W. P. Thomson & Boult
Agents for Foreign Patent Solicitors of 323 High Holborn in the county of
Middlesex Engineer for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN POCKET KNIVES
AND THE LIKE" A communication from J. Wilhelm Rauh of Solingen-
Schlachaum in the German Emning
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Julius Boult at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th December 1882.
ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of the firm of W. P. Thompson & Boult Agents for
Foreign Patent Solicitors of 323 High Holborn in the county of Middlesex
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN POCKET KNIVES AND THE LIKE" [A communication
from J. Wilhelm Rauh of Solingen-Schlagbaum, in the German Empire:]
This Invention relates to improvements. in pocket knives and the like the object
of such improvements being to provide pocket knives or pocket implements of all
kinds with a haft or shell formed like a box and opening side-ways such shell or
haft serving to protect all the blades or implements contained in the said shell
against dust and rusting and the whole is so contrived that the blades or imple-
ments can, when opened, be fixed without the back springs or other mechanisms
heretofore used avoiding the friction between said springs and the end of the
implement or blade.
The construction is applicable to pocket knives and the like which have blades
on one end only of the haft or on both ends.
.
A knife with one blade and embodying this invention has at one end of the
shell a hinge on which works a hinge piece of the haft properly so called and also
the hinge of the shell (or outside haft). In the outer shell say at the centre there
is an aperture in which is inserted a pin of the haft or inner shell so that by this
and the hinge the two parts are connected. In the upper part of the outer shell
in the plate, or side thereof there is an aperture in which there is a catch or locking
device which turns on a pivot and a button thereon projects beyond the shell, the
..

page_text: locking device keeps the parts of the knife together. The said lock engages with
a hook on one plate of the shell and may be operated by hand or a spring may be
provided therefor. The outer shell may be a plate of metal bent into U shape so
that together with the inner shell it is capable of entirely covering, the blade.
The blade turns on a pin in the rounded end of the shell which is provided with a
curved slot into which a pin on the blade slides when the latter is opened two
holes (for two positions of the blade) work in conjunction with the locking device
and its hook. The pin in the blade which works in the curved slots, besides
steadying the blade, serves for indicating whether it is properly shut. A spring
inside the shells facilitates their being opened.
A similar knife with four blades may be constructed as follows
In this case there is a locking device at each end corresponding to the points at
which the blades pivot, the locking devices are similar to that above described.
There are also two fastening hooks passing, as before, through openings in the
implements or blades. The outer shell however is in this instance made in halves
jointed to the inner shell by a hinge on the centre of the latter, The shells have
springs to facilitate their opening Both ends of the inner shell are in this case
rounded and slotted, if necessary at every side. An intermediary or central plate
or shell, seperating the several blades or implements may be provided and is in
shape similar to the outsides of the inner shell. As above mentioned the outer
shell, made in halves, is jointed to the inner shell, and where the halves meet two
half round bosses are provided.
The locking devices for this form of the said invention are substantially the
same as those previously hereinabove described,
A

