icator substituted two flat
coiled springs (like watch springs) for the two cantilever springs
normally found in "reversible" scarificators. One end of each coiled
spring was attached to the scarificator casing and the other to one of the
support rods. As the cocking lever was pulled, the support rods turned and
wound the springs more tightly about the rods. According to Charriere,
these springs were more efficient and less likely to break than the
ordinary springs.[148]

Charriere's company later employed the coiled springs in the making of a
circular scarificator. The circular scarificators, associated particularly
with French manufacture, were the most elegant of nineteenth-century
scarificators and a fitting complement to the Charriere cupping sets.[149]
They were generally not sold by British and American surgical supply
companies, but a number of them appear to have reached the hands of
American physicians.

In America, there were five patents on scarificators, of which the
Smithsonian possesses three patent models. The most significant American
patent was that of George Tiemann in 1846. Tiemann's scarificator had a
flattened base and an ebony handle, which contained a coiled spring. The
blades were moved by a rack and pinion mechanism, and triggered by a knob
at the end of the handle. The advantages claimed by the inventor were ease
in handling, ease in cleaning, and the diagonal cut of the blades that
allowed the blood to flow more freely and the wounds to heal more readily.
Tiemann & Co. was still selling their patent scarificator as late as 1889
for a price of $7.00.[150] The Smithsonian possesses a marketed version in
addition to the patent model.

The two other patent scarificators in the Smithsonian collection were both
invented by Frederick M. Leypoldt of Philadelphia. The first, patented in
1847, was similar in external appearance to the common scarificator. The
novelty consisted of a new arrangement of the cocking lever and cantilever
spring that allowed use of a lighter and cheaper casing. Although the
patent model was made of brass, Leypoldt claimed that with his
improvements in the internal mechanism, the case could, with safety, be
made of tin.[151]

Leypoldt's second patent, issued in 1851, was for a scarificator with a
greatly simplified inner mechanism allowing for a substantially smaller
and lighter case. The cocking lever was placed horizontally in the casing
and engaged the blade rods throu