Improved Safety Razor.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Nov., 1899-Accepted, 6th Jan., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Safety Razor.
I, HENRY BIRKBECK, of 31, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London,
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention (a communication to me from abroad by Frederick Kampfe,
Richard Kampfe, and Otto Kampfe, all of No. 8, Reade Street, in the City, County
and State of New York, in the United States of America, Manufacturers of
Razors,) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:--
The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved safety razor
which is so constructed that its guard and handle can readily be adjusted, which
razor can be readily cleaned as the top part containing the guard can be lifted
up or removed entirely and another object of this invention is to hold the blade
securely and in such a manner that it has a proper relation to the guard all as
will be fully set forth hereinafter,
This invention relates to safety razors.
In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in
which like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures:-
Figure 1 is a plan view of this improved safety razor, and the blade thereon,
parts of the blade being broken away.
Figure 2 is an end view of the same, parts being broken away and others shown
in section.
Figure 3 is a plan view of a modified construction of the safety razor and of
the blade, parts of the latter being broken away.
Figure is an end view of the construction shown in Figure 3, parts being
broken away and others shown in section.
Figure 5 is a sectional view, looking upward, on the line 5 5 of Figure 2.
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are end views, in diagram, of our improved safety razor,
showing the different positions in relation to the holder of blades of different
widths.
Figure 9 is a plan view of another modification of our safety razor, parts being
broken away.
Figure 10 is a side view of the upper part of the construction shown in
Figure 9.
Figure 11 is a plan view of a further modification, parts being broken away.
Figure 12 is an end view of the upper part of the construction shown in
Figure 11.
Figure 13 is an end view of a further modification of the holder, showing the
same closed.
Figure 14 is an end view of the same construction, opened.
Figure 15 is an end view of a further modification closed.
Figure 16 is a view of the same construction opened.
Figure 17 is a plan view of the construction shown in Figures 13 and 14,
closed.

page_text: Figure 18 is a plan view of the construction shown in Figures 15 and 16,
closed.
Figure 19 is an end view of another form of our improved safety razor.
Figure 20 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 21 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the same.
Figure 22 is an enlarged detail side view of the spring holding clip.
Figure 23 is a transverse sectional view of one of the guard teeth.
Figure 24 is a side view of the same, slightly modified.
Figures 25 and 20 are detailed views showing other slight modifications.
The blade holder has a body or shell A made of sheet metal, U shaped in cross
section and open at the top and provided at the top with the two end pieces B
which are curved convexly in such a manner that the underside of the hollow
ground blade C can rest snugly on them, as shown in the drawings.
The end cross pieces B may be made integral with the shell or body as shown
in Figures 1 to 4 or they may be hinged to the same as shown in Figures 13
to 18.
The holder is provided with a hinged or swinging top D which as shown in
Figures 1 to 4 is hinged to the back of the casing or holder A, to swing upward
or it may be hinged to a frame D' hinged to the casing as shown in Figures 13
and 14. The hinged top D is provided with side lugs E which rest upon
screws For like adjustable supports in angle lugs F extending downward and
inward from the end cross pieces B and by means of which the hinged top D
can be readily adjusted higher or lower as necessity may require.
A guard G having downwardly extending teeth G is formed on the free front
edge of the top 1) and it is essential for the perfect operation of the razor that
such teeth shall be directly below the cutting edge of the blade C and slightly
in advance of the same, a certain predetermined distance, so that the edge of
the blade can not cut into the skin and yet can cut the hairs off close to the skin
so as to give a close and clean shave.
The blade C is pressed in the direction toward the guard by a spring H
riveted to the casing or shell A and resting against the back of the blade.
Heretofore we provided the holder with lugs or arms which projected over the
blade and in which lugs or arm screws were held against the lower ends of
which the upper surface of the blade was pressed by the spring H and this
spring with the screws thus determined the position of the cutting edge of the
blade in regard to the guard.
