IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND POLISHING KNIVES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CUTLERY AND TOOLS
Year: 1859

page_text: In the Matter of Letters Patent granted to John Henry Johnson, of
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and of 166,
Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentle-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR GRINDING AND POLISHING KNIVES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CUTLERY
AND TOOLS." A communication from abroad by James Dodge, of
Waterford, Saratoga County, State of New York, United States of
America, sealed the 29th September 1859, and dated April 26th
1859, No. 1051.
WHEREAS Letters Patent were granted to me on the Twenty-sixth of
April, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, Number 1051, for an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND
POLISHING KNIVES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CUTLERY AND TOOLS," a communication
from abroad by James Dodge, of Waterford, Saratoga County, State of New
York, United States of America. And whereas I caused a Specification
particularly describing the said Invention, and the manner in which the same
was to be performed, to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
Twenty-fourth day of October, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
And whereas since the filing of the said Specification I have been advised that

page_text: parts of the said Specification describing the attaching of articles to be ground,
reduced, or polished to the periphery of a revolving cylinder working in
.connection with any suitable grinding stone or reducing or polishing surface,
and the forming of matrices in the surface of the said revolving cylinder do
not possess sufficient novelty to induce me to retain any exclusive right
thereto, and for this reason I desire to disclaim those parts of the said Specifi-
cation as not being part of this Invention, I am therefore desirous of making
and filing the Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration herein-after
expressed and contained, and for the reason aforesaid do hereby alter the said
Specification by disclaim the words "such drum or cylinder being fitted with
suitable matrices in which such articles are placed, the said matrices being adapted
to give the required shape to the articles to be ground, and enable-such articles to
be-ground-and-polished in a uniform-manner," -occurring at lines 6, 7, 8, and 9,
page 3 of the printed Specification. I also striking out the letter "s" in the
word "cylinders," at line 5, page 3, of the printed Specification. And I further
alter the said Specification at line 9, page 3, by substituting a small "p" for
the capital "P" in the word "provision," and I strike out the words "is
also," and insert the word "being." Ifurther alter the said Specification by
introducing in the 16th line, page 5, after the words "in conclusion that," these
words, "I do not lay any claim to the attaching of articles to be ground, reduced,
or polished to the periphery of a revolving cylinder working in connection with
a grinding stone or reducing or polishing surface when such articles are not free
to rock or accomodate themselves on such cylinder; neither do I lay any claim
to the exclusive use of beds or matrices in the revolving cylinders of grinding
apparatus unless such matrices are so formed as to allow the articles to be ground
to rock or accomodate themselves thereon, but." And I strike out the second
and third claiming clauses at the end of the said Specification (lines 22,
23, 24, 25, and 26, at page 5.) And I further alter the said Specifi-
cation by striking out the word "Fourth" and inserting the word "Second"
at line 27, page 5. And I insert the letter "o" in the word "accomdate," in
line 29, page 5, of the said Specification. And in order that the effect of the
said Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration may be better understood, I
annex hereto a copy of the said Specification as it will appear when so altered
and amended.
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
grinding and polishing apparatus to be employed in the manufacture of knives
and other articles of cutlery, and of carpenters' and other cutting tools, and
consists in the use in combination with a grinding stone or polishing wheel of
a revolving drum or cylinder for carrying the articles to be operated upon,