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alfred Julius Boult in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
: 9th June 1883.
ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of the firm of W. P. Thompson and Boult Agents for
Foreign Patent Solicitors of 323 High Holborn in the county of Middlesex
Engineer *"IMPROVEMENTS IN POCKET KNIVES AND THE LIKE" A communication
from J.. Wilhelm Rauh of Solingen-Schlagbaum in the German Empire
The hereinafter described improvements relate to a construction or arrangement
of pocket knives whereby it will be possible by means of a box shaped shell or
casing opening laterally to protect all blades or other appliances within the casing
against dust or rusting and also to fix the same in position, when open, without the
springs or mechanisms such as heretofore employed and also to entirely obviate the
friction between the spring in the back and the blade instrument or appliance
which frequently leads to the destruction of the latter.
In the accompanying drawings there are shown two constructions of such a
pocket knife, one for knives when all the blades are placed at one side, and one for
those where the blades or instruments are placed, and rotate, upon both ends of the
casing.
Figure 1 is a side, front and top view of a part of the casing fitted with an
outer shell.
:
Figure 2 side, front and top of the box shaped part of the shell.
Figure 3 similar views of the knife casing for a knife with one blade, the shell
being omitted.
Figure 4 a front view of the knife with one blade the box shaped casing being
shown half open; when quite open it must be at a rectangle to the knife casing
properly so called.
Figure 5 side view with blades half open
Figure 6 locking device (shown in details) for that part of the shell which has to
be moved sideways
Figure 7 shows a knife with several blades or other instruments in side elevation
the said parts being affixed at both sides of the knife casing
Figures 8 and 9 are details of the blades or instruments
Figure 10 A front view of this knife with the box. shaped shell parts half
opened, these shell parts when entirely opened lay against one another perpen-
dicularly to the knife casing, so as to admit of the opening or closing of the
knife.
Figure, 11 is one shell of the knife casing.
Figure 12 the side of the casing to which this shell is attached
Figures 13 and 14 show partitions in front and side views for knives with several
parts...
+
Figure 15 the second shell with box, in front and rear view..
Figure 16 an automatic spring devise for keeping the casing of knives with
several parts closed.
The one bladed knife represented in Figures 1 to 5 bas. on its shell A at the
lower part thereof a piece or projection a which with the projecting part b of the
knife casing properly so called, and the part c of the second or box shaped shell B
forms a knife. In the first casing A say in the middle there is an aperture d
receiving a pin d¹ of the knife part Figure 3. so that the latter by the pin d' and
the hinge 6 is firmly connected with the shell A.. In the upper part of A there is

page_text: provided in the brass plate, a recess in which there is a latch e free to rotate on a
centre and having a button which extends beyond the shell serving to hold the
whole knife together. This latch e which engages with a hook of the box plate B
hereinafter to be described, has, both when opening and when closing the knife, to
be moved up or down as the case may be, this manipulation can be dispensed
with by means of a spring as shewn in Figure 6, by causing the spring always to
press the latch downwards so that when the knife is made ready for cutting or for
putting it away, the hook already referred to but yet to be described will have
only to be pressed towards the spring. Figure 2 shows the box shaped shell B
whose brass plate is bent into U shape, so that when it turns on its. hinge at c it
forms a complete casing with the shell A. Corresponding with the latch of A a
hook, g is placed in said casing and a recess thereof passes underneath e thus
holding the whole together.
The knife casing properly so called consists of two brass plates C. C². receiving in
their upper part the blade so as to allow it to rotate. The shells C. C₁ are rounded
concentrically with the centre of rotation of the blade, and terminate in a slot or
recess h On the blade D there is, at the periphery of the curvature of the shells
C; C. a pin i. which when the knife opens enters the recess h: moreover there are
in the two shells C. C¹ holes le corresponding to hook g allowing their connection
with the latch e corresponding with the holes k in the shells C, C', two recesses
of the same size are provided in the blade or instrument D (Figures 5. 8:
and 9) one serves for the open position of the blade D the other for its closed
position, When the knife is closed and is to be opened, the latch e is raised and
the box shaped shell B rotated on the hinge c in the direction of the arrow in
Figure 4; the blade D is then turned till pin i enters the recesses h. The box
shaped.shell is then closed again, the hook g.passes through k and till the latch e
holds it, if the spring fis used, automatically As no spring is provided in the
back of the knife the blade D in cutting is held fast firstly by the pin i firmly
lódging in recess h, secondly by the hook. The pin i however serves not only as a
substitute for the spring in the back of the blade D but it also indicates, when
exactly entered into recess h, that position of the blade in which hook g can pass
the recess at l¹
To avoid mistakes in the shell to be turned open when the knife is to be opened
another spring m is placed in the part B close to the hinge c and when by raising
the latch e the hook g is released, said spring automatically presses the casing B
outwards.
When the knife is to be closed up, then also the box shaped shell B is moved
sideways by spring m upon the hook g being released from latch e. The blade is
then folded or turned into its shells or casing C C₁ and the casing is closed-in the
manner already set forth.
In Figures 7. and 10. 16 are shown the several parts of a pocket knife fitted
with several instruments in the illustrated case four in number, fitted with similar
closing devices forming as it were a casing for the same. Figure 11 shows one of
the shells A¹ (corresponding to shell A. Figure 1) with the aforesaid latch e.
In this instance a latch or locking device is required both at the upper and the
lower end as the centres of rotation of the instruments in question are likewise
both at the top and the bottom. These two latches may be made self acting,
in a manner similar to that shewn in Figure 6 for a single bladed knife
by providing two springs F1 F2 (Figure 16) and each latch c¹operates exactly
as that (e) above described. The same reason which makes two latches
for the separate centres of rotation, requisite, two locking hooks g'. g³ will
also be required in the shell B'. These two hooks likewise pass through the
holes of the several partitions dividing the several instruments and also through
the corresponding apertures ³ in the instruments themselves, whereof each has
two precisely, as shown in Figures 8 and 9 and these are provided for the purpose
already indicated. To cause exact engagement of the two hooks with the

