US1729722A - Self-stropping razor - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 1, 1929. J. HOLTZMAN 1,729,722

I SELF STROPPING RAZOR Original Filed Aug. 17. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l J/ y .9 a a? 2 l4- 9 73 /o" 2 4 J3 2a ,7 9

26 2 37 3 26 z i/z ,.1 2 J. HOLTZMAN 1,729,722

' saw STROPPING RAZOR I Original Filed Aug. 17.1 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 1, 1929 UNITED STATES JOHN HOLTZMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF TO BENJAMIN ROMAN, 0F EEW YORK, N. Y.

SELF-STROPPING RAZOR Application filed August 17, 1921, Serial No. 492,941. Renewed February 16, 1929.

This invention relates to safety razors, and particularly to the well known self stropping type wherein, by slight manipulation, the blade and its guard may be separated from each other, and after passing a strop througlh guiding rollers provided therefor, in t e razor-frame the blade may be sharpened by securing one end of said strop to a rigld body,

drawing the strop taut with one hand, and reciprocating the razor with the other hand toward and away from said rigid body. Af-

ter such sharpening or stropping of the blade the strop is slipped out of the razor and the blade is looked back to the guard in operatlve shaving relation.

The principal object of my inventlon is to provide an improved razor of the above character.

Another object is to provide a razor of the above type, the blade of which, while being sharpened by its strop, will simultaneously move laterally in opposite directions and be thereby more efficiently sharpened.

A further object is to provide the razor wlth improved means for locking its blade to and unlocking it from its guard.

A further object is to provide the razor with means for regulating the position of the edge of its blade relatively to the guard.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear. a

In the accompanying drawings,-

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the razor.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the razor shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional side elevation of the razor shown in Fig. 1.

Fig 4 is a bottom plan view of the razor shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a side and rear elevation of a modification of the razor.

The guard for the blade 2 of the razor 3 forms part of the razor-head or frame 4, which comprises a base-plate 5 having at its ends a pair of upright walls 6 that provide bearings 7 for a shaft 8 that carries a holder 9 for the blade 2. Said blade is held in its holder 9 in any usual manner, and the holder is mounted on the shaft 8 by means of a pair of sleeves 10, forming part thereof, embracing the shaft, whereby the blade-holder 9 and the blade 2 may be slid along said shaft and also swung together with the shaft about its axis. A pair of pins 11 fixed to the sleeve 10 extend into a slot 12 formed in the shaft 8 and thereby permit the shaft to swing the blade holder 9 therewith about its axis and also permit the blade holder to slide along said shaft. Under the shaft 8 is located a roll 13, which comprises a spindle 14 rotatably j ournaled in bearings 15 in the frame 6, a pair of sleeves 16 secured to said spindle, and a fluted roller or gear 17 rotatably mounted upon said spindle between the sleeves 16. A gear 18 located between the sleeves 10, of blade holder 9, is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 8 and is in mesh with the gear 17, and an internal thread or tap 19 formed in the bore of the gear 18 threads over a thread 21 which is formed on the shaft 8, whereby upon rotation of the gear 17 the gear 18 is similarly rotated and is simultaneously caused to move laterally along the shaft 8 by the coaction of its tap 19 with the thread 21 of the shaft 8, and this lateral movement is in turn transmitted to the blade-holder 9, the sleeves 10 of which straddle the gear 18. The shaft 8 and spindle 14 carry a pair of gears 22 which mesh with each other, whereby partial rotation of the spindle 14 transmits a similar rotation to the shaft 8 and causes the latter to reverse the blade 2 from the position shown in 3 to an opposite position, as will be hereinafter further explained. To the underside of the base-plate 5 is secured a strap 23, Fig. 4, by means of screws 24, which is configurated so as to form a guide-way 25 between its middle portion 26 and the plate 5, and a handle 27 for the razor is secured to the frame or razorhead 4 by means of a shank 28 thereof pass ing through an opening 29 in the strap-portion 26 and its terminal 30 threading into the base-plate 5. In order to secure the blade 2 to its guard 1, which is stationary or rigid with the frame 4, a locking device 31 is provided, which comprises a plate 32 located under the guard 1, a pair of jaws or hooks 33 projecting from the extreme corners of said plate and adapted to grip said blade to the guard, and an arm 34 projecting from the middle portion of said plate and passing slidably through the guide-way 25. Moving or sliding the locking device 31 toward the left releases the blade 2 from the guard 1, and returning the device 31 toward the right causes its j aws 33 to lock the blade to its guard, the opening 31 in the arm 34 being elongated to permit sliding of said arm without interference with the handle-shank 28. The locking device 31 is maintained in the operative locking position shown, by means ofthe tight sliding fit of its arm 34 within the guideway 25, which tight fit can be regulated by the extent of tightening of the screws 24 and the handle 27. The arm 34 is provided at its extremity with a rack 35 with which meshes a gear-sector 36 pivotally mounted upon a pair of ears 37 projecting from the strap 23, and the sector is provided with a lever-arm 38. Swinging of the lever 38 toward the right, therefore, unlocks or releases the blade 2 from the guard 1, while the return swing- 'ing of said lever toward the left locks the blade to its guard. Slightly below the roll 13 and at each side thereof is provided a pair of rolls 39, 40 which rolls are rotatably mounted in the frame 4 and are adapted to receive a strop 41 in the manner shown in Fig. 3, wherein the strop passes over the roll 40, under the roll 13 and over the roll 39. Portions 42 of the base-plate 5 are preferably stamped upwardly, as shown, to act as guides for the strop 41, to facilitate its passage through the strep-guiding rolls 39, 40, 13.

