IMPROVEMENTS IN NUT CRACKERS AND LOBSTER CRACKERS."
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas White, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
NUT CRACKERS AND LOBSTER CRACKERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas White at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th June 1872.
I, THOMAS WHITE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN NUT CRACKERS AND LOBSTER CRACKERS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention refers principally to the gripping parts of the blades or
sides of nut crackers and lobster crackers, and consists in making the
toothed, jagged, or roughened faces of the said gripping parts in the
manner herein-after described.
The toothed, jagged, or roughened faces of the gripping parts of the
said nut crackers and lobster crackers are ordinarily made by jagging

page_text: or indenting the faces of the gripping parts by cutting tools so as to
form teeth or projecting points on the surfaces of the gripping parts.
The teeth or projecting points so made are small, and imperfectly grip
or hold the article to be cracked, and also readily wear away. The
object of this part of my Invention is to remedy these defects by making
the said toothed or jagged faces of the gripping parts in the following
manner-I drill or otherwise make through the gripping parts of the
blades or arms of the nut cracker or lobster cracker a series of holes at
short distances apart. These holes are countersunk at each face of
the gripping part, and into each hole a pin or rivet is placed the pin or
rivet projecting on either side the gripping part. By the use of a press
and press tools the projecting ends of each pin or rivet are forced into the
countersinks of the hole, and the pin or rivet thereby fixed securely in
the gripping part, and a pointed head or tooth at the same time formed
on either side the gripping part. Or the said teeth may be made from
the solid metal of the sides by the process of stamping or casting. In
this way a series of strong teeth or points is made on opposite faces of
the gripping parts of the nut cracker or lobster cracker. The toothed
faces of the gripping parts thus made present a much neater appearance
and are stronger and more efficient than those made in the ordinary way,
Where the construction of the gripping parts of the nut cracker or
lobster cracker requires it, the pins or rivets may be fixed separately on
the two faces, instead of making the pins or rivets pass through from
face to face.
Although I prefer to secure the pins or rivets in the holes in the
gripping parts in the manner described, yet the said pins or rivets may
be secured in the said gripping parts by screwing or soldering.
Instead of forming the toothed or jagged surfaces of the gripping parts
by means of rivets as described, a plate or plates having teeth or
projections on it or them may be used and secured to the faces of the
gripping parts by rivetting, screwing, or soldering it or them thereto.
The teeth or projections of the said plate or plates need not interfere with
any ornamental character it may be wished to give to the gripping parts
of the nut cracker or lobster cracker, as the said teeth or projections
may be incorporated with the ornament.
The improvements described are applicable to nut crackers and
lobster crackers, in which the gripping parts are made on one face only

page_text: of the blades or sides instead of on both faces. In this case the teeth or
points, or the plate or plates, are fixed on the single gripping face of the
blade or side of the nut or lobster cracker.
My Invention consists further in making the joints of nut and lobster
crackers, as follows:-I make the middle knuckle of each joint from the
head of each blade or side of the nut or lobster cracker so as to form a
broad and strong middle knuckle, and I make the middle bit or piece of
the joint forked at each end, the forked end forming the outer knuckles,
and embracing the strong middle knuckle. The joint is completed by a
cross pin. By this construction a very strong and cheap joint is made
which, when broken, is capable of ready repair. In order to give
additional strength and stability to the joint, when of the ordinary kind,
I construct the middle bit or picce of the joint in the following
manner :-The joint as ordinarily made consists of a fork or pair of outer
knuckles, made from the head of each blade or side of the nut or lobster
cracker, with a thin middle bit or piece between the branches of each
fork. The thickness of the middle bit is equal only to the width of the
space between the fork or outer knuckles and the head of each blade or
side. According to this part of my Invention, I give additional strength
to the middle bit by providing the opposite faces of the central part of it
with flanges or ribs, those portions of the middle bit which fit between
the forked ends of the blades or sides of the nut or lobster-cracker being
of the usual thickness. The central flange or rib at each side of the
middle bit is of a thickness equal to the thickness of each of the outer
knuckles of the joint, and the said rib consequently fills up the space
between the opposite knuckles of the two blades or sides.
or ribs of the middle bit are recessed or cut away on either side to
receive the outer knuckles. The middle bit thus constructed, besides
serving as the means for jointing the two blades or sides of the nut or
lobster cracker together, also gives additional strength and steadiness to
the joint, the central flanges or ribs of the said middle bit constituting
bearings or cheeks, against which the outer knuckles of the joint are
supported and work.
The flanges

