The Knight Foundry Scarifier, Patent No. US 1665277 A, was developed in 1926 and patented in 1928 by Daniel (Dan) V. Ramazzotti, owner of Knight Foundry, as an improved mechanical ripper for removing uneven surfaces and ruts from roads. With the advent of motor vehicles in the early 1900s, roads had to be improved and paved. Road building was steadily being mechanized and, towed behind heavy tractor, the Knight Scarifier filled the need for prepping the rough road surface prior to final grading. It was widely used in the U.S., with some units shipped as far as South America and Africa. Its design aimed to make the pull on the draw bar exert constant downward pressure on the frame and scarifier teeth, impart pulling strains directly to the tooth block, allow accurate raising and lowering of the teeth without lost motion, and mount the teeth so they were rigidly held yet easily removed or adjusted longitudinally, producing a simple, inexpensive, and highly effective device.