Improvements in and connected with Devices for Sharpening Razor Blades and the. like.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Aug., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 25th June, 1894 Accepted, 28th July, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Devices for Sharpening Razor
Blades and the. like..
WILLIAM COLIN MORISON Lympstone, Devon Gentleman' do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be' as follows:
This invention enables a razor blade to be automatically sharpened by each of
it's sides being alternately moved to and suitably over one of two suitable and
similar rollers (with suitable surfaces) placed a short distance from and parallel
with each other in preferably a horizontal plain revolving in opposite directions
(so that their action may be in one direction and that towards the edge of the
blade) and between which rollers the blade is suitably duly maintained, first one
of it's sides being placed against the roller nearest said side then the other side
is duly placed against the other roller.
The back of the blade is suitably rigidly connected with a piece above said
rollers in such manner that the blade may be between the rollers; said piece, by
means of suitable guides and suitable connections actuatel by a cam fixed to a
shaft, is caused to travel by the side of a piece caused, by means of suitable
connections actuated by a cam fixed to a shaft, duly to oscillate on pins above it
in such manner that first one side of the blade is duly moved to, and length-
wise forward a certain distance over the surface of one roller, then said side is
automatically moved from said roller, and the other side of the blade is moved
to, and then caused to move lengthwise backwards said certain distance over the
surface of the other roller, about one third of said forward and backward movement
being respectively somewhat upwards and another third somewhat downwards so
that not only the edge of the blade but a suitable portion of the two sides
respectively of said blade may be duly subjected to the action of said rollers; by
means of a suitably arranged spring the blade is duly pressed against the respective
rollers as required. The surfaces of said. rollers may be either rough or smooth
as may be required either to grind the blade or merely to slightly abrade it;
they are suitably arranged so that they may readily be removed and duly
replaced by others.
1
This device may either be arranged to grind razor blanks and the like, hollow if
desired, and operated by suitable power; or it may be arranged to be readily
operated by hand for suitably abrading and sharpening the blades of razors in
ordinary use.
Dated this 94th day of Anonst 1902.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Devices for Sharpening Razor
Blades and the like...
WILLIAM COLIN MORISON Lympstone Devon Gentleman do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention is a machine to enable razor blades and the like to be readily
sharpened; and it may be arranged to be used either for suitably grinding the
[Price 8.1

page_text: blanks of said blades preferably with concave sides, or for merely sharpening
razor blades in use, and duly finishing the same with a high polish, instead of
stropping same in the usual manner, as hereinafter described.
Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a side view and a plan on top of said machine
with a razor in position to be duly operated upon.
Fig. 3 being an end view of said machine looked at from the razor end, see
Fig. 1.
The letters and figures of reference apply to the same parts in the three figs.
The piece, a, which may be termed the carrier, is formed with a vertical
surface to fit against and slide over a suitable surface formed on the inner side of
the piece b with which it is suitably connected by means of the two bolts c¹, d', the
inner sides of the heads of which are suitably formed respectively to slide over
each of the two surfaces in the same plane with each other formed on and slightly
projecting from the outer side of while the ends of said bolts hold the piece, a,
firmly as required by being suitably screwed into it; two suitable rollers cl
and being fitted to roll round the shanks of the two bolts c' and d' respectively
within the two similar and somewhat arched slots e and formed through the
piece b as shown in Fig. 1; said bolts, rollers, and slots, serving to maintain the
piece, a, in a horizontal position at the same time that they guide said piece in
the direction it is with the razor 9 required to suitably be moved forward and
returned to the position shown in Fig. 1.
In the free end of the piece, a, is fitted the bolt h which is formed with a square
head h¹ then a round shank and a wide collar the former passing through a hole
in, and the latter supporting, the piece i provided with two suitable trunnions in
line with each other in such manner that the forked hooked arms at the upper end
of the piece k may be hung upon them as shown in Fig. 3, and the inward bent
portion at the lower end of k be duly placed under the shank of the razor after it
has been placed in suitable position with its back in the groove formed in the lower
portion of the piece a and the shank between and held sidewise by the two
springs 1, 1, in such manner that by means of the bolt h the piece k may be
moved upwards and caused to hold the razor firmly in position to be duly operated
upon. In Fig. 3, the shank of the razor is shown in section through the line B, C,
of Fig. 1.
From the upper portion of the piece b project upwards and inwards two pairs
of jaws m, m and n, n¹ fitted to the two tongues o and P (shown in section in
Fig. 2,) projecting downwards from the lower portion of the frame E (much
broken in Figs. 2 and 3 and which rises from and is fixed to the main frame G)
in such manner that the axis of the two pins q, q', which are in line and fitted
through said jaws and tongues, may be in the same plane vertically with the axis
of the razor blade in order that the piece b may oscillate so as to cause the razor
blade to be suitably moved a short distance on each side of a vertical plane."
