Patent Publication Number: US-2011047805-A1

Title: Razor blade extender

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable. 
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to sharpeners for hand held safety razors. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     Hand held safety razor blades used for shaving hair from the human body generally include a razor cartridge attached to a razor handle. The razor cartridge includes one or more individual blades, with multiple blades being arranged in parallel. Generally the razor blades are capable of a maximum of between five and ten close shaves based on the hair being shaved and the care given to the razor blades. The razor cartridge is then discarded and a new razor cartridge inserted into the handle. 
     Moisture within the environment causes damage to the razor blades if not removed between use. No protective coating is applied to the razor blades after use to prevent the formation of microscopic rust on the razor blades surface. 
     Sharpeners for hand held safety razors are known in the prior art. Leather razor strops have been used for decades to hone straight razors. While this has worked on single hand held blades, it was not intended for sharpening multiple blades or a cartridge of blades. In addition the hard leather does not conform to the shape of the razor blades in the razor cartridge, making it difficult to provide the precise angle required to sharpen the razor blades in a multi-bladed razor cartridge. It also does not remove excess moisture from the razor blades after shaving is completed or coat the razor blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades. 
     A hand operated sharpener is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,731, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Although effective, it requires stoking the razor blade at a precise angle to properly sharpen the razor blade. It also does not remove excess moisture from the razor blades after shaving is completed or coat the razor blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades. 
     An automated sharpener is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,106, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. While this automated process presents a significant advance over the manual sharpener, the basic sharpening method is essentially the same for both the manual and automated method. In addition, the motorized portion of the automated sharpener makes the overall device somewhat bulky, generally larger, and possibly more expensive than necessary. It also does not remove excess moisture from the razor blades after shaving is completed or coat the razor blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades. 
     A manual sharpener with aloe vera gel lubricant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,553,218, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference, in its entirety. While this apparatus for sharpening uses a mirrored plate glass to sharpen with a holder to achieve the precise angle required to sharpen the razor blades, the surface does not easily conform to the razor blades. It also does not remove excess moisture from the blades after shaving is completed or coat the blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades. 
     The prior art discloses examples of apparatus for sharpening blades of a razor, but none providing the combination of features disclosed and claimed herein. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a system to hone the razor blades of a multi-bladed razor cartridge and to prevent rust from forming on the razor blades between uses. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
     Accordingly, there are several objects and advantages of my invention. First, the angle at which the handle of the razor handle may be honed is not critical since the flexible honing material conforms to the surface of the razor blades in the cartridge. The flexible honing material presses directly against the razor blades at a variety of angles of the razor handle conforming to the razor blades and spaces between the razor blades. A further advance is that moisture can be removed from the razor blades after shaving and transferred to the flexible honing material reducing the formation of microscopic rust on the razor blades. A further advance is that a coat of oil is transferred from the flexible honing material to the razor blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades between use. 
     Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
    
    
     
       DRAWING FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the razor blade extender showing the separate handle, honing material and assembled razor blade extender. 
         FIG. 2  is a front and side view of the razor blade extender. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the razor being pushed against the flexible honing material. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the razor being pushed against the flexible honing material. 
         FIG. 5  is an expanded view of the razor blade cartridge being pushed against the flexible honing material. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS 
     
         
         
           
               10  handle 
               12  mounting hole 
               14  flexible honing material 
               16  seam joining flexible honing material 
               18  razor handle 
               20  razor cartridge 
               22  razor blades 
           
         
       
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows the razor blade extender consists of a handle  10  which includes a hole  12  to allow the razor blade extender  10  to be hung on a nail or hook. A flexible honing material  14  which is folded in half and sewn with a seam joining the homing material  16  on two sides to form a pocket. The handle  10  is then inserted into the pocket formed by the flexible honing material  14 . The flexible honing material is loosely fitted over the handle which allows it to conform to the razor blade head. In the preferred embodiment the flexible honing material  14  consists of a chamois made of goat skin which has a small amount of oil added to the chamois to help coat the razor blades  22  with oil. 
       FIG. 2  shows the razor blade extender in a front and side view with the handle  10  inserted in the flexible honing material  14 . 
     OPERATION 
     As shown in  FIG. 3  the razor blade extender is held with one hand or placed on a flat service. The razor cartridge  20  is then stroked using the razor handle  18  in one direction against the flexible honing material  14  to hone the razor blades  22 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a side view of the razor blade extender in operation. The razor blade cartridge  20  is stroked using the razor handle  18  against the flexible honing material  14  in one direction to hone the razor blades  22 . 
     The flexible honing material  14 , being a soft material loosely fitted over the handle  10  conforms to the razor blade cartridge  20  and allows the razor blades  22  to push against the flexible honing material  14 . This action aligns the edge of the razor blades  22  which produces a cleaner shave when used. 
     The razor blades  22  are passed repeatedly over the flexible honing material  14  five to ten times to hone the razor blades  22 . The razor is then used to shave. 
     Once the razor has finished being used to shave, it is rinsed, dried, then the razor blade is again passed repeatedly over the flexible honing material  14  five to ten times to remove any remaining moisture on the razor blades  22 . This also has the effect of transferring a small amount of oil present in the flexible honing material  14  to the surface of the razor blades  22  which helps to coat the razor blades  22  and prevent rust from forming between use of the razor. 
       FIG. 5  is an expanded view of the razor blades  22  being stroked against the flexible honing material  14 . It illustrates how the flexible honing material  14  conforms to the razor blades  22  to hone the razor blades  22 , to remove excess moisture from the razor blades  22  and to transfer oil from the flexible honing material  14  to the razor blades  22  to coat the razor blades  22  between use thereby preventing microscopic rust from forming on the razor blades  22 . 
     CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE 
     Thus the reader will see that the razor blade extender allows the razor blades  22  to easily and quickly be honed before each shave to help realign the razor blades  22  edge. It also removes excess water after the razor blades  22  are cleaned after use and deposits a small amount of oil from the flexible honing material  14  onto the razor blades  22  to protect the razor blades  22  from the formation of rust between use. 
     While my above description contains many specificities, there should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible. For example, the width of the handle  10  and flexible honing material  14  can be made narrower to more easily conform to the razor blades  22  so the razor blade cartridge  20  does not stand off from the flexible honing material  14 . 
     Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.