page_text: such drum or cylinder being fitted with suitable matrices in which such articles are
placed, the said matrices being adapted to give the required shape to the articles to.
be ground, and enable such articles to be ground and polished in a uniform manner,
provision being made in attaching the articles to the drum for allowing of
their rocking or accomodating themselves thereon, whereby their surfaces
may be shaped or ground either convex, flat, or concave.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
I shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings. hereunto
annexed; the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts through-
out all the corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings represents a perspective view
of the improved grinding and polishing machine; Figure 2 is an end view of
the cylinder detached'; Figures 3 and 4 are Diagrams illustrating the operation
of the machine; and Figure 5 represents an end view of a cylinder employed
in grinding saw blades.
.
A, A, (Figure 1), is a strong frame of. wood or iron carrying an ordinary
grindstone B mounted on an axis C, and driven by a pulley D and driving
strap or belt in the ordinary manner. In the same framing is mounted in
suitable bearings a shaft E parallel with the axis of the grindstone, and
carrying a cylinder F. This cylinder may be rotated by means of a strap or
band from the axis of the grindstone, or by any suitable arrangement of
gearing, whereby the relative speeds of the grinding stone and cylinder-can
be adjusted as required. The object of this cylinder is to hold or carry knife
blades or other articles to be ground' by the stone. From the surface of the
cylinder, near one end thereof, a flange G projects, having suitable open-
ings g, g, (Figure 2) made through' it at the surface of the cylinder for the
insertion in the case of knife blades and similar articles of their stems or
tangs, suitable set screws s, s, being passed through the flange for the purpose of
securely holding the stems or tangs of the blades in their openings, and cause
the blades themselves to lie properly upon the surface of the cylinder to
receive the action of the grindstone. In order still further to ensure the
exactness and certainty of position of the blades or other articles, it is pro-
posed to sink into the surface of the cylinder a matrix or impression of the
article as prepared for the grinding process. By this means the article is
effectually prevented from sliding or slipping along the surface of the cylinder.
when undergoing the attrition of the grindstone. The grinding operation.
being effected by the revolution of the article on a curve, the result will be if
such article be held immovably or fixedly upon the surface of the cylinder

page_text: that the ground surface will be a convex of the curve or are of the cylinder
subtended by the article to be ground. The convexity of the form can,
however, be diminished, or the surface may be ground flat by increasing the
convexity of the matrix a, b, as shewn in the Diagram, Figure 3, and allowing
the article being ground to rock on the curved bottom of the matrix as it
passes the stone. By still further increasing the convexity of the bottom of
the matrix, as shewn in Figure 4, the surface of the article may be ground
concave like a razor blade. As in some cases it would be inconvenient to
change the cylinder with every change of article to be ground, I propose to
employ matrices made in separate segments of metal, each segment fitting
into a corresponding recess made for that purpose in the surface of the
cylinder, by which arrangement any matrix may be fixed or removed without
disturbing the cylinder.
For the purpose of admitting of grindstones or other analagous reducing
or polishing surfaces of ordinary width being employed, I propose, when articles
longer than that width are to be ground, that the shaft of the cylinder be
extended so as to permit of the cylinder being moved to and fro over the
surface of the stone during the grinding or polishing process, or the stone or
polisher may have a to-and-fro lateral motion imparted to it in place of the
cylinder. In order to allow of the proper play of the article under the
grinding or polishing process, when its surface is required to be either flat or
concave, I propose to fit their tangs or stems into moveable sockets kept in
place by the set screws s, s, whereby they are held down in their matrices, and
yet are permitted to turn or oscillate sufficiently for the purpose required.
Figure 5 of my Drawings represents a sectional elevation of the arrange-
ment which I propose adopting when treating long flexible blades, such as saw
blades. In this case the cylinder F is formed with a series of slits f, f,
formed longitudinally at suitable intervals in the surface of the cylinder.
Each saw blade c lies in a matrix formed lengthwise round the face of the
cylinder, and is secured at one end only by being slipped into one of the slits
or recesses herein-before referred to and retained therein by a pin as shewn
in the Drawing. These slits or recesses are made slightly oblique to the
curve of the cylinder's surface, and sufficiently sunk to keep the heads of
the pins out of the action of the grindstone. Outside this rotatory cylinder is
a fixed cylindrical casing or curb H, the inner surface of which is just far
enough from the outer surface of the inner cylinder as to allow of the saw
blades which are bent or sprung over its circumference revolving freely inside
the curb, the other ends of the blades being free and kept in place by the
curb against which they press. An opening is made along the width of

