Improvements in or relating to Guards for Razor Blades and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Aug., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 10th May, 1898-Accepted, 30th July, 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Guards for Razor Blades and the like.
I, PRESTON WILLIS STRONG, of 60, Broadway, New York City, United States
of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to means for guarding razor and like edges and has for
its objects to provide a guard or safety device that shall be adapted to blades of
various lengths and widths and may be attached to any ordinary razor or like
blade and used in connection with the ordinary handle of the razor or which
guard or safety device may be provided with a handle and used in connection with
a separate blade such as is employed in safety razors heretofore well known,
and has for its objects to provide a large range of adjustment and a delicate
adjustment of the relative positions of the guard and cutting edge, whereby
razors of different widths may be properly adjusted and the wear of the razor
blade in use may be compensated for and the blade may be set to a nicety either
for a close shave or otherwise as may be desired by the user; also to provide a
large lather cup capable of retaining all the lather that would be taken up in a
single shaving operation, thus making it possible for the user to proceed without
interruption from the beginning to the end of the shaving operation;
also to permit the razor blade to be readily and quickly inserted and
removed without fear of injury to its edge and without disturbance
of the adjusting means; also to provide for holding the side of the razor in
proximity to its edge tightly against the guard by spring action and to provide
a smooth finish without projections on the surface held adjacent to the face of the
user; and to provide a pivoted handle for the safety device whereby the razor
will follow the contour of the face of the user without special manipulation.
The razor may be an ordinary razor provided with a tang and handle pivoted to
the tang, and one form of my safety device is not provided with a handle as it is
designed to use this safety device on an ordinary razor held in the ordinary
manner by the handle of the razor. Another form of my safety device is provided
with a handle and it is proposed to employ in this device a razor of a construction
such as is now employed in safety razors, the razor itself having no handle.
The safety device comprises mainly one piece of sheet metal, preferably spring
metal, as spring brass, and may be struck up by dies into the form desired and
this spring metal piece includes a guard, a spring socket including a spring
tongue and a guide which may be a rearward extension of the guard, and an
arched lather cup connecting the guard and spring tongue. The guard has a
convexly curved or flat surface and may extend rearwardly sufficiently to form a
guide for the inner face of the razor or may have slight rearward projections to
provide a bearing for a narrow razor, and its front portion curves upwardly and
rearwardly merging into the lather cup. A series of slots is formed in the material
of the guard so that its bearing surface upon the face of the user consists of a series
of comparatively narrow bars with ample space between for the lather to pass
upward into the lather cup, and these bars are united into one continuous piece
at their rear ends in proximity to the edge of the razor. This is especially
important during the insertion and removal of the razor blade. The lather cup

page_text: is gracefully arched and at its extreme forward portion, where it merges into the
guard, may have a rounded protuberance so that the leading portion of the safety
device may be more readily manipulated on the portions of the face in proximity
to the nose and ears of the user.
The spring tongue is of curved outline and tapering toward its end so as to
permit a razor to be readily inserted under it, and bears against the outer or
lower side of the razor with a yielding spring pressure. The guide may be a rear-
ward extension of the guard or may be struck inward from the metal piece and
extend forwardly toward the guard without altering the general arched contour
and in this latter construction may be transversely rounded and longitudinally some
what convexly rounded, and the guide comes in contact with the inner or upper
side of the razor at a point nearer the back of the razor than the contact of the
spring tongue on the lower side of the razor, or the guide may be formed by
deflecting inward the entire length of the metal piece but without longitudinal
curvature.
In the construction first mentioned, where the guide is a rearward extension of
the guard, a supplemental or rear guide for the back of the razor, having a
longitudinal curvature, may be employed.
The effect of the relative positions of the contacts of the spring tongue and guide
is to cause the edge of the razor to be pressed inward with a spring pressure,
so that the side of the razor in proximity to its edges is pressed tightly against
the guard.
The contact with the back of the razor in the spring socket may be formed by
adjusting screws tapped into the metal piece at the rear thereof and bearing
against the back of the razor, or by an adjustable plate bearing
against the back of the razor, this plate being adjusted by screws tapped into the
metal piece at the rear end thereof and with their ends suitably held in the plate
so as to be free to rotate relatively thereto but to move the plate with them in their
backward and forward movements.
By the manipulation of the adjusting screws the razor edge may be held in
any desired position relatively to the guard. If the razor is not of uniform
width throughout there is sufficient freedom of movement in either construction
to permit one adjusting screw to be set further forward or rearward than the other.
