US2485375A - Cutlery - Google Patents

Description

c.E. FLYNN y CUTLERY Oct, 18; 1949.`

Filed Aug. 29. 1945 Patented Oct. 18, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CUTLERY Clarence E. Flynn, St. Louis, Mo. Application August 29, 1945, Serial No. 613,262

1 Claim.

This invention relates to cutlery, and with regard to certain more specific features, to safety guardsfor knives and the like, particularly for butchering, culinary and similar purposes.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of a guard construction so located with respect to the handle of a lpiece of cutlery that operating balance is preserved; the provision of a guard of the class described which automatically requires the user to employ it regardless of how he grasps the handle of the cutlery carrying the guard; and the provision of a light-weight, comfortable guard of the class described which is simple and economical to construct and apply to the cutlery. Other objects will be in part obvious and ,in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claim.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a knife embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1; y

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view showing my new knife grasped in one way; and,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the knife grasped in another way.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Hereinafter, a knife is referred to as a class example of the type of cutlery to which the invention applies, and is not to be taken as limiting.

Guard constructions are a necessity for certain knives, for example butcher knives for packing plant use. They would also be desirable for culinary knives if they were unobtrusive enough.

In the case of butcher knives, they are used with such speed, dexterity and force that if any mishap occurs in thrusting the knife, as for example by striking with the knife point a bone or which extends the cutting element 3.

and the like. However, their use has not been popular for several reasons. As constructed today, such guards are generally heavy and located at the base of the knife handle, like on a sword, in which position the operating balance of the knife (particularly a light one) is considerably impaired, particularly for quickly executing fancy cuts. As a result the guards are often .Surreptitiously removed by packing house employes, without the knowledge of those in charge o f safety, with resulting serious accidents and financial loss. Furthermore, the former guards were so heavy and clumsy that they were seldom used for culinary cutlery; Whereas it would be quite desirable also to incorporate them for such uses. My invention overcomes the above diiculties and encourages the wider spread use of knife guards.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, B indcates a blade in general and H its attached handle. The blade B has a shank I from present embodiment the handle I-I consists in a wooden grip 5, slotted at 1 to receive the shank I. Holes through the handle in the vicinity of the slot 1 and shank I accommodate holding rivets 9.

Crosswise of the slot 1 is located a flatwise opening II serving as a guide which passes through the grip 5 from top to bottom. As indicated, the guide I I and the slot 'I intersect. At the intersection the-shank I is notched as shown at I3 and I5, leaving a connecting portion I1. This portion I'I is located in a slot I9 of a slidable guard 2 I' and serves to hold the latter prisoner, though movable. This guard 2I is of a width for sliding freely in the guide II, and the slot I9 therein is of a Width freely to slide around the connection I'I. The ends 23 and 25 of the guard 2l are respectively alternately accommodated in the notches I3 and I5 (and the adjoining portions of the guide II). Thus in Figs. 2 and 3 the end portion 25 is shown in the notch I5, but the guard may be pushed from this position in the direction shown by the arrows until the end portion 23 is in the notch I3. In either position, the respective end of the guard 2l is flush with the handle.

The knife may be grasped either as shown in Fig. 4 or in Fig. 5. For example, in Fig. 4 the cutting edge is toward the operator and in Fig. 5

it is away from him, both being common posi. tions for various cuts. Referring to the bottom` In the 21. In doing so it forces the sliding guard 2T outward to protrude from the top side 29 of the handle. This protrusion takes place preferably between the third and fourth iingers 3| and 33 in the operators hand. The length of the slide 2| is preferably kept to a value that the protrusion is only between the ngers and not far, if any, beyond, so as not to interfere with surrounding objects. This causes the slide 2l' to operate .as a guard since even if the knife is plunged downwardly hard and its point encounters an obstruction, the hand cannot slip down onto the `blade B.

In Fig, 5, wherein the knife is reversed in the hand, the palm of the hand comes against the top 29 of the handle, thus pushing the slide 22d out beyond the bottom 2l of the handle and again in between the third and fourth n'gers 31 'and 33 of the operator. Furthermore, the knife may be turned upward, instead of downward, in either of the positions shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and operate equally well. The guard in any position adjusts itself automatically to the operators grasp.

The slide` 2l may be made quite light andsince itis located at or near the center of the handle H, it does -not disturb the operating balance of the knife for fast and complicated cutting operations. In practice the actual weight of the only part that is needed in addition to the usual knife ,parts is of the order of an ounce, more or less,

particularly if the slide 2| is made of aluminum. Even this slight weight is somewhat offset by the loss of weight in the shank l lat notches I3 and l5 and from the handle H at guide II.

While a substantially (though not exact.) cen- -tral position is shown for the guard on -the handle, it will be 4understood that any other desired similar median position may be satisfactory, as required by proper balance. By median position is meant one which, when the handle is grasped, enables the operator automatically to push the slide 2l out in between any two opposite .iingers For example, it might -be desired to have the guard so located that ,a palm portion 4 of the hand would push it out in between the rst and second ngers or between the fourth and fifth fingers.

While various shapes of the slide guard are satisfactory, the shape is preferable which is flatwise perpendicular to the handle H and blade B, since this places a minimum amount of material between the operators fingers and makes almost imperceptible the feeling of the presence of the guard.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

,As many changes could be made in the above constructions Without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying ldrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

A reversible guard for a cutlery handle, the .latter having a space in which is contained a noncutting extension .from a cutting blade and having a transverse slot which is spaced in the handle ra substantial distance from the cutting blade itself., said guard having a passage accommodating Ythe non-cutting vhandle extension, whereby the guard may move and the extension act as a stop for the guard, the guard being movable to and REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 40 Elfe :of patent:

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