AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND SHARPENING KNIVES, AND CLEANING SPOONS AND FORKS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Genhart, Armourer, of the City of Liége, in
the Kingdom of Belgium, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR CLEANING AND SHARPENING KNIVES, AND CLEANING SPOONS AND FORKS."
Sealed the 29th January 1858, and dated the 31st July 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Genhart at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st July 1857.
I, HENRY GENHART, Armourer, of the City of Liége, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND SHARPENING KNIVES, AND CLEANING SPOONS AND
FORKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in a mechanical arrangement constituting an
improved apparatus, by the use of which any number of knives, according to
the size of the machine, may be cleaned at one operation. It also combines
the means of cleaning forks and spoons, and of sharpening knives. The
construction thereof is as follows:-A metal tube, closed at one end, of the
length of the blade of an ordinary knife having in its interior transversal ridges
or rifles, about 3 of an inch deep, at such distances apart as to admit-between
them the blades of the knives to be cleaned. The number of these ridges
depends on the number of knives which the machine is intended to clean.

page_text: The closed end of the tube has in its centre a hole, which receives the axle of
a cylindrical brush, which is put in motion by cog wheels of different sizes, the
larger of which wheels is fixed to the driving handle, and the smaller to the
aforesaid axle, or vice versâ, according as speed or diminution of labor be
required. The cylindrical brush above mentioned fits the tube moderately
tight; it may be made of bristles, hair, leather, or other suitable material.
The reverse end of the tube, which contains the brush, is closed by a moveable
cover, having openings cut therein corresponding with the spaces between the
ridges in the interior of the tube. The aforesaid cover is made removable for
the purpose of introducing brick dust, emery, or other cleaning powder. In
the centre of the aforesaid cover, there is a hole, which receives the other end
of the axle which presses the cover, upon the outside whereof is fixed another
smaller brush of fine hair, or other material, for cleaning forks, spoons, and
the handles of the knives. The extremity of the axle is fixed by a double nut
or two nuts, which are so formed and adjusted as to form a knife sharpener.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Genhart in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th January 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
GENHART, Armourer, of the City of Liege, in the Kingdom of Belgium, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Genhart, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Genhart, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
Genhart, 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 Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
CLEANING AND SHARPENING KNIVES, AND CLEANING SPOONS AND FORKS,"
upon the
condition (amongst others) that I; the said Henry Genhart, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the

page_text: 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 Henry Genhart, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists of a mechanical arrangement constituting an
improved apparatus, by the use of which any number of knives, according to
the size of the machine, may be cleaned at one operation. Forks and spoons
may also be cleaned in the above apparatus, the construction of which is as
follows:-The apparatus is composed of a cylindrical brush, fitting tightly in a
metal tube, said tube is supported and enclosed at its ends by metal standards,
through the centres of which pass an axle, on which a circular brush is fixed,
and revolves therewith by means of a handle fixed on one end of said axle.
On the other end of the aforesaid axle, and at the outside of that standard
which supports this end of the tube containing the circular brush, a narrow
circular brush is fixed, and designed for cleaning the ferrules of knives
simultaneously with the blades thereof, and by substituting another brush in
place of this last-mentioned brush spoons may be cleaned. The blades of the
knives are introduced into the apparatus through slits or openings formed in
the rim of one of the standards thereof. The handle of the machine is turned
until one side of the knives, &c., is cleaned, after which they must be reversed
and the operation repeated. On the uppermost part of the aforesaid tube, is
a receptacle, containing emnery powder, brick dust, or other polishing powder,
which passes by an outlet to the brush in the tube. In practice, it will be
found advantageous to mix a small quantity of vegetable oil with the polishing
powder to cause the powder to adhere to the brush.
In order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible, I now
proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same
into practical effect, and have attached to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings,
illustrative of the construction of my said improved apparatus, and have
marked the same with numeral Figures and letters of reference, similar letters
being employed to denote corresponding parts in so far as such parts appear or
can be seen at each of such said Figures respectively.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.

page_text: of one of the standards, shewing small circular brush and slits in standard for
receiving the knives; Figure 4 represents the apparatus complete. At each
of the foregoing Figures I employ similar letters of reference to denote corre-
sponding parts in so far as such parts appear or can be seen at each of such
said Figures respectively. The brush at Figure 1 is composed of a cylindrical
piece of wood A, around which are fixed rows of bristles in a spiral direction,
the diameter of the brush being larger than the tube that it may fit closely
therein. B is a piece of iron, forming the axis on which the piece of wood A
is fixed; C is a winch handle, fitting upon one end of said axis for imparting
motion to the same, and to the brush fixed thereon; D, D¹, are iron standards
supporting the tube E; that marked D has slits or openings a formed therein.
as at Figure 3; at the centre of each of these standards there is a hole,
through which the axle B passes. The brush having been introduced into the
tube E, and the standards D, D¹, and handle C adjusted and fixed thereto, a
small brush G is next fixed on the axis B, and the receptacle H charged with
cleaning powder and covered by a lid h. The machine is now ready for use,
and the operations thereof as follows:-The operator pushes the knives to be
cleaned through the slits a in the standard D, and then imparts motion to the
handle of the machine; and when one side of the knives are sufficiently
cleaned, he then reverses the position of the knives and cleans the other side
thereof. The brush G cleans the bolster part of the blades. When it is
desired to clean forks, the same may be effected by the operator holding them
upon the brush G with one hand, whilst with the other hand he turns the
handle of the machine. I would here remark that, if necessary, the inner
surface of the tube E may have longitudinal grooves or broad shallow ridges
formed therein to receive the blades of the knives, and the handles of the
several knives may have a ring of vulcanized india rubber or other elastic
material passed over them to assist in keeping them steady whilst they are
being cleaned.
For cleaning spoons I propose to substitute a smaller brush I, (shewn by
dotted lines at Figure 1,) in the place of the brush G, and to make the surface
of the brush I curved, as exhibited, and for sharpening knives, I propose to
fix two adjustable wedge-shape pieces of steel K, K, upon the axle B, and to
roughen and temper the surfaces of such said pieces that they may operate as
a file. By holding the cutting edge of the blade of the knife downwards
between the aforesaid pieces of steel with one hand, and turning round the
handle C with the other hand, knives may thus be effectually and readily
sharpened.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said

page_text: Invention of "An Improved Apparatus for Cleaning and Sharpening Knives,
and Cleaning Spoons and Forks," together with the best means I am
acquainted with for carrying the same into practical effect, I hereby declare
my Invention to consist in and I claim an apparatus of the construction above
particularly described, set forth, and represented by the illustrative Drawing
hereunto annexed for the purposes set forth.
In 'witness whereof, I, the said Henry Genhart, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
ALEX. PRINCE, Patent Agent,
4, Trafalgar Square.
HENRY GENHART. (L.S.)