VVhen it is desired to shave with this razor, the blade 2 is placed against the guard 1 in the position shown in Fig. 1, and the lever 38 is swung toward the left to cause the jaws 33 to move toward the blade and guard and lock the two firmly together, whereupon the razor is rendered ready for the shaving operation. When it is desired to sharpen the cutting edge of the blade 2, the lever 38 is swung toward the right and the jaws 33 are thereby caused to unlock and release the blade 2 from the guard l. The strop 41 is then passed through the guiding rolls in the razor-head by inserting its leading end over the roll 40, under the roll 13, over the roll 39 and under the blade 2, as shown in Fig. 3. One end. of the strop is then secured to some rigid body and its opposite end is held by one hand of the operator, who therewith draws the strop taut, while with his other hand he grasps the razor-handle 27 and therewith reciprocates the razor forwardly and backwardly, toward and away from the rigid support to which the strop is secured. The drawing of the strop tautly causes .itto bind in the guiding rolls 39, 13, 40 and to exert downward pressure against the rolls 39, 40 and upward pressure against the roll 13. As the razor is moved toward the right, during its reciprocation, the pressure of the strop 41 against the sleeves 16 of the roll 13 tends to impart Lveavea rotation to its spindle 14 and the gear 22 carried thereby in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, and this rotation is transmitted to the upper gear 22 and to the shaft 8, whereby the latter tends to swing the blade holder 9 in a counter-clockwise direction and in this manner causes the blade 2 to bear firmly with its edge against the strop, so that as the razor is advanced toward the right it draws the blade along in sharpening contact with the strop and sharpens its edge-side 42. As the razor is thus advanced toward the right, the pressure of the strop4l against the gear 17 causes it to rotate, in a clockwise direction, about the spindle 14, and the gear 18 is thereby rotated in a reverse direction and, due to the engagement of its tap 19 withthe thread 21 of shaft 8, is caused to move laterally toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, whereby as the gear 18 moves toward the right it carries along therewith the blade holder 9 beyond the confines of the frame 4.

and in this manner imparts a lateral motion to the blade 2, while it is in sharpening contact'with the strop, simultaneously with its sharpening stroke in the longitudinal direction of the strop. At the commencement of the return stroke of the razor toward the left, the strop 41 imparts rotation to the sleeves 16, spindle 14, and lower gear 22 in a counter-clockwise direction, which gear in turn imparts a partial rotation to the upper gear 22 and shaft 8 in an opposite direction, and the shaft 8 swings the blade-holder 9 and blade 2 to a position opposite from that saown in F ig. 3 and thereby reverses the blade 2 and disposes it with its edge-side 43 in sharpening contact with the strop. The movementof the razor toward the left draws the blade 2 along with its edge-side 43 in sharpening contact with the strop, and simultaneously the blade is caused tomove laterally toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, whereby this edge-side is sharpened similarly to the opposite edge-side 42. At the CO1 mencement of the next stroke of the razor, toward the right, the blade-holder 9 is reversed back to the position shown in Fig. 3 and the edge-side 42 is again sharpened by the combined movement of the bladein the longitudinal direction of the strop and laterally, and in this manner the forward and backward movements of the razor are con tinued, until theshaving edge 2 of the blade 2 is thoroughly sharpened. This combined movement of the blade, laterally as well as longitudinally with relation to the strop, while it is sharpened thereby,.produces umform and highly efiicient sharpening of its edge, the sharpening of the edge is rendered more rapid, the strop receives a more uniform wear, which in turn'also conduces toward a more uniform and efiicient sharpening of the blade, and many other advantages are derived. After the blade has been sharpened, the strop 41 is withdrawn from the razor-head by pulling it out of the guiding rolls, and the blade 2 may be then locked to the guard 1, into operative shaving relation therewith, by manipulation of the locking lever 38 in the above described manner. When returning the blade to the guard, the former is conveniently and accurately aligned with the latter, laterally, by means of a pair of upright guiding-tongues 44 projecting from the guard 1 near to the locking jaws 33.

