The Bootjack Multi-Tool: Scissor Arms That Pull Boots, Drive Tacks and Draw Corks

"The arm A is provided at its heel with a hammer which consists of the head D, and claws E, the front end of this arm being so constructed as to form a screw driver. Arm B, is provided at its rear with a cork screw F, its forward end being turned up as shown in the drawings forms a shield and protection for the point of the screw driver." "When in the form shown in Fig. 3 the implement may be used as a hammer for driving tacks or nails, and for drawing them as circumstances may require."

**Arms.** Cut three arms from hardwood: A and B 35 cm long, C 20 cm. Drill A and B near one end for a bolt as the pivot d, so they open like scissors, and fit a stop pin a on A that B's rear strikes when open. Hinge C to B at the pivot with a small butt hinge so its free end turns down as a leg. **Hammer and claws.** At A's heel, rivet a short block of mild steel square bar across the arm as the head D, and rivet a piece of flat bar beside it with a split, filed V as the claws E. **Screwdriver and shield.** Set a strip of flat bar into A's front end and file it to a screwdriver point H. Bend up B's front end, a strip of sheet screwed on, as the shield. **Corkscrew and scraper.** Wind 2 mm steel wire into an open helix, file its point, and set its straight end in a hole in B's rear. Screw a small flat-bar scraper G on C's end. **Test.** Open the arms, stand on C's end and pull a boot off by its heel in the V. Then drive and draw a tack, draw a cork, and take out a screw.

**L. J. Wicks** of Racine, Wisconsin, assignor to himself and Thomas Burbeck, received US 22,923, dated 8 February 1859; he signed Loren J. Wicks. Arm C was made of two parts joined by a hinge x, so its front end turns down to support the arms, and it need not be pivoted separately. His claim is the bootjack as an article of manufacture with tools formed on the rear or front of its arms, the arms opening and shutting together. **Honest limits.** Hardwood arms with riveted steel parts stand in for his made-up arms. The notebook treats the heel as a simple width; its heels and angles are examples. Your boot and tools are the result.