To the upper portion of the piece a is fixed the piece r carrying a ball-bearing
to the arms of which is connected one end of the forked link ¹ the other end of
which is connected with the arms of the ball-bearing in the upper end of the
levers the lower end of which is fixed to one end of the shaft t while to the other
end of said shaft is fixed the lower end of the short lever t¹ to the upper en
of which is fixed a pin carrying the somewhat conically shaped roller u fitted to
and worked by the groove formed in the circular piece v fixed to the shaft v
working in the bearings w, w¹, in such manner that one revolution of said grooved
piece causes the roller to move the upper end of the lever ¹ two full strokes
and with it the levers which is thus caused to move from the position shown, in
Fig. 1, to F and return. As the lever a is moved to and from F it, by means
of the link ³, causes the carrier a to be moved in the direction indicated by
the forms of the slots and fat the same time that the carrier (and of course
with it the razor) is maintained in a horizontal position.
To the shaft is also fixed the cam x which duly acts upon the two
rollers y, y', which work, on pins, within the frame like piece formed on one end

page_text: of the rod 2 the free end of which is connected with the lower end of the lever 3
by a pin which also connects the lower end of the piece 4 with the lower end
of said lever the upper end of which: works on the outer end of the pin q¹.
To the upper end of the piece 4 is fixed the lower end of the spring 5 the
upper end of which is fixed to a tail piece fixed to the lower portion of a
square nut in which the bolt 6 works in such manner that by suitably turning
said bolt the nut is duly raised or lowered and the tension of the spring 5 corre-
spondingly increased or diminished. In a short slot formed in, about the 'middle
of the length of, the piece 4 works a stud projecting from the side of the lower end
of the piece 7 projecting downwards from the lower portion of the piece b so that
while, by means of the cam c, the lower end of the lever 3.is duly caused to move
a certain distance on each side of the position shown in Fig. 3, (which is half
stroke) the piece 7 and with it the piece 6 will be also acted upon and the razor
blade 9 will thus be duly moved to and against the rollers 8 and 9 alternately and
the blade will be duly pressed against said rollers respectively in proportion to
the tension of the spring 5. Said two rollers are fixed by a right and left handed
screw at the inner ends of the two shafts 10 and 11 working respectively in the
bearings 12, 13 and 14, 15, said rollers revolving in contrary directions so as to
duly act upon said blade towards it's edge.
To the outer end of the shaft 10 is fixed the toothed wheel 16, and to the outer
end of the shaft 11 is fixed the toothed wheel 17 which gears with 16 and both of
which are duly revolved by means of the toothed wheel 18 fixed to the shaft 10
and gearing with the toothed wheel 19 fixed to the shaft ¹ to the outer end of
which is fixed the crank 20 carrying at it's free end the handle 21, by means of
which the shaft v is duly revolved.
8
One revolution of said shaft v₁, first, by means of the piece 7, causes the razor
blade to be pressed (in proportion to the tension of the spring 5) against the
roller 8 then, by means of the levers being moved from it's present position to. F
(see Fig. 1.), said blade is duly moved forward lengthwise, the first portion of
said movement being upwards and the latter portion downwards as indicated by the
form of the two slots e and f. When has completed it's stroke the piece 7 being
duly acted upon causes said blade to be moved to and pressed (in proportion to
the tension of spring 5) against the roller 9.then the lever is returned from F to
it's present position which thus causes said blade to be moved backwards length-
wise to it's first position, the first portion of this return movement being upwards
and the latter portion downwards as indicated by the form of said slots e and f;
the rollers 8 and 9 being continuously revolved by means of said handle.
S
Thus as the razor blade is being moved as aforesaid over the surfaces of said
revolving rollers it's sides are duly acted upon partly. in proportion to the degree
with which said blade is pressed against them but chiefly in proportion to the
coarseness or smoothness of their surfaces.
This machine as shown in the accompanying drawings and as described is for
sharpening ordinary razor blades with preferably concave sides in use by barbers
and others and for that purpose the machine may be supplied with two pairs of
rollers, either pair being readily placed in position for use, one pair being for lightly
grinding and the other pair being for highly polishing the blade. Said rollers being
preferably made of suitable wood with a metal centre properly threaded to fit the
threads on the extensions of the two shafts 10 and 11 respectively so that they may
readily be placed in position or removed as required; rather coarse leather lightly
covered with grease or the like and suitable emery powder or the like forming the
surfaces of the lightly grinding pair, whereas very smooth leather preferably
slightly covered with grease or the like and fine crocus powder or the like may
form the surfaces of the finishing or polishing pair of rollers. When the machine
is arranged for heavier work such as grinding into the required shape the blanks for
razor blades or other suitable blades rollers formed of emery, similar to ordinary
emery wheels, of any required degree of coarseness are preferably used and of

page_text: course when used for such work the machine is suitably arranged to be driven by
suitable power.