According to the modification shown in Figs. 5, 6, the fluted roll or gear 17, is made to extend from wall to wall 6, and the shaft 8 receives its partial rotation, for reversing the bladeholder 9 and applying the pressure of the blade against the strop, by means of a gear 45, carried upon the roll 40, meshing with an idler-gear 46, mounted upon a stud 47 fixed to the wall 6, which idler in turn meshes with a gear 48 carried upon the shaft 8.

Provision is made in this razor for moving the blade-holder 9 with the blade 2- rectilinearly in the direction of the plane of the blade, so as to regulate the distance between the shaving edge of the blade and the leading curved portion 49 of the stationary guard l, for the purpose of producing a heavier and deeper or a lighter shaving action of the blade. And in order to carry out this function, the bearings 7 for the journals 51 of shaft 8 are made slotted, as shown in Fig. 1 and a pair of springs 52, secured at 58 to the walls 6, are made to bear continuously against the journals 51 and to thereby transmit this action through the shaft 8 and blade holder 9 to the blade 2, whereby the latter is normally forced reetilinearly and in the direction of its plane toward the extreme curved portion 49 of the guard 1 with its edge 2 extended or disposed at a maximum distance from the curved guard-portion 49. Upon actuating the locking lever 38 toward the left, the jaws 33 in locking the blade to the guard simultaneously press against the extreme corners of the edge 2 of the blade and thereby force the blade to move rectilinearly in its plane with its edge 2 toward the leading curved portion 49 of the guard and contrary to the pressure of the springs 52. And it will be evident that slight swinging of the lever 38 toward the right and toward the left will regulate the position of the blade to adjust its shaving edge f2 relatively to its guard, for the above mentioned purpose.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A safety razor having the combination of a blade holder, a frame therefor, a guard for the blade, springs forcing said blade holder to move the blade toward the guard, and means on said frame to move said blade contrary to the pressure of said springs where by manipulation of said means adjusts the edge of the blade relatively to said guard.

2. A safety razor having the combination of a blade holder, a frame therefor, a guard for the blade, means on said frame to lock said blade to said guard, springs forcing said blade holder to move the blade toward the guard, and said locking means pressing said blade contrary to the pressure of said springs whereby manipulation of said locking means 1 L ad usts the edge of the blade relatively to the guard.

3. A safety razor having the combination of a blade holder, a frame therefor, a guard for the blade, a spring forcing said blade holder to move the blade toward the guard, means on said frame pressing said blade to move it contrary to the pressure of said spring whereby manipulation of said pressing means adjusts the position of the edge of the blade relatively to the uard, and said pressing means constantly pressing against said blade contrary to the pressure of said spring to rigidly support the edge of the blade in locked state.

4. A safety razor having the combination of a blade holder, a frame therefor, a guard for the blade, a spring to press said blade toward said guard, means on said frame to press said blade away from said guard, and means to regulate said pressures for adj usting the edge of the blade relatively to said guard and lock the edge in rigidly supported state.

5. A safety razor having the combination with a frame, a blade guard on said frame, and strop guiding means on said frame above said guard, of a rotatable gear, said means including a toothed roll which meshes with said gear, said roll being driven by said strop, means to propel said gear laterally of the strop while it rotates, a blade holder, and said gear engaging said holder to impart lateral motion thereto while the blade is being stropped.

6. A safety razor having the combination with a frame, a blade guard on said frame, and strop guiding means above said guard, of a rotatable gear, said means including a toothed roll in mesh wit-h said gear, said roll being driven by the strop, means to propel the gear while it rotates, a blade holder, and said gear imparting lateral motion to said holder while the blade is being sharpened.

7. A safety razor having the combination with a frame, a blade guard on said frame, and strop guiding means above said guard, of a threaded shaft on said frame, a gear rotatable on said shaft, said means including a toothed roll in mesh with said gear, said roll driven by said strep, said shaft imparting propulsion to' said gear While it rotates, a blade holder, and said gear imparting lateral motion to said holder while the blade is being stropped. 8. A safety razor having the combination with a frame, a blade guard on said frame, and strop guiding means above said guard, of a threaded shaft on said frame, a blade holder mountedon said shaft, means actuated by the strep to rock said shaft to oscillate said holder, a gear rotatable on said shaft and meshing with its thread, a toothed roll meshing with said gear, said roll driven by the strop, said shaft imparting propulsion to said gear While -it rotates, and said gear imparting lateral motion to said blade holder while the blade is being stropped.

9. A safety razor having the combination with a frame, a blade guard on said frame,

. and strep guiding means above said guard,

of a threaded shaft on said frame, a blade holder mounted on said shaft, a roller rotated by said shaft, means actuated by said roller to rock said shaft to oscillate said blade holder, a gear rotatable on said shaft and en gaging its thread, a toothed roll mounted on said roller and meshing with said gear, said roll being driven by the strop, said shaft imparting propulsion to said gear while it rotates, and said gear imparting lateral motion to said blade holder while the blade is being stropped.

Signed at the city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 12 day of August, A. D. 1921.

JOHN HOLTZMAN.

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