US2672685A - Carver - Google Patents

Description

March 23, 1954 A. E. WALTERS 2,672,685

CARVER IS nnnnn or HARE mm .5 MAL men s (mm H Patented Mar. 23, 1954 CARVER Alfred E: Walters, lseattlegiwash. Application" January 7, 19'49,Serlal"No.169;777

' LClaiIn.

My invention relates to carvers and more particularly to carving utensils such as carving knives and-forksused primarily in carving articles of food.

'It is a primary object of my inventionto provide a carver wherein the handle is disposed angularly downwardly and outwardly from the plane of the blade of the carver.

stantia'lly at 45 to the supporting surface. This providesg not only forproteotion of the cutting edge. of the knife, but furtherprovid-es for safety as the cutting. edge of the knife is angularly directed downwardly.

it i is a; further obj ect of my i inventionvto provide, acarvertwherein the outtingzpressure of the operator-is reflected over. the entire hand'o'fthe operator rather than merely being fulcrumed about the operators thumb as is common in conventional carvers.

It is a further object of my invention toprovide a knife so shaped and arranged that the forearm, wrist, and hand of the operator are in a natural and normal position rather than in a twisted position. This the mode of operation of conventional knives and thus carvers of my invention minimize strain on the operators wrist, provide for more ease of operation, and for more accuracy in cutting. Obviously, where a knife is being guided and there is less strain on the wrist of the operator, there is less likelihood of accidental cutting of the operator.

It is a further object of my invention to provide carvers of a construction which permit balance in the carver and not only aid the operator in the carving operation, but permit maximum ease and comfort to the operator during the carving operation.

The above mentioned general objects of my invention, tog-ether with others inherent in the same, are attained by the devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings throughout which like reference numerals indicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of one form of knife embodying my invention, and with the knife blade disposed in a vertical plane;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof;

is to be distinguished from n Fig 4-is a sectional view taken'substantiallybn broken line' 4- -4 of- Fig2'3;

Fig. 1 5 is-a sectional view' 't'a ken substantially onbroken line 5- 5 ofFig; 3;

Fig.6 isa viewin-side elevation 'indicat'ing the 'manner in which the tools of 'Figsf I to" 5 of the drawings may be laid on-"a support or re'sty'an'd Fig; 7=-is an end viewthereof.

Referring now tothe construction shown in Figs; 1' to 7 ofthe -drawings;-a carver tool; such as blade '18, is provided and the same may have any desirable shape. However, thecontour t'af the cutting edge lilis preferably provid'das-will be hereinafter explained. A handle member preferably "is formed of- 'any suitable transparent 'ortranslucent *plastic material for decorative effects. The handle member 20 is disposed-With its longitudinal 'axis angular in two directions to the plane oftheblade l8. If the' blade lll is disposed in a'verticalplaney with the longitudinal axisthereof in a -horizontal' plane and withthe cutting edge downwardly, as indicated in Figs. 1 'to 5 of the drawings; =the longitudinal-*akisof the "'haridle member" 20 angles downwardly'from the blade "I 8 i to form an obtuse angle or 'substantially- 135; 1 as punctuated 'in -Figi 1- of the drawings, and also angles laterally therefrom to form an obtuse angle of substantially 135, as is best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The upper surface 2| of the handle member 20, as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, is convex in transverse section while the lower surface 22, Of the handle member 20, is concave in transverse section. The handle member 20 is somewhat pear shaped in plan and tapers toward the outer end portion 23, as is best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The knife blade I8 is formed portion 24 may, if desired, come to the surface of the plastic handle and be ground to the contour thereof as is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. Preferably an opening 25 is: provided in the heel portion 24 and which is filled provide for a more secure union between the heel portion 24 of the blade l8 and the handle member 20. Also the portion 26 is dull to function as a rest in the event it is desired to rest the knife, when not in use, on a supporting surface as is indicated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings, In such figures, the knife and handle member may be supported and have a three point suspension, wherein the knife portion 26, the heel or butt portion 28, and the toe or outer end portion 23 rest on the supporting surface 21.

When the knife is at rest, it may be placed in the positions shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings but, when the knife is in use, the blade ill will generally not be angularly disposed to the vertical and will generally be in a vertical plane as is indicated in Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings. In cutting with the knife, shown in Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings, the knife will generally be pushed or pulled away from or toward the user and, during movement, the pointed end of the blade l8 will be pointed downwardly and at an angle of about 45 to the horizontal. This puts the pressure of the operators fist behind the cutting pressure during pushing of the knife.

Also during use of the knife and if a substantially vertical cut is being made of articles such as meat, the handle member 20 will extend downwardly and rearwardly and the forearm, wrist, and hand of the operator are in a natural, rather than in a twisted, position. Also the handle member 20 should be of a size to conveniently fill the hand of the operator and thus the operators full hand is being employed and we do not have a grasp of the handle wherein the operator employs his thumb as a fulcrum and tends to lift up with the outer end of the handle in order to force the pointed end of the blade downwardly. The operators fingers pass about the handle member 20 and the first four fingers will be received in the concave portion 22 while the thumb may extend about the rounded portion at the heel or butt portion 28 of the handle member 20.

The knife of Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings is a knife for a right handed operator. Obviously to make a knife for a left handed operator, the 9 parts can be appropriately changed to provide mated parts.

In the figures illustrating my invention, I have provided knives which are generally characterized in that the operator closes his hand about the knife and fills his hand so that the cutting action obtains by the use of the entire pressure of the hand rather than by attempting to lift up the fingers and push down on the thumb as obtains with the use of ordinary knives. Also in the various embodiments of my invention, the iongitudinal axis of the handle is angled downwardly and outwardly from the longitudinal axis of the carving utensil as distinguished from being generally aligned therewith in accordance with common practice. While such angles change with various embodiments of my invention, for a particular knife or carving utensil, the angles may be adjusted to obtain desired balance so that the knife permits th operator to employ natural and unstrained positions of his forearm, wrist, and hand during carving.

Obviously changes may be made in the dimensions, arrangements and forms of my invention without departing from the principle thereof, the above setting forth only preferred forms of embodiment.

I claim:

A dinner knife comprising a handle, said handle including an enlarged heel surface contacting portion and a tip surface contacting portion for normally supporting the knif on a horizontal surface, a knife blade rigidly connected to the handle at the heel thereof, the said blade extending laterally of the handle when said handle is supported on a surface, the plane of said blade being disposed at an obtuse angle to the axis of the handle and at an acute angle to a plane through the surface contacting portion of the heel and tip.

ALFRED E. WALTERS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 673,506 Pitts May 'I, 1901 1,826,250 Jensen Oct. 6, 1931 2,045,192 Kuhar June 23, 1936 2,105,119 Hindcs Jan. 11, 1938 2,124,615 Foltz July 26, 1938 2,382,304 Foltz et al. Aug. 14, 1945 2,421,339 Leger May 2'7, 194'? 2,520,355 Bell Aug. 29, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 359,100 Germany Sept. 22, 1922

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