page_text: the outer casing or curb H for the purpose of permitting a portion of the
periphery of the grindstone passing through to operate upon the saw blades, as
shewn, and another opening fitted with a lid or cover is provided at I for
the purpose of facilitating the fixing of the blades in their beds or matrices
on the cylinder. The blades being thus attached and closed in the cylinder
and grindstone are caused to revolve when every blade as it passes the first
mentioned opening in the outer casing or curb will be subjected to the action
of the grindstone. By substituting an emery wheel, or wheel covered with
suitable polishing materials for the grindstone, the operation of polishing will
be accomplished.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not lay any claim to the
attaching of articles to be ground, reduced, or polished to the periphery of a
revolving cylinder working in connection with a grinding stone or reducing or
polishing surface when such articles are not free to rock or accommodate them-
selves or such cylinder. Neither do I lay any claim to the exclusive use of beds
or matrices in the revolving cylinders of grinding apparatus unless such matrices
are so formed as to allow the articles to be ground to rock or accommodate
themselves thereon, but what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, is, —
First, the general construction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus
for grinding, reducing, and polishing knives, tools, and other articles of cutlery
as herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Second, the attaching and supporting of articles to be ground, reduced, or
polished to or on the surface of a revolving cylinder in such a manner that
they are free to rock or accomodate themselves thereon for the purposes
herein-before described.
•
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-nine.
J. HENRY JOHNSON (L.s.)
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of May, One thousand eight
J. HENRY JOHNSON (L.S.)
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.

page_text: To the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions.
I hereby grant my fiat, giving leave to the above-named John Henry
Johnson to file in the Great Seal Patent Office with the Specification to
which the same relates, the above-written Amended Disclaimer and Memo-
randum of Alteration.
Lincoln's Inn,
ROUNDELL PALMER,
July 28th, 1864.
Attorney General.

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow. North Britain. Gentleman. for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow. North Britain. Gentleman. for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND POLISHING KNIVES AND OTHER
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 26th April 1859.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND POLISHING
KNIVES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CUTLERY AND TOOLS," a communication from
abroad by Jame Dodge, of Waterford, Saratoga County, State of New York,
United States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and.arrangement of grinding
and polishing apparatus to be employed in the manufacture of knives and other
articles of cutlery, and of carpenters' and other cutting tools, and consists in the
use, in combination with a grinding stone or polishing wheel, of a revolving
drum or cylinder for carrying the articles to be operated upon, such drum or
cylinder being fitted with suitable matrices, in which such articles are placed,
the said matrices being adapted to give the required shape to the articles to be

page_text: ground, and enable such articles to be ground and polished in a uniform
manner. Provision is also made in attaching the articles to the drum for
allowing of their rocking or accommodating themselves thereon, whereby their
round either conver Aat or conce
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
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 Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND POLISHING
KNIVES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CUTLERY AND TOOLS," a communication from
abroad by James Dodge, of Waterford, Saratoga County, State of New York,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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 I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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 accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-

page_text: The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
grinding and polishing apparatus to be employed in the manufacture of knives
and other articles of cutlery, and of carpenters' and other cutting tools, and
consists in the use, in combination with a grinding stone or polishing wheel, of
a revolving drum or cylinders for carrying the articles to be operated upon,
such drum or cylinder being fitted with suitable matrices, in which such
articles are placed, the said matrices being adapted to give the required shape
to the articles to be ground, and enable such articles to be ground and polished
in a uniform manner. Provision is also made in attaching the articles to the drum
for allowing of their rocking or accommodating themselves thereon, whereby
their surfaces may be shaped or ground, either convex, flat, or concave.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings represents a perspective view of
the improved grinding and polishing machine; Figure 2 is an end view of the
cylinder detached; Figures 3 and 4 are Diagrams illustrating the operation of
the machine; and Figure 5 represents an end view of a cylinder employed in
grinding saw blades.
A, A, (Figure 1) is a strong frame of wood or iron carrying an ordinary
grindstone B, mounted on an axis C, and driven by a pulley D, and driving
strap or belt in the ordinary manner. In the same framing is mounted in
suitable bearings a shaft E, parallel with the axis of the grindstone and
carrying a cylinder F. This cylinder may be rotated by means of a strap or
band from the axis of the grindstone, or by any suitable arrangement of gearing
whereby the relative speeds of the grinding stone and cylinder can be adjusted
as required. The object of this cylinder is to hold or carry knife blades or
other articles to be ground by the stone. From the surface of the cylinder,
near one end thereof, a flange G projects, having suitable openings g, g,
(Figure 2) made through it at the surface of the cylinder for the insertion, in
the case of knife blades and similar articles, of their stems or tangs, suitable
set screws s, s, being passed through the flange for the purpose of securely
holding the stems or tangs of the blades in their openings, and cause the blades
themselves to lie properly upon the surface of the cylinder to receive the action
of the grindstone. In order still further to ensure the exactness and certainty
of position of the blades or other articles, it is proposed to sink into the surface
of-the-cylinder-a-matrix-or-impression-of the article as prepared for the grinding-