page_text: .
corresponding latches e¹ the shell B' B¹ is hinged centrally to the knife case properly
so called and the two parts move as shown by the arrows in Figure 10. In a like
manner springs m' are placed in each half of the shell pressing the latter outwards
upon the opening of the latch e. The brass plates C³ C which constitute the
knife case properly so called exactly. correspond to those first herein described C C¹;
in this present instance however both ends are rounded off on one or the other side,
corresponding to the direction in which the instruments open, and on both sides
recesses are provided (Figure 12, 13. and 14) The intermediate shell C exactly
corresponds as to shape upper and lower rounding off and recesses to the side
shells C. C. The two parts of the box shaped shell B are as already stated
hinged to C and to this end has two half framed bosses a' a¹ with which the
parts of the box shaped shell are connected by rivets or pins b¹ b!
The connection of the part A with the shell O2 of the knife part is produced in a
manner alike to that of the connection between A and C. by apertures d³ and
pins d with only that difference, that the pins d' are here placed upon A and the
apertures on C.
The opening or closing of the knives or instruments is effected analogously to
that already described with reference to the single bladed knife. By raising
latch e the hooks g³ and g² are first released, the divided box shaped shell B' is
then drawn upwards or downwards, as required, the knife or instrument is moved
till it is arrested by its pin i in recess h¹, and the box shaped shell B' is closed or
shut up again. If an instrument say for instance the champagne bottle-opener is
to be opened, which in length is smaller than or equal to half of the length of the
whole knife, the manipulation with the box shaped shell need be effected with
relation to one half thereof only the proceeding being otherwise as already set
forth.
Having thus fully described the nature of the said invention and the manner of
performing the same as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent I wish
it to be understood that what I claim and desire to protect by the hereinbefore in
part recited Letters Patent is
A) In single bladed pocket knives
1) The employment of a shell or casing consisting of the two side-shells A and B.
whereof one is made of U shaped for receiving the knife and being at one end
connected by a hinge substantially as set forth and shown.
2) The arrangement of a hook g in the box shaped shell B for closing the casing
substantially as set forth.
3) The combination with shell A of latch e automatic spring hook g as a means
of fastening the same substantially as set forth.
4) The construction of the knife casing properly so called consisting of the two
side plates C and C¹ with rounded head-ends having the recess h for receiving the
blade, pin in combination with the recess k for allowing the hook g to pass
5) The construction of the blade with pin i and the two passage holes I I¹ to
accomodate the hook g as a substitute for the spring in the back, substantially as
set forth..
•
6) The arrangement of the spring m in the box shaped shell B for automatically
opening the same substantially as set forth
7) The connecting of the side shell A with the knife part properly so called by
the opening & and pin d¹
B) In knives with several blades
1) The double locking latch e¹ with or without springs F and F¹
2) The side plates C2 C3 C rounded off at both ends with slots h¹ provided at
both ends and with the two passage ways k¹ for the hooks g¹ g² substantially as
set forth.
3) The divided box shaped shell B attached by a hinge connection a¹ and b¹
to C³ and having the hooks g' g' and springs m¹ substantially as set forth.
4) The construction of the blades instruments or with two apertures and l¹ for
C

page_text: the hooks g¹ and g² respectively in combination with the pin i substantially as set
forth
C) The combination in single bladed knives of the improvements set forth in
claims A.
<
D The combination in knives with several blades set forth in claims B.
In witness whereof I the said Alfred Julius Boult have hereunto set iny
hand and seal the Eighth day of June in the year of Our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and eighty three.
ALFRED J. BOULT (L.S.)