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas White in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I THOMAS
WHITE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send i
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-fifth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and 1
grant unto me, the said Thomas White, Her special licence, that I, the
said Thomas White, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Thomas White, 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 1
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 NUT CRACKERS AND
LOBSTER CRACKERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas White, my executors or administrators, by an instrument. in 2
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Thomas White, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention refers principally to the gripping parts of the blades or
sides of nut crackers and lobster crackers, and consists in making the
toothed, jagged, or roughened faces of the said gripping parts in the
manner herein-after described.
The toothed, jagged, or roughened faces of the gripping parts of the said
nut crackers and lobster crackers are ordinarily made by jagging or

page_text: indenting the faces of the gripping parts by cutting tools so as to form
teeth or projecting points on the surfaces of the gripping parts. The
teeth or projecting points so made are small, and imperfectly grip or
hold the article to be cracked, and also readily wear away. The object
of this part of my Invention is to remedy these defects by making the
said toothed or jagged faces of the gripping parts in the following
manner: I drill or otherwise make through the gripping parts of the
blades or arms of the nut cracker or lobster cracker a series of holes at
short distances apart. These holes are countersunk at each face of the
gripping part, and into each hole a pin or rivet is placed, the pin or
rivet projecting on either side the gripping part. By the use of a press
and press tools the projecting ends of each pin or rivet are forced into
the countersinks of the hole, and the pin or rivet thereby fixed securely
in the gripping part, and a pointed head or tooth at the same time
formed on either side the gripping part. Or the said tooth may be made
from the solid metal of the sides by the process of stamping or casting.
In this way a series of strong teeth or points is made on opposite faces
of the gripping parts of the nut cracker or lobster cracker. The toothed
faces of the gripping parts thus made present a much neater appearance,
and arc stronger and more efficient than those made in the ordinary way.
Where the construction of the gripping parts of the nut cracker or
lobster cracker requires it, the pins or rivets may be fixed separately on
the two faces instead of making the pins or rivets pass through from face
to face.
Although I prefer to secure the pins or rivets in the holes in the
gripping parts in the manner described, yet the said pins or rivets may
be secured in the said gripping parts by screwing or soldering.
Instead of forming the toothed or jagged surfaces of the gripping parts
by means of rivets, as described, a plate or plates having teeth or projec-
tions on it or them may be used and secured to the faces of the
gripping parts by rivetting, screwing, or soldering it or them thereto.
The teeth or projections of the said plate or plates need not interfere
.with any ornamental character it may be wished to give to the gripping
parts of the nut cracker or lobster cracker, as the said teeth or projections
may be incorporated with the ornament.
The improvements described are applicable to nut crackers and lobster
crackers in which the gripping parts are made on onc face only of the
blades or sides, instead of on both faces. In this case the teeth or points

page_text: or the plate or plates are fixed on the single gripping face of the blade
or side of the nut or lobster cracker.
My Invention consists further in making the joints of nut and lobster
crackers, as follows:-I make the middle knuckle of each joint from the
head of each blade or side of the nut or lobster cracker, so as to form a
broad and strong middle knuckle, and I make the middle bit or piece of
the joint forked at each end, the forked end forming the outer knuckles,
and embracing the strong middle knuckle. The joint is completed by a
cross pin. By this construction a very strong and cheap joint is made
which when broken is capable of ready repair.
In order to give additional strength and stability to the joint when of
the ordinary kind, I construct the middle bit or piece of the joint in the
following manner :-)
-The joint, as ordinarily made, consists of a fork or
pair of outer knuckles made from the head of each blade or side of the
nut or lobster cracker with a thin middle bit or piece between the
branches of each fork. The thickness of the middle bit is equal only to
the width of the space between the fork or outer knuckles at the head of
each blade or side. According to this part of my Invention, I give
additional strength to the middle bit by providing the opposite faces of
the central part of it with flanges or ribs, those portions of the middle bit
which fit between the forked ends of the blades or sides of the nut or
lobster cracker being of the usual thickness. The central flange or rib
at each side of the middle bit is of a thickness equal to the thickness of
cach of the outer knuckles of the joint, and the said rib consequently
fills up the space between the opposite knuckles of the two blades or
sides. The flanges or ribs of the middle bit arc recessed or cut away on
either side to receive the outer knuckles. The middle bit thus con-
structed, besides serving as the means for jointing the two blades or sides
of the nut or lobster-cracker together, also gives additional strength and
steadiness to the joint, the central flanges or ribs of the said middle bit
constituting bearings or cheeks, against which the outer knuckles of thic
joint are supported and work.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in section, and Figure 2 in side elevation a nut-
cracker: the toothed, insved or rouchoned crinning parts of which