For connecting a razor blade with the carrier a the arrangement shown and
described is preferably used but when blades differing much in shape from the
ordinary razor are to be operated upon said arrangement may not answer and
therefore would of course have to be suitably altered to enable the blade to be
firmly held as required.
When desired this machine may be arranged so that though the stroke of the
levers may remain the same, as shown and described, the movement lengthwise of
the carrier a may be shortened as may be desired, thus; instead of the piece
carrying a ball-bearing it may be formed with a suitable lug 22 (see Figs. 4 & 5
which are respectively a side view and a plan on top) through a suitable hole
through which may pass the bolt 23 the thread of which fits the thread formed in
the piece 241 formed on one end of the forked link 24 duly connected with the
levers either by means of a ball-bearing in s or a simple pin as shown in such
manner that ass moves towards and to F (Fig. 1) said bolt will slip through the
hole (suitably formed) in 22 until it's head comes against the side of 22 which will
then be moved during the remainder of the travel of s to F.
On the return movement of s from F said bolt will slip through said hole
until the outer end of the central portion of the link 24 comes against 22 and
thus commences to act upon it for the remainder of the movement of s from F.
If preferred the following mentioned arrangement for the aforesaid purpose
may be used of which Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a side view and a plan
on top.
The bolt 26 is threaded to fit into 27¹ formed on the outer end of the forked
link 27 broken off at the other end but which may be duly connected with the
lever s. The forked portion of the link 27 duly fits and passes on two opposite
sides (as shown) of the circular portion of the piece 28 which may be duly connected
with the carrier a by means of suitably forming the portion shown broken off.
The end of the bolt 26 is formed with a suitable nipple which suitably fits into
a concave space formed in the back of the piece 29 which suitably fits the forked
portion of the link 27 and by means of suitable projections from it's upper and lower
portions respectively it is suitably supported in place, and is so fitted that it may
suitably be pressed against the circular portion of 28 during the varying inclination
of the link 27 as the lever is being duly moved. The portion of the link 27
where the forked part commences is so curved that it may duly press against the
circular portion of 28 during the movement of the lever 8. The longitudinal
movement of the piece 28 (and therefore of the carrier a) is reduced, as compared
with the stroke of the levers to F, in proportion to the extent the bolt 26 is out
of the forked portion of the link.
If desired the piece b (see Figs. 1, 2, 3,) may be formed without the slots e and f
but formed with a suitable slide to receive the carrier a which may be readily so
arranged that by means of said slide said carrier may readily be caused to travel
only horizontally instead of also upwards and downwards as it is caused to do by
means of said slots as has been explained.
If desired the extent of the oscillations or movements to and from each side of a
vertical plane of the piece b (by means of the reciprocating movements of the rod 2)
may be readily shortened and regulated by means of suitably lengthening downwards
the piece 7 in such manner that it's lower end may be duly brought on each side
against the end of one of two horizontally placed suitable bolts in line with each
other and arranged to work by the sides of the lower portions of the bearings 12
and 14 respectively the resistance of said bolts to the movements of the piece b
being duly nullified by the yielding of the spring 5.
If preferred instead of forming the slots e and f respectively somewhat curved
upwards (as shown in Fig. 1) they may be formed somewhat curved downwards and
the carrier a be guided correspondingly.

page_text: Also, if preferred, instead of said two slots e and f two suitable levers may readily
be arranged to work respectively on a suitable pin fixed to and projecting from the
side of the piece b, said two levers carrying at their free ends respectively a suitable
pin duly connected with the carrier a so that, by means of said levers, said carrier
may, with the blade fixed to it, be suitably guided.
As rollers (8 and 9) may be formed of various well known materials suitable
respectively for grinding razor blades and other suitable blades and for polishing
the same I, of course, do not confine myself to any particular material or materials
or particular method of forming said rollers (8 and 9).
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is,
'
First. The construction or general arrangement and combination of the parts and
mechanical motions of my invention substantially as and for the purpose herein
described and substantially as shown in the accompanying drawings.
Second. The arrangement of a pair of suitable rollers (8 & 9) placed so that the
two forming the pair may be a short suitable distance from, and parallel with, each
other for the purpose of grinding razor blades and other suitable blades substan-
tially as herein described and substantially as shown in the accompanying
drawings.
Third. The arrangement of a pair of suitable rollers (8 & 9) placed so that the
two forming the pair may be a short suitable distance from, and parallel with,
each other for the purpose of finishing and polishing razor blades and other suitable
blades substantially as herein described and substantially as shown in the accom-
panying drawings.
Fourth. The general arrangement or combination of the piece b with the
carrier, a, substantially as and for the purpose herein described and substantially as
shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 24th day of June 1894.
W. C. MORISON.