The Spring-Jaw Seam Ripper: One Wire and an Oblique Blade

"The fabric to be operated upon for ripping the seam is placed between the jaws 4 4, the latter grasping them in a line with the seam, and the handle serves to force the implement forward following the line of the seam. The thread forming such seam as it reaches the cutter 5 will be readily severed thereby, the latter being set obliquely and crossing the line of contact of the jaws and serving to act upon the threads with a drawing cut." "From the foregoing description it will be seen that the jaws, the spring-coils for controlling them, and the handle for operating the device are all formed from a single rod or wire, the only separate piece being the blade or cutter, which can be attached as needed for sharpening or other purposes."

Sew a test seam on doubled scrap cloth with a known stitch length. Bend spring steel wire into a loop handle and twist its ends together. Wind each end once round a pen to form a coil, then bring the ends forward side by side as two jaws, flared apart at the tip. File the jaw edges blunt so they grip without cutting. Bind a small piece of craft-knife blade across one jaw at a slant. Push the jaws along the seam. Time 20 cm with the stopwatch, then time 20 cm with a plain seam ripper and 20 cm picked out with a needle. Check the cloth for cuts. Compare with the notebook.

**John Edward Fisher** of Elmsdale, Hants County, Nova Scotia, filed US 604,675 on 10 June 1897; it is dated 24 May 1898. **Honest limits.** The notebook counts stitches only; knotted, overlocked or back-tacked seams take longer. The ripper time assumes the same push speed whatever the stitch length, which short stitches may not allow. The picking time and ripper speed are examples. Your stopwatch times are the measurement.