PATENT SPECIFICATION

Application Date : Feb. 7, 1935. No. 4031/35. Complete Specification Left : June 22, 1935. Complete Specification Accepted : April 8, 1936.

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PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. Improvements in or relating to Blades for Safety Razors

445,385

We, Ever-Ready Razor Products Limited, a British Company, of Ever-Ready Corner, The Hyde, London, N.W.9, and Bernard O'Neill, a British. Subject, of 102, Westbourne Road, Sheffield, 10, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:—

The present invention relates to blades for safety razors of the kind having an imperforate body portion and a single cutting edge and which are adapted to be held in a suitably designed holder—for example by being forced against fixed stops on a toothed guard plate.

The chief object of the present invention is to provide an improved safety razor blade of the kind referred to which is stiffened for the purpose of preventing the cutting edge from vibrating during use and of enabling a keener edge to be produced during processing.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide a safety razor blade of the kind referred to which is so formed that while it is capable of being made thinner than heretofore it nevertheless has sufficient stiffness or rigidity to ensure that no or substantially no vibration of the cutting edge will take place during use.

Sheet steel blades for articles of cutlery such as knives, razors, lancets and the like have previously been proposed to be made by stamping so as to present ribs which ensure rigidity and a shank enabling them to be fixed in a handle after the manner of a pen and perforated flexible leaf type safety razor blades having two cutting edges have also been proposed in which substantially the whole area of the blade between the cutting edges is stiffened by small shallow indentations produced by hammering or by pressure.

According to the present invention a safety razor blade of the kind referred to is provided which is stiffened by deformation of the metal of the blade in the area thereof behind but not extending to the cutting edge.

The deformations may be of any appropriate form—for example the blade may be provided with shallow corrugations having a common axis of propagation extending parallel, substantially parallel or at an angle to the cutting edge or with corrugations having different axes of propagation extending in various directions with respect to one another and to the cutting edge.

The necessary deformation of the metal of the blade may be produced in any convenient manner, as for instance by stamping, rolling or hammering the metal either before or after heat treatment thereof and either before or after fashioning of the blades to the desired form.

As previously indicated the deformations do not extend to the cutting edge but are stopped at a sufficient distance behind it—for instance just behind the commencement of the taper or “ canel ” of the edge to ensure that the edge is perfectly straight.

We, Ever-Ready Razor Products Limited, a British Company, of Ever-Ready Corner, The Hyde, London, N.W.9, and Bernard O'Neill, a British Subject, of 102, Westbourne Road, Sheffield, 10, 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:—

The present invention relates to blades for safety razors of the kind having an imperforate body portion and a single cutting edge and which are adapted to be held in a suitably designed holder—for example by being forced against fixed stops on a toothed guard plate.

The chief object of the present invention is to provide an improved safety razor blade of the kind referred to which is stiffened for the purpose of preventing the cutting edge from vibrating during use and of enabling a keener edge to be produced during processing.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide a safety razor blade of the kind referred to which is so formed that while it is capable of being made thinner than heretofore it nevertheless has sufficient stiffness or rigidity to ensure that no or substantially no vibration of the cutting edge will take place during use.

Sheet steel blades for articles of cutlery such as knives, razors, lancets and the like have previously been proposed to be made by stamping so as to present ribs which ensure rigidity and a shank enabling them to be fixed in a handle after the manner of a pen. Perforated flexible leaf type safety razor blades having two cutting edges have also been proposed in Specification No. 381,391 in which substantially the whole area of the blade between the cutting edges is stiffened by small shallow indentations produced by hammering or by pressure.

It has also been proposed in Specification No. 121,415 to provide a double edged blade, adapted to be clamped between two members or plates, with transverse channels or passages for the purpose of permitting hair and soap to pass between the blade and the clamping plates. The present invention applies to a single edge blade which can be fixed in a holder so that the passage of hair and soap will take place whether the blade possesses channels or not. Further, the corrugations which are employed in this present invention are too shallow to allow any appreciable passage of hair or soap between the blade and a flat surface pressing directly against it.

Also it has been proposed in Specification No. 323,007 to produce blanks for the manufacture of safety razor blades in which the steel band is provided with one or more elevations, ridges, channels or the like in such a way that the blank is of substantially the same thickness throughout.

According to the present invention in a safety razor blade of the kind referred to the metal is deformed in the area thereof behind but not extending to the cutting edge for the purpose of increasing the stiffness of the blade.

The metal of the blade behind the cutting edge may be deformed in such wise as to provide a series of shallow corrugations of small pitch the axes of which are perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the cutting edge.

Alternatively the blade may be provided with sets of parallel corrugations of small pitch having the parallel axes of the corrugations in the respective sets angularly disposed with respect to one another and to the cutting edge.

As previously indicated the deformations do not extend to the cutting edge but are stopped at a sufficient distance behind it—for instance just behind the commencement of the taper or bevel, of the edge to ensure that the edge is perfectly straight.

In order that the present invention maybe more clearly understood and readily carried into effect reference may now be had to the accompanying drawings illustrating the same by way of example and in which :—

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a safety razor blade according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the blade shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 1—1 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 2—2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 1—4 the reference numeral 1 indicates what may be regarded as the body of the blade and is provided along one longitudinal side edge with a guard strip 2 and along the other parallel side edge with a cutting edge 3. The metal of the blade body is deformed for the purpose of increasing its stiffness by parallel corrugations 4 which, as shown, are of small pitch compared with the length of the blade, and whose parallel axes are perpendicular or normal to the cutting edge 3. The corrugations 4 do not extend right up to the cutting edge 3 but terminate some distance behind it—as will be evident by an examination of the drawings—to ensure that the edge 3 is perfectly straight.

Instead of the metal of the blade being deformed to provide parallel corrugations whose axes are perpendicular or normal to the cutting edge as just described, the metal of the blade may be deformed to provide sets of parallel corrugations of small pitch having the parallel axes of the corrugations in the respective sets angularly disposed with respect to one another and to the cutting edge.

The necessary deformation of the metal of the blade may be produced in any convenient manner, as for instance by impact, i.e. by stamping or hammering, or by rolling the metal either before or after heat treatment thereof and either before or after fashioning of the blades to the desired form.

It is found that by constructing the blades in the manner described, while they may be made of thinner metal and with a keener cutting edge than heretofore, the cutting edge is effectively prevented from vibrating during use.

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. A safety razor blade of the kind referred to in which the metal of the blade behind but not extending to the cutting edge is deformed in such wise as to provide a series of shallow corrugations of small pitch whose axes extend perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the cutting edge.

2. A safety razor blade of the kind referred to in which the metal of the blade behind but not extending to the cutting edge is deformed in such wise as to provide sets of parallel shallow corrugations of small pitch having the parallel axes of the corrugations in the respective sets angularly disposed with respect to one another and to the cutting edge.

3. A safety razor blade as claimed in either of the preceding claiming clauses in which the deformation of the metal of the blade is produced by subjecting said metal to impact or rolling either before or after heat treatment thereof.

4. A safety razor blade of the type referred to constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.