The range of adjustment is large and permits of the employment of a standard size
of safety device for all ordinary razors. The spring action of the tongue in
conjunction with the guide will ordinarily cause the razor to be pressed rearwardly
so that it will follow the adjusting devices when they are moved rearwardly,
and the spring metal readily yields when the adjusting devices are moved
forward. The further forward the edge of the razor is moved the more closely
will it cut in the shaving operation, and the position of the edge may be adjusted
to a nicety as may be desired by the individual user. The adjustment is not
disturbed by removing or inserting the razor, so that after the device has been once
adjusted to a razor no further adjustment will be necessary except perhaps at long
intervals to compensate for wear.
A standard length of safety device may be employed for all ordinary lengths
of razors, the safety device being set so as to cover the extreme outer portion of the
razor edge. The extreme inner portions of a long razor edge are practically not
used and therefore need not be guarded.
The device as thus far described is adapted for attachment to ordinary razors,
and a razor to which it has been attached may be used in the ordinary manner, the
user holding the razor by its handle. Such a device is highly desirable especially
for persons who are owners of ordinary razors or who have become accustomed to
the manipulation and care of ordinary razors. In some cases, however, it may be
desirable to employ razors without handles and to provide the safety device with
a handle, and in such cases I propose to employ a handle pivotally connected to
the metal piece or case holding the razor, and to that end two lugs may be
struck inward from the lather cup and the handle may have a bifurcated shank

page_text: engaged by pivot pins with these lugs, and thus the handle may be pivoted on
a longitudinal axis with a limited swinging movement between the handle and
the metal case determined by the slots formed in the case in the path of the
bifurcated ends of the handle shank. This swinging movement permits the razor
holder to adjust itself to the somewhat irregular contour of the human face and
chin, and to follow the curves thereof without especial manipulation of the handle.
The smooth finish of the lower surface of the safety device, without projections,
permits the device to be pressed against the face of the user and
drawn over it by the pivoted handle without discomfort to the user, and
the delicate adjustment and positive holding of the blade in adjusted
position insure a safe and satisfactory action of the razor with this pivoted handle.
Dated this 14th day of August 1897.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Guards for Razor Blades and the like.
I, PRESTON WILLIS STRONG, Manufacturer, 70, Broadway, New York City, United
States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to he particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:―
This invention relates to means for guarding razor and like edges and has for
its objects to provide a guard or safety device that shall be adapted to blades of
various lengths and widths and may be attached to any ordinary razor or like
blade and used in connection with the ordinary handle of the razor, or which
guard or safety device may be provided with a handle and used in connection with
a separate blade such as is employed in safety razors heretofore well known,
and has for its objects to provide a large range of adjustment and a delicate
adjustment of the relative positions of the guard and cutting edge, whereby
razors of different widths may be properly adjusted and the wear of the razor
blade in use may be compensated for and the blade may be set to a nicety either
for a close shave or otherwise as may be desired by the user; also to provide a
large lather cup capable of retaining all the lather that would be taken up in a
single shaving operation, thus making it possible for the user to proceed without
interruption from the beginning to the end of the shaving operation;
also to permit the razor blade to be readily and quickly inserted and
removed without fear of injury to its edge and without disturbance
of the adjusting means; also to provide for holding the side of the razor in
proximity to its edge tightly against the guard by spring action, and to provide
a smooth finish without projections on the surface held adjacent to the face of the
user; and to provide a pivoted handle for the safety device whereby the razor
will follow the contour of the face of the user without special manipulation.
These and other objects and advantageous features of my invention will appear
from the following description of the devices shown in the accompanying drawings
and embodying my invention.
Figure is a top plan view showing a safety device attached to an ordinary
razor.
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the safety device with the razor blade in
section.
Figure 3 is an underneath plan view of a modified form of safety device partly
in section.
Figure 4 is an elevation in section on the line 44, Figure 5, of a safety device

page_text: as shown in Figure 3 but having a pivoted handle; and also shows a razor
blade.
Figure 5 is a front elevation of the safety device with pivoted handle shown in
Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a side elevation, with the razor blade in section, of another modified
construction of the safety device.