It is evident that when these screws were set for a blade of a certain width
or concavity they would not be in proper position for a blade of another width
or concavity.
We therefore provide the hinged top D at each end with an extra arm JI
from which a lug J extends upward which lug is so arranged that when the
cutting edge of the blade rests against it the blade will be in proper position in
relation to the guard.
To facilitate adjusting the said lug we also make the same U shaped with
a longer free shank J2 against which the edge of the blade rests as shown in
Figures 3 and 4.
With this construction the lug can be bent forward or backward so as to
adjust the same for the proper position for the blade. In order to hold the
cutting edge of the blade down on the guard we provide an upwardly projecting
lug on the outer edge of each cross piece B and on the upper ends of said
lugs, form spring arms L which rest upon the top of the blade and press the
blade downward upon the cross pieces B.
Figures 1 to 4 show two slightly modified forms of said spring arms L.
Figure 9 shows a longer arm and end lugs M on the cross pieces for holding
the blade in place.
Figures 11 and 12 show a V shaped spring arm L' which has two bearing
points at
and l

page_text: The blade must always rest firmly and securely on the casing, independently
of the guard, but its edge must be in the proper position in relation to the guard.
A stop lug for the cutting edge, on the casing would, hence not produce the
desired result, as the blade might be in proper position in regard to the casing,
but would not be in proper position in regard to the guard.
It is therefore essential that the stops J should be formed on the guard,
independent of the casing, but at the same time the pressure springs L must
be supported by the casing upon the end cross pieces of which the blade is pressed
by said springs, so as to hold the blade firmly and securely, which is most
essential.
It is evident that a short blade C as shown in Figure 6 is pressed further
toward the front than a longer blade as shown in Figure 7 or a still longer
blade as shown in Figure 8 and that the spring arm L should at all times hold
a long or a short blade down on the cross pieces B and thereby in proper position
in relation to the guard. The same holds good as to blades of different con-
cavity.
As the grinding stone wears off the concavity of the blades increases and it
would be too expensive to grind all blades to the same concavity.
With the stop lugs J and the spring arms L a blade of any width and any
concavity will fit properly on any holder or casing and no adjustment is required
except that of the hinged top D to the proper plane, which is the same for
blades of any width or any concavity.
It is also necessary to provide a spring pressure from the underside of the
blade, when held in the holder, and for this purpose we provide the hinged
top at each end near the blade with a spring arm N which presses upward on
the blade and facilitates holding the blade firm and true on the holder or
casing.
It is very desirable to have the entire top of the casing or holder open for
the purpose of facilitating cleaning and to this end we hinge the top D to a
frame comprising the end cross piece B and hinged to the back of the
casing.
When closed the casing appears as in Figure 13, and when opened up as in
Figure 14.
When closed the hinged frame 11 locks on the casing by means of catches
and the hinged top D rests upon the said hinged frame.
As shown in Figures 15, 16 and 18 the top frame D¹ may be hinged to the
back of the casing or holder A and the hinged top D also hinged to the back
of the casing or holder.
Usually the handles l' are fixed to the casing or holder A at a certain angle,
but different users prefer to have the handles at different angles to suit their
convenience especially when they desire to shave one side of the face with the
razor held in the right hand and the other side of the face with the razor held
in the left hand.
For this purpose the screw socket Q for receiving the screw R on the upper
end of the handle P is not permanently secured in the casing but is attached
to a separate piece S curved to rest snugly on the casing and mounted to slide
on the same transversely to the length of the casing by means of headed pins T
which are secured in the casing and pass through longitudinal slots T in the
slide S.
The sliding piece S may be mounted on the outside of the casing as shown in
Figure 2 and in that construction the casing has a slot W for receiving the end
of the screw R.
When the sliding piece S is mounted on the inside of the casing A as in
Figure 4 the casing A must also be provided with the slot W through which the
screw R passes.
