Apparatus for making paper clips

An apparatus for forming a paper clip comprising means for advancing a continuous wire at a predetermined feed speed in a given path, means presenting a die surface adjacent the path of the wire, knife means on the opposite side of said path from said die surface adapted to intermittently engage the wire, pressing the wire against the die and partially severing the wire, the knife means engaging the wire at predetermined lengths along the wire as it passes by the die, the knife means including a cutting blade edge for penetrating the wire and a pair of shoulders spaced from the blade edge a distance less than the thickness of the wire such that the shoulders engage and press the cut edges of the wire, and delivery means engaging the wire along the path downstream of the cutting station, said delivery means advancing the wire at a speed greater than the feeding means, whereby the wire is being pulled while it is being partially severed to thereby separate the length of wire, said delivery means delivering the wire into a receiving slot at high speeds, the receiving slot being arranged to align the wire to be passed through a die forming means, a deflecting member in the slot, the surface of the deflecting member being at an acute angle to the path of the wire, and the trailing edge of the deflecting surface being spaced from an opposite surface, forming the slot, a distance greater than the diameter of the wire, such that as the wire is delivered at high speed into the slot, the wire hits the deflecting surface and passes through the space between the trailing edge of the deflecting surface and the wall forming the slot at a reduced speed as a result of said deflection, and a magnet located at the closed end of said receiving slot so as to retain the wire and hold it against the magnet surface in a position ready to be passed through the die forming means, means for lifting the wire out of said receiving slot into a ramming path, three tubular forming dies having spirally curved bending edges, the axes of said forming dies being at right angles to the receiving slot, a ramming member including forwardly projecting spindles adapted to pass centrally of the respective tubular forming dies and adapted to engage the cut wire member lifted from the receiving slot into the ramming path and advance the wire through the forming dies while the forming dies form the wire into a trombone paper clip and the ramming member being adapted to discharge the formed paper clip from the forming dies.