page_text: made according to my Invention, by rivetting or pressing pins or rivets
in holes made across the gripping parts a, a, b, b.
In Figure 1 the side 6 is represented, drilled ready to receive the rivets
or pins. The projecting ends of the rivets or pins placed in the said
holes are forced into the countersinks, terminating the said holes by the
use a press and press tools, or in any other convenient manner. The
said pins or rivets are thereby fixed in the holes, and strong points or
heads at the same time formed upon them on either side the gripping
parts a, b. The manner in which the pins or rivets are fixed in the
gripping parts of the nut cracker so as to transform the said gripping
parts into toothed or jagged surfaces will be readily understood by an
examination of the side marked a of Figures 1 and 2. The heads or points
of the said pins or rivets may be made to form part of the ornamental
design of the gripping faces of the nut cracker, as illustrated in the
Drawing. Separate rivets or pins may be used for each face of the
gripping parts a, b, instead of passing the pins or rivets through from
face to face, and rivetting their projecting ends. In place of rivetting
the pins or rivets in the holes made in or across the sides or blades, pins
or rivets formed with heads may be fixed in the said holes by screwing
or soldering. In the former case the stems of the pins are screwed, and
the holes in the sides or blades a, b, are tapped to receive the screwed
stems of the headed pins.
Figure 3 represents in front clevation, and Figure 4 in side elevation,
a nut cracker, in which the toothed or jagged surfaces of the gripping
parts are made by stamping. In this case I use dies of the required
shape worked in a stamp, and form the teeth or points of the gripping
parts from the solid metal of the said gripping parts. The ornamental
design of the gripping surfaces may also be formed by the stamping
process or by chasing, or otherwise. Or instead of forming the toothed
or jagged surfaces of the gripping parts by stamping as last described,
they may be made by casting.
Figure 5 represents in front elevation, Figure 6 in side elevation, and
Figure 7 partly in section, a nut cracker, in which the toothed or jagged
surfaces of the gripping parts are made by securing plates having upon
them teeth or projections to the plain surfaces of the gripping parts.
Figure 8 represents one of the said plates detached. In the said Figures
5, 6, 7 and 8 the toothed or jagged plates are marked c, c.
The said

page_text: plates are represented as being secured to the faces of the gripping parts
a, b, by the rivets at d, d, the heads of the said rivets forming part of
the toothed or jagged surfaces, but the said plates c, c, may be secured
to the gripping parts a, b, by screwing or soldering, and instead of using
a single plate having teeth or projections upon it for each face of the
gripping parts a, b, two or more plates may be fixed in either of the
ways described to each of the faces of the gripping parts of the nut-
cracker.
Figure 9 represents in front elevation, and Figure 10 in side elevation,
a nut cracker, in which the toothed or jagged plates c, c, secured to the
gripping parts a, b, have a different ornamental pattern upon them from
that upon the plates c, c, represented in Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8. Figure
11 represents one of the plates c of the nut-cracker, Figures 9 and 10
detached.
The joint of the nut crackers represented in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
are constructed according to one part of my Invention. The middle
knuckle e of each joint is made from the head of the blade or side of the
nut cracker. This middle knuckle is both broad and strong (sec Figures
4 and 6). The middle bit or piece of the joint to be combined with the
broad knuckles e, e, of the heads of the blades or sides of the nut-
cracker has the forked form best seen in the detached front and end
elevation, Figure 12, that is to say, the said middle bit consists of two
side plates joined at top and bottom by the parts or stops f, f, the
extreme ends of cach side plate forming the outer knuckles g, g, h, h,
respectively of the joint which embrace the strong middle knuckle c.
The strong middle knuckle e of each blade or side having been placed
between each fork or pair of outer knuckles g, g, h, h, of the middle bit,
they are jointed together by a cross pin i.
By constructing and arranging the parts as described and illustrated,
a very strong and efficient joint is formed.
The joints of the nut-crackers represented in Figures 9, 10, 13, and
14 are made according to-another part of my Invention.
Instead of making the middle bit or piece of the ordinary joint of a
flat plate k, as shown in connection with the nut-crackers represented in
Figures 1 and 2, I construct the said middle bit of the ordinary joint in
the manner represented in front elevation and side elevation in Figures
9 and 10, and in front elevation, side elevation, and horizontal section of