page_text: process. By this means the article is effectually prevented from sliding or
slipping along the surface of the cylinder when undergoing the attrition of the
grindstone. The grinding operation being effected by the revolution of the
article on a curve, the result will be, if such article be held immovably or
fixedly upon the surface of the cylinder that the ground surface will be a
convex of the curve, or arc of the cylinder subtended by the article to be
ground. The convexity of the form can, however, be diminished, or the
surface may be ground flat by increasing the convexity of the matrix a, b, as
shewn in the Diagram Figure 3, and allowing the article being ground to rock
on the curved bottom of the matrix as it passes the stone. By still further
increasing the convexity of the bottom of the matrix, as shewn in Figure 4,
the surface of the article may be ground concave like a razor blade. As in
some cases it would be inconvenient to change the cylinder with every change
of article to be ground, I propose to employ matrices made in separate segments
of metal, each segment fitting into a corresponding recess made for that
purpose in the surface of the cylinder, by which arrangement any matrix may
be fixed or removed without disturbing the cylinder.
For the purpose of admitting of grindstones or other analagous reducing or
polishing surfaces of ordinary width being employed, I propose, when articles
longer than that width are to be ground, that the shaft of the cylinder be
extended so as to permit of the cylinder being moved to and fro over the
surface of the stone during the grinding or polishing process, or the stone or
polisher may have a to-and-fro lateral motion imparted to it in place of the
cylinder. In order to allow of the proper play of the article under the grinding
or polishing process, when its surface is required to be either flat or concave, I
propose to fit their tangs or stems into moveable sockets kept in place by
the set screws s, s, whereby they are held down in their matrices, and yet are
permitted to turn or oscillate sufficiently for the
purpose required.
Figure 5 of my Drawings represents a sectional elevation of the arrange-
ment, which I propose adopting when treating long flexible blades, such as
saw blades. In this case the cylinder F is formed with a series of slits f,f,
formed longitudinally at suitable intervals in the surface of the cylinder. Each
saw blade c lies in a matrix formed lengthwise round the face of the cylinder,
and is secured at one end only by being slipped into one of the slits or recesses
herein-before referred to, and retained therein by a pin, as shewn in the
Drawing. These slits or recesses are made slightly oblique to the curve of the
cylinder's surface, and sufficiently sunk to keep the heads of the pins out of the
action of the grindstone. Outside this rotatory cylinder is a fixed cylindrical
casing or curb H, the inner surface of which is just far enough from the outer

page_text: surface of the inner cylinder as to allow of the saw blades which are bent or
sprung over its circumference, revolving freely inside the curb, the other ends
of the blades being free and kept in place by the curb against which they press.
An opening is made along the width of the outer casing or curb H, for the
purpose of permitting a portion of the periphery of the grindstone passing
through to operate upon the saw blades, as shewn; and another opening fitted
with a lid or cover is provided at I, for the purpose of facilitating the fixing of
the blades in their beds or matrices on the cylinder. The blades being thus
attached and closed in the cylinder and grindstone are caused to revolve, when
every blade as it passes the first-mentioned opening in the outer casing or curb
will be subjected to the action of the grindstone.
By substituting an emery wheel, or wheel covered with suitable polishing
materials for the grindstone, the operation of polishing will be accomplished.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general construction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus
for grinding, reducing, and polishing knives, tools, and other articles of cutlery
as herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Second, attaching articles to be ground, reduced, or polished to the periphery
of a revolving cylinder working in connection with any suitable grinding stone
or reducing or polishing surface, as herein-before described.
Third, the forming of matrices in the surface of the carrying cylinder, for
the purposes herein-before described.
Fourth, the attaching and supporting of articles to be ground, reduced, or
polished, to or on the surface of a revolving cylinder, in such a manner that
they are free to rock or accomdate themselves thereon, for the purposes
herein-before described.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)