The razor a, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, may be an ordinary razor provided
with a tang and a handle pivoted to the tang, and the safety device may not be
provided with a handle as it is designed to use this safety device on an ordinary
razor held in the ordinary manner by the handle of the razor. Another form of
my safety device shown in Figures 4 and 5, is provided with a handle and it is
proposed to employ in this device a razor a¹ of a construction such as is now em-
ployed in safety razors, the razor itself having no handle.
The safety device comprises mainly one piece of sheet metal, preferably spring
metal, as spring brass, and may be struck up by dies into the form desired and this
spring metal piece includes a guard b, a spring socket including a spring tongue c
and a guide, which guide may be a rearward extension of the guard b, as shown
in Figures 1 and 2, or may extend forward toward the guard from the
rear portion of the metal piece as shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, and
an arched lather cup e, connecting the guard and the spring tongue. The guard b
has a convexly curved or flat surface and may extend rearwardly sufficiently to
form a guide for the inner face of the razor as shown in Figures 1 and 2, or may
have slight rearward projections 1, 1, as shown in Figure 3, to provide a bearing
for a narrow razor, and its front portion curves upwardly and rearwardly merging
into the lather cup e. A series of slots is formed in the material of the guard b
so that its bearing surface upon the face of the user consists of a series of com-
paratively narrow bars with ample space between them for the lather to pass
upward into the lather cup, and these bars are united into one continuous piece
at their rear ends in proximity to the edge of the razor. This is especially
important during the insertion and removal of the razor blade. The lather cup e
is gracefully arched and at its extreme forward portion, where it merges into the
guard b, may have a rounded protuberance as shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive
so that the leading portion of the safe.y device may be more readily manipulated on
the portions of the face in proximity to the nose and ears of the user.
The spring tongue c is of curved outline and tapering toward its end so as to
permit a razor to be readily inserted under it, and bears against the outer or
lower side of the razor with a yielding spring pressure. The guided may be a
rearward extension of the guard as shown in Figures 1 and 2 or may be struck
inward from the metal piece and extend forwardly toward the guard as shown in
Figures 3, 4 and 5, without altering the general arched contour, and in this latter
construction may be transversely rounded and longitudinally somewhat convexly
rounded, and the guide comes in contact with the inner or upper side of the razor
at a point nearer the back of the razor than the contact of the spring tongue on
the lower side of the razor; or the guide d may be formed by deflecting inward the
entire length of the metal piece but without longitudinal curvature, as shown in
Figure 6.
In the construction first mentioned and shown in Figures 1 and 2, where the
guide is a rearward extension of the guard b, a supplemental or rear guide or
stop for the back of the razor, having a longitudinal curvature, may be employed.
The longitudinal curvature of the guide d in the construction shown in Figures 3, 4
and 5, insures a more perfect seating of the razor and removes corners
edges which might interfere with the ready insertion of the razor in the safety
device, and the latter is also true of the supplemental guide ¹.
or
The effect of the relative positions of the contacts of the spring tongue and guide
is to cause the edge of the razor to be pressed inward with a spring pressure
so that the side of the razor in proximity to its edge is pressed tightly against
the guard b.

page_text: 3
The contact with the back of the razor in the spring socket may be formed by
adjusting screws g, g, tapped into the metal piece at the rear thereof and bearing
against the back of the razor, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, or by an adjustable
plate f bearing against the back of the razor, this plate being adjusted by similar
screws 9,9, tapped into the metal piece at the rear end thereof and with their
ends suitably held in the plate so as to be free to rotate relatively thereto but to
move the plate with them in their backward and forward movements, as shown
in Figures 3,
and 5.
By the manipulation of the adjusting screws g, y, the razor edge may be held in
any desired position relatively to the guard. If the razor is not of uniform
width throughout there is sufficient freedom of movement in either construction
to permit one adjusting screw to be set further forward or rearward than the other.
The range of adjustment is large and permits of the employment of a standard size
of safety device for all ordinary razors. The spring action of the tongue c in
conjunction with the guide will ordinarily cause the razor to be pressed rearwardly
so that it will follow the adjusting devices when they are moved rearwardly,
and the spring metal readily yields when the adjusting devices are moved
forward. The further forward the edge of the razor is moved the more closely
will it cut in the shaving operation, and the position of the edge may be adjusted
to a nicety as may be desired by the individual user. The adjustment is not
disturbed by removing or inserting the razor, so that after the device has once been
adjusted to a razor no further adjustment will be necessary except perhaps at long
intervals to compensate for wear.
