Improvements in Safety Razor Strops.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Apr., 1897-Accepted, 8th May, 1897
Improvements in Safety Razor Strops.
I, ALBERT LYMAN SILBERSTEIN, Manufacturer, of 450 Broadway New York
City, in the County and State of New York, United States of America, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to te particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved safety razor strop
for conveniently and rapidly stropping safety razor blades, and which is simple and
durable in construction, very effective in operation, requiring but little exertion on
the part of the operator for moving the blade over the strop and automatically
reversing the same on the return stroke.
The invention consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as
will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification, and which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the figures.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the improvement;
Figure 2 is a like view of the same, with parts in a different position;
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same; and
Figure 4 is a cross section of the same, on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.
The strop A, of leather or other suitable material is removably secured at its ends
by clips B to the strop bed or support C, formed with a suitable handle C" adapted to
be taken hold of by the operator when using the device.
The safety razor blade D is held at its back in a suitable holder E, formed with a
longitudinally extending shaft E' having its reduced end E engaging an elongated
slot F, formed in a lug F projecting upwardly from one side of a slide or casing G,
fitted to slide longitudinally on the strop bed C, and plainly indicated in the
drawings. The other reduced end E³ of the shaft E' is mounted to turn loosely on
the lug F, likewise projecting upwardly from the casing G, but on the other side of
the bed C.
On the extremities of the reduced ends E³, E³ of the shaft E¹ are secured gear
wheels E, E respectively, in mesh with racks I, I' resi ectively, fitted to slide on
the sides of the casing G, and connected with each other by a transverse bar I²,
extending under the under side of the bed C.
Each of the racks I, I is provided with elongated slots 13, through which extend
pins attached to the sides of the casing G, so as to guide the longitudinal movement
of the said racks. The latter are provided at or near their middle with roughened
portions 1 for the operator to take ho'd of with two fingers of one hand, so as to
conveniently move the racks forward at the ends of the strokes, to cause the gear
wheels E, E to rotate and turn the holder E, to thereby change the position of the
razor blade D, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. When the position of the
razor blade has been changed and a further push is given to the racks I, I', the latter
draws the casing G along to the opposite end of the bed C.
In order to cause the casing to have as much resistance as possible while sliding
on the bed C, I provide the said casing at its top with a spring H, sliding on the
top surface of the bed C, to prevent a too rapid forward or backward movement of
the casing and its racks.

page_text: When the several parts are in the position illustrated in Figure 1, and the operator
takes hold of the racks I, I' and pushes them to the left in the direction of the
arrow a¹, the safety razor blade D is drawn over the strop A as the several parts move
together. When the casing G comes to the end of its stroke at the left end of
the bed C and the operator pushes in the opposite direction of the arrow a', then
the racks I, I' first slide to the right of the casing G, so that the racks cause the
pinions E, E to turn to swing the blade D over into a left-hand position, as
indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. The position of the blade is thus reversed on the
strop A.
When a further push is given to the racks I, I' in the inverse direction of the
arrow a', the casing with. the several parts is moved to the right, but at the same
time the sliding of the shaft E' takes place, owing to the reduced end E2 of the
shaft E' moving in the elongated slot F, formed in the lug F. By this arrangement,
the razor blade D is caused to assume a diagonal position relatively to the face of the
strop A, and consequently a further movement of all the parts causes the cutting
edge of the safety razor blade to be drawn diagonally over the face of the strop A.
When the casing G arrives at the end of its stroke at the right-hand end of the
bed C and the operator pushes the racks I, I to the left, the position of the blade D
is again reversed as above described, and the reduced end E2 of the shaft E moves
to the opposite end of the slot F, to again bring the cutting edge of the blade into a
diagonal position relatively to the strop A.
The racks I, I and gear wheels E, E, form a shifting device for the blade
holder, and a means for moving the entire slide and its connected parts bodily
forward and backward on the strop bed. It is further evident that the shifting
device imparts a rocking motion to the blade holder preparatory to the initial
movement given to the slide or casing G, in either direction. The resistance given
by the spring H to the forward movement of the slide governs the force with which
the cutting edge of the blade is held in contact with the strop bed.
Thus it will be seen that the operator by simply moving the racks forward
and backward causes an automatic sliding of the cutting edge of the razor blade
over the strop A, and also an automatic reversing of the holder at the end of each
stroke.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,-
1. A razor strop, comprising the strop bed, a siide fitted to move longitudinally
thereon, a blade holder adapted to rock, and a shifting device on the said slide for
moving the latter longitudinally on the strop bed, and for rocking the said holder
preparatory to the initial movement given to the said slide in either direction,
substantially as shown and described.
2. A razor strop, comprising the strop bed, a slide fitted to move longitudinally
thereon, a blade holder adapted to rock, a shifting device on the said slide for moving
the latter longitudinally on the strop bed, and for rocking the said holder preparatory
to the initial movement given to the said slide in either direction, and a spring for
the said slide to increase the resistance of the slide on the strop bed, substantially as
shown and described.
3. A razor strop comprising a strop bed, a slide fitted to move longitudinally on the
said bed, a blade holder journaled on the said slide and a manually operated shifting
device slidable longitudinally on the said slide and connected with the said blade holder
to rack the latter, the said device carrying the slide bodily along on the strop bed on
moving the device forward and backward, substantially as described.
4. A safety razor strop, comprising a casing fitted to slide on the strop bed, a
blade holder journaled on the said casing and provided with gear wheels, and racks
fitted to slide longitudinally on said casing and in mesh with said gear wheels,
substantially as shown and described.
5. A safety razor strop, provided with a spring-pressed casing fitted to slide on

page_text: the strop bed, a blade holder journaled on the said casing and having a shaft carrying
at its ends gear wheels, and racks fitted to slide on the sides of the said casing and
in mesh with the said gear wheels, said racks having a limited sliding motion on said
casing, substantially as shown and described.
6. A safety razor strop, provided with a casing fitted to slide on the strop bed,
lugs projecting from the said casing, one of the lugs being formed with an elongated
opening, a shaft having reduced ends, one of which engages the said elongated
opening and the other is mounted to turn in the opposite lug, a holder adapted to
carry a blade and formed or secured on the said shaft, and racks fitted to slide on the
sides of the said casing and in mesh with gear wheels on the outer ends of the said
shaft, substantially as shown and described.
DL: IL
Ր A 1907
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.