The Dividers of William Schollhorn and William Bernard 

The names Bernard and Schollhorn are known to many antique tool collectors as the patentees and manufacturers of a line of successful parallel-jawed pliers. Less well known, is that both were involved in the development of several innovative designs for dividers and calipers.

William Schollhorn (1834-1890), a German born machinist by trade, established a manufacturing operation in New Haven, Connecticut in 1870 with Frank Tiesing for the production of shears and scissors. After Tiesing’s death in 1888 the company’s name was changed to William Schollhorn & Co.

William Schollhorn’s Patents

During his lifetime William Schollhorn was awarded three tool patents, one for a corkscrew, one for dividers and one for a pencil holding attachment for dividers.

Jan. 9,1866

 William Schollhorn and Frank Pfleghar were awarded a patent for “An Improvement in Compasses and Calipers”. The two key elements of these dividers and calipers were a distinctive, sweeping, “triangular” wing to fix the legs and a tapered thumbscrew to lock the wing in place. These dividers and calipers were apparently quite successful as they often turn up in antique sales. The joint is typically marked “Wm. Schollhorn & Co., New Haven Ct.” and the patent date.                              

The pair of dividers shown below is similar to the standard 1866 examples above, but the hinge has brass caps and is without any markings. My guess would be that its an early model of the 1866 patent.                                        

 June 17, 1873

Schollhorn was awarded a patent for an “Improvement in Pencil Attachments” in 1873. This unit holds a pencil parallel to the leg of a pair of dividers. They are often found associated with examples of Schollhorn’s 1866 dividers, but they will fit dividers by other manufacturers if the lower legs are round. Both examples in my collection are marked with the patent date “Sep. 30, 1890”. Although the patent is labeled for its pencil attachment, the Directory of American Tool and Machinist Patents (DATAMP) does not show a patent for a pencil attachment on this date, so it is likely a re-issue of the 1873 patent 17 years after the original patent was issued. The 1873 patent also shows a modification of the 1866 patent dividers. The right-side leg includes a hinged lower section that can be moved by adjusting a screw at its top. This serves as a fine adjustment for the points. The top photo below shows an example of these dividers with a photo of the pencil attachment below.

           

William Bernard’s Patents

William Bernard (1848-1928) was issued over 100 patents during his lifetime, 56 of which are listed in the DATAMP, most of his tool patents relate to variations of his parallel jawed pliers. Bernard also received five patents for dividers all of which, along with his plier patents, were produced by Schollhorn & Co. Bernard became a Vice President of Schollhorn & Co.

May 6, 1890

Below is a later exampleof Bernard’s first plier patent. These pliers have been in production by various companies since 1890. Wm. Schollhorn & Co. was acquired by the Sargent Company in 1948. Several web sites focus entirely on Bernard pliers. The pair of pliers shown is marked “Sargent”.                              

July 19, 1892

The Bernard dividers based on this patent allow for the lower legs to swing up and fit within the upper legs enabling them to be carried in a safer and more compact fashion than most dividers. Bernard stated that unlike most dividers of the period which were either forged or cast steel these dividers were made of sheet metal which was lighter and less expensive to produce. The locking mechanism can, by means of a thumb screw, be made to move a bar within the fold of the upper leg which impinges and locks the joint. The leg opposite the locking leg carries an inch rule on both sides which was likely of questionable value. One side of the joint is marked “Bernards, pat. July 19, 1892” while the other side is marked “W. Schollhorn Co., New Haven, Conn.” This tool is far less common than the 1866 Schollhorn patent dividers pictured above.

                           

Aug. 7, 1900

Bernard’s second patent for dividers involves a side-locking mechanism to fix the triangular wing. A wing nut drives a shoe type locking brake against the bottom of the wing. This model includes a typical fine adjustment mechanism on the left side. The tool pictured below has the W. Schollhorn Co., New Haven Conn. mark on one side of the joint and “pat applied for” on the opposite side. Later examples include Bernard’s name and the 1900 patent date. Many also include the model name “Excelsior” stamped on the side of the leg.                   

           

Oct. 17, 1905 & Dec. 5, 1905

The final patents for dividers issued to William Bernard were for a relatively basic style tool with a slotted wing and a typical thumb screw lock and a fine adjustment screw on the left end of the wing. This model was stamped with name “LODI” on the side of the upper arm. The December 5 modification of this patent was for a spring for the fine adjustment. One side of the hinge on the example below bears the marking “W. S. Co New Haven Conn” and the other: “Patented Oct.17 1905” Below the October date in small letters is “Dec. 5, 1905”. No doubt due to its simplicity and resulting low cost this was apparently a popular tool which shows up quite often.