A standard length of safety device may be employed for all ordinary lengths of
razors, the safety device being set so as to cover the extreme outer portion of the
razor edge as shown in Figure 1. The extreme inner portions of a long razor
edge are practically not used and therefore need not be guarded.
The device as thus far described is adapted for attachment to ordinary razors,
the
and a razor to which it has been attached may be used in the ordinary manner,
user holding the razor by its handle. Such a device is highly desirable especially
for persons who are owners of ordinary razors or who have become accustomed to
the manipulation and care of ordinary razors. In some cases, however, it may be
desirable to employ razors without handles and to provide the safety device with
a handle, and in such cases I propose to employ a handle h (see Figures 4 and 5)
pivotally connected to the metal piece or case holding the razor, and to that end
lugs i, i, may be struck inward from the lather cup e and the handle h may have a
bifurcated shank engaged by pivot pins with these lugs, and thus the handle may
be pivoted on a longitudinal axis with a limited swinging movement between the
handle and the metal case, determined by the slots formed in the case in the path
of the bifurcated ends of the handle shank h. This swinging movement perimits
the razor holder to adjust itself to the somewhat irregular contour of the human
face and chin, and to follow the curves thereof without especial manipulation
of the handle. The smooth finish of the lower surface of the safety device without
projections, permit the device to be pressed against the face of the user and drawn
over it by the pivoted handle without discomfort to the user, and the delicate
adjustment and the positive holding of the blade in adjusted position insure a safe
and satisfactory action of the razor with the pivoted handle.
It is of course evident that various modifications may be made in the con-
structions above described within the purview of my invention and that parts of
my invention may be used separately or in connection with other parts of different
construction from that above particularly described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
-
1. A safety device for razors and the like comprising a guard and guide, the
al homing a series of bars united together to form one continuous surface in

page_text: proximity to the edge of the razor, and an inwardly pressing spring tongue shaped
to present an oblique edge to the end of the razor when the razor is inserted, and
screw adjusting means arranged to bear against the back of the razor whereby an
adjustable spring socket is formed into which the blade may be inserted and from
which it may be removed by longitudinal movement, substantially as set forth.
2. A safety device for razors and the like comprising a guard and guide, said
guard being arranged to come in contact with the razor alongside the edge thereof
and having a series of bars united together to form one continuous surface in
proximity to the edge of the razor, the guide being arranged to come in contact
with the inner side of the razor near the back thereof, an inwardly pressing spring
tongue shaped to present an oblique edge to the end of the razor when the razor
is inserted and arranged to bear upon the outer side of the razor, an arched lather
cup connecting the guard and guide and tongue, and screw adjusting means
arranged to bear against the back of the razor, whereby an adjustable spring
socket is formed into which the blade may be inserted and from which it may be
removed by longitudinal movement, substantially as set forth.
an
a
3. A safety device for razors and the like comprising a guard and guide,
arched lather cup extending rearwardly from the guard, a spring tongue having
smooth outer surface arranged to bear upon the outer side of the razor, adjusting
means bearing against the back of the razor, and a handle pivotally connected to
said arched lather cup whereby the razor and guard are permitted to adjust
themselves in operation to the contour of the face of the user, substantially as
set forth.
4. In a safety device for razors and the like, in combination, a guard b having
a series of bars arranged to come in contact with the face of the user, said bars
being united at their rear ends to form one continuous surface arranged to bear
against the sides of the razor in proximity to its edge, a guide a forming a rear-
ward extension of said guard, an auxiliary longitudinally arched guide d¹, a
spring tongue constructed and arranged to present an oblique edge to the end
of the razor when the razor is being inserted, an arched lather cup joining the
guard and guide and tongue, and adjusting means arranged to bear against the
back of the razor, substantially as set forth.
5. In a safety device for razors and the like, in combination, the guard 6 having
a series of bars arranged to come in contact with the face of the user, a guide,
and spring tongue c, an arched lather cup e joining the guard and guide to the
tongue, adjusting means arranged to bear against the back of the razor, lugs i, i,
extending inwardly from said lather cup, and the handle h having a bifurcated
shank and pivoted to said lugs, substantially as set forth.
6. A safety device for razors and the like comprising a case for holding a razor
provided with a guard for the edge of the razor and also comprising a handle
pivotally connected to said case, whereby said razor and guard are permitted to
adjust themselves in operation to the contour of the face of the user, substantially
as set forth.
7. A safety device for razors and the like constructed substantially as shown and
described.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.