page_text: the joint in Figures 13, 14, and 15; Figure 16 represents in front
clevation, end elevation, and plan, the middle bit of the joint, represented
in Figures 9 and 10; and Figure 17 represents in plan, front clevation,
and end elevation the middle bit of the joint represented in Figures 13,
14, and 15. In making the middle bit according to this part of my
Invention, I provide the opposite faces of the central part of the said
middle bit with ribs or flanges 1, 1; the outer parts or knuckles m, m, of
the middle bit, which fit between the ordinary forked outer knuckles n,n,
of the joint being of the usual thickness. The ribs or flanges 1, 1, are
recessed or cut away to receive the outer knuckles n, n, as indicated
in dotted lines in Figures 16 and 17. The thickness of the rib or flange
7 at each side of the middle bit is equal to the thickness of each of the
outer knuckles n, n, so that the said ribs or flanges fill up the space
between the opposed knuckles of the joint. This will be readily seen by
an examination of the horizontal section of the joint represented in
Figure 15, where the ribs or flanges 1, 1, of the middle bit fill up the
spaces between the edges of the opposed knuckles n, n. It will also (by
reference to the said Figure 15) be seen that the central ribs or flanges
I, I, form bearings or checks, against which the outer knuckles n, n, are
supported and work.
By making the middle bit of the ordinary joint in this way, great
strength is imparted to the said middle bit, and stability to the joint.
Although I have only described and represented my several improve-
ments as applied to nut-crackers, yet the said improvements are also
applicable to lobster crackers.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention, but I claim as my Invention,―
Firstly. The several improvements in making the toothed, jagged, or
roughened faces of the gripping parts of nut crackers and lobster
crackers herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say, forming the said toothed, jagged or roughened
faces of the gripping parts by fixing pins or rivets in holes in the said
gripping parts, so as to form thereon a series of strong pointed heads or
teeth, the said pins or rivets either having heads made on them before

page_text: they arc inserted and fixed in the holes, or when fixed by pressure
having their heads formed by the pressing process, substantially as
described and illustrated; also making the said heads or teeth on the
gripping parts by stamping or casting; also, forming the toothed,
jagged or roughened faces of the gripping parts by means of a plate or
plates having teeth or projections on it or them, the said plate or plates
being rivetted, screwed, or soldered to the plain face or faces of the
gripping parts, substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The improvements herein-before described and illustrated in
Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 12 of the accompanying Drawings in constructing
the joints of nut crackers and lobster crackers, that is to say, forming
the middle knuckle of the joint from the head of the blade or side of the
nut or lobster cracker, and making the middle bit or piece forked at each
end, the said forked ends forming the outer knuckles of the joint, and
embracing the strong middle knuckles, substantially as described and
illustrated.
Thirdly. The improvement herein-before described and illustrated in
Figures 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 of the accompanying Drawings in
the ordinary joints of nut crackers and lobster crackers, that is to say,
providing the middle bit or piece of the joint with central ribs or flanges,
which ribs or flanges fill up the spaces between the opposed faces of the
outer knuckles, and also serve as bearings or cheeks, against which the
outer knuckles are supported and work, substantially as described and
illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas White, have hercunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of December, in the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
year of
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT;
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
THOMAS WHITE. (L..S.)