Dermatome with a reciprocable knife

Claim 1

A dermatome having a reciprocable knife, comprising: a housing having guide means mounted therein; a knife for cutting away a skin transplant reciprocable along said guide means; a counterweight for counterbalancing the forces generated by the reciprocation of said knife which are capable of bringing about vibrations of said housing; said counterweight being adapted for reciprocation along said guide means in a direction that is opposite to that of the motion of said knife; a handle mounted on said housing for facilitating operation of said dermatome during a skin transplanting operation, a drive shaft extending through said handle and being in the form of a crankshaft having crankpins disposed in diametrical opposition to each other relative to the axis of rotation, one of said crankpins being connected to said knife and another of said crankpins being coupled to said counterweight for transforming rotation of said drive shaft into reciprocation of said knife and said counterweight; means for limiting the width of the skin transplant being cut away; and means for adjusting the thickness of the skin transplant being cut away by varying the size of a gap through which the skin transplant that has been cut away leaves said dermatome.