Pretty cool compound joint shears. Fairly lightweight, made of stamped steel, about 12.5″ long. I don’t know what that badge attached to the center joint is for, it doesn’t move and has Made in U.S.A. and the patent number stamped on it. Maybe it’s to shield a spot which could be a nasty hand-pincher. If you were choking up on the tool, right at that spot feels like a good place for your thumb to rest. Yeah, I think that’s it.
In the patent for this tool, a riveting read (pun), pinching is mentioned in the first paragraph:
This invention relates to pruning tools. An object is to provide a pruning shear mechanism for operating the cutting members by hand, which mechanism will enable the shears to be opened an adequate distance to receive easily such branches as can be cut by hand shears; and in or with which mechanism all positions of the cutting members, necessary to effect cutting, are unaccompanied by relationships of the operating handles such as to make them inconvenient to grasp to advantage and to operate effectively through entire cutting movements without danger of pinching the fingers of the operator.
But interestingly, that metal plate covering the pinch spot on the tool is not in the patent. Maybe someone from Barco was reading the patent and trying out the tool, demonstrating its advertised non-pinching properties to co-workers and pinched his thumb bloody, resulting in a halt in production and the addition of the plate.
Actually, not that I’m looking closer, the tool I have doesn’t look like the one in the patent drawing. The one in the patent would not pinch in that spot. If any former employees of Barco are reading this, write to me and put this mystery to rest.
Barco Machine Products from Cleveland, OH, incorporated in the early 40’s. I see mention of them on websites selling parts, but maybe that’s old stock. I can’t find that they are an active company.
Nice shears, anyway.