In Figure 25 we have shown a further modification of the holder and in
this construction the top D' as well as the guard D is hinged to the top of the

page_text: holder and the top is made integral with or provided with a flange part D³
which is hinged to the rear edge of the holder but might as well be hinged
to the front edge and if we desired the guard can be fixed to this top instead of
being hinged although we prefer to hinge it. In the construction shown in
Figures 19, 20. and 21 the spring clip K is hinged to an upwardly projecting
wing K on the fixed end cross piece B and extends toward the front and down-
ward toward the guard and then downward outside of the outer edge of the end
cross piece B, so as to embrace said edge and then under the end cross piece B"so
that the free end K of this clip, which clip is made of spring material bears against
the underside of said end cross piece B as is clearly shown in Figures 19, 20.
and 21.
It'
The blade C when in place bears upward against the upper arm of the clip
thereby pressing the free end of the bottom arm K of the clip against the under
side of the end cross piece B whereby the desired spring tension of the clip is
obtained. This construction has the advantage that the spring clip, which is
no longer made integral with the blade holder can be made of spring material
and thus have a greater tension than can be obtained from the ordinary spring
clip. If desired the lower arm of the spring clip may be made of a separate
piece riveted at one end to that part of the clip that embraces the edge of
the end cross piece B as is shown in Figure 22.
So as to adapt the spring H to hold a blade C of less width without any undue
strain on the said spring, the upper end of the spring is bent over Ushaped
as shown in Figures 19, 20 and 21 and a screw H¹ is passed through the same,
which screw can rest against the rear edge of the blade C as also shown in these
figures. With this construction the screw H¹ can be adjusted to project a greater
or less distance from the spring H according to the width of the blade.
So as to permit swinging the retaining spring H down when the blade is
to be removed, the rear end of the holder is to be provided with a notch M³
into which said screw H¹ can pass when the spring H is swung down.
So as to give the spring H greater tension its lower end is also bent over
U shaped as shown at H in Figure 19 and the shorter end is riveted to the
back of the casing by means of a rivet H and to permit it of inserting said rivet
the longer arm of the U shaped lower end of the spring is provided with an
opening H through which the rivet H can be passed.
Instead of providing the end cross piece B with the L shaped supporting
arm F for the hinged guard D the front upright end piece F2 of the blade holder
may be provided with an arm F4 extending laterally inward and toward the rear,
upon which arm the guard D can rest as is shown in Figure 26.
In place of hinging the guard as heretofore described the guard D may be
constructed in the manner shown in Figures 19, 20 and 21 which shows it
entirely removable.
The frame A is provided with two inwardly projecting lugs $3 and the guard D
has its rear end D4 bent and folded over U shaped and the free end of the
folded part is bent up against the under side of the guard as shown at T³ in
Figure 19. The rear corners of the doubled over portion of the guard are cut
off at a slant or angle so as to form openings through which the wings S³ can
form into the pocket formed by doubling over the rear end part of the guard
and thus holding the guard in place in the blade holder.
The upwardly bent portion T on the underside of the guard prevents pushing
the guard too far to the rear.
The guard tooth G3 shown in Figure 20 and in cross section in Figure 23
is made triangular in cross section throughout its entire length so as to form
a sharp ridge along its upper edge and along its downwardly projecting portion
as its guard tooth is also made L shaped. The advantage of this guard tooth
is that it covers but very little of the skin and thus permits all the hair on the
skin to come in contact with the cutting edge of the blade.
In place of making the guard tooth triangular in cross section to its end

page_text: as shown in Fig. 20 it may be made triangular in cross section for only part
of its length, that is, from G to G6 in Fig. 24, the extreme end being flat, and
the triangular part beginning at "G+ a short distance above the end and terminat-
ing at G a short distance inward from the cutting edge of the blade C.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that
what we claim is:-
1. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder, of a hinged top
having a guard, stop lugs for the edge of the blade at the ends of the guard,
spring arins on the end parts of the holder for pressing the blade downward and
a spring for pressing the blade against the stop lugs, substantially as herein
shown and described.
2. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder, of a hinged top
having a guard on its free edge, a U shaped stop lug on each end of the guard,
springs on the end parts of the holder for pressing the blade downward and a
spring for pressing the blade against the stop lugs, substantially as herein shown
and described.
3. In a safety razor, a guard having U shaped stop lugs for the edge of the
blade at the ends of the guard, substantially as herein shown and described.
4. In a safety razor, a guard having a U shaped stop lug at each end of the
guard, the outer shank of said U shaped stop lug being longer than the inner
shank, substantially as herein shown and described.
5. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder, of a hinged top
on the same, a guard formed on the free end of said hinged top, an upwardly
extending spring arm on each end of the hinged top near the rear edge sub-
stantially as herein shown and described.
6. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder, of a hinged top
on the same, a lug extending upward from the end part of the holder and a
spring arm on each lug, which spring arms extend over the hinged top and are
inclined downward, toward the free edge of the hinged top and means for pressing
a blade toward the guard, substantially as herein shown and described.
7. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder, of a guard, a lug
extending upward from each end part of the holder and a V shaped spring
arın on each lug, and means for pressing the blade toward the guard, substantially
as herein shown and described.
8. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder, of a hinged top
in the same, provided with a guard, an upwardly extending lug M on each end
part of the holder, an additional upwardly extending lug on each end part of the
holder, spring arms on said additional lug and means for pressing the blade
toward the guard, substantially as herein shown and described.
9. In a safety razor, a blade holder having a U shaped body, a top frame
hinged to the said body and a hinged top provided with a guard, substantially
as herein shown and described.
10. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder having a Ụ shaped
body, a top frame hinged to said body, and provided at its ends with upwardly
extending lugs having spring arms for exerting a downward pressure on the
blade and a hinged top having a guard, substantially as herein shown and
described.
.
11. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder and guard, of a
plate mounted to slide on said holder and a handle attached to said sliding plate,
substantially as herein shown and described.
12. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holder and guard, of a
sliding plate mounted on the holder and provided with a screw socket and a
handle screwed into said socket, substantially as herein shown and described.

page_text: 13. In a safety razor the combination with a blade holding casing having
wings, of an entirely detachable guard held by said wings, substantially as
herein shown and described.
14. In a safety razor the combination with a blade holding casing having
wings, of a detachable guard having a pocket for receiving said wings, sub-
stantially as herein shown and described.
15. In a safety razor the combination with a blade holding casing, having
inwardly extending wings, of a detachable guard doubled over at its rear edge
to form a pocket and having its rear corners cut off at an angle to form slots
leading to such pocket and parts of the doubled over portion being bent to form
stops, substantially as herein shown and described.
16. A razor guard having teeth that are triangular in cross-section with a
sharp ridge along the top and front of the teeth at the central lines of the
teeth, substantially as herein shown and described.
17. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holding casing, of a blade
holding spring clip pivoted at the top of the casing at each end, substantially
as herein shown and described.
18. In a safety razor, the combination with a blade holding casing, of a lug
on the top of the same at each end and a blade holding spring clip pivoted
to each lug, substantially as herein shown and described.
19. In a safety razor the combination with a blade holding casing, of a clip
pivoted to the top of the same at each end, which clip embraces the end edge
of said top, and a spring arm on said clip and bearing against the under side
of said top, substantially as herein shown and described.
20. In a safety razor the combination with a blade holding casing, of a
pivoted blade retaining spring and a screw in the free end of the same, which screw
is adapted to bear against the back of the blade, substantially as herein shown
and described.
21. In a safety razor the combination with a blade holding casing, of a pivoted
blade retaining spring, and a screw in the free end of said spring, the casing
having a notch into which said screw can pass, substantially as herein shown
and described.
22. A safety razor having a guard pivoted to the rear part of the casing
and provided at the side pieces, of the front of the casing with arms that extend
inward and to the rear and serve to support the free end of said guard, substan-
tially as set forth.