To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Joseph Molkenthin, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at, Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Razors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a safety razor which has a guard on which a blade rests, the guard having fingers to engage the top of the blade at the side edges, and the guard thus supports the blade. A clamping plate is pivoted so that it swings against the blade and locks the blade against the fingers, the preferred way being to swing the clamping plate upward against the under side of the blade and thus lock it in position. The clamping plate is forced and locked against the blade by suitable means, these means preferably consisting of a handle which is in screw-threaded engagement with the guard.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which—

Figure 1 is a side view of a razor made according to my improved construction. Fig. 2 is a top view of the razor with the blade removed. Fig. 3 is a section with the blade in place and with the clamping plate forced to lock the blade in position.

The razor consists of a guard 10 which has its front end elevated as at 11, this elevated part being provided on its front edge with a suitable means for acting as a fender for the cutting edge of a blade, and is shown in the drawings as being provided with teeth 12 to provide the spaces 13 between them, the end teeth having shoulders 14 which act as stops to limit the forward movement of the blade. The blade consists of a thin sheet of metal 15 which is sharpened on its front edge, the thin part of the blade resting on the elevated portion 11 of the guard 10. Secured to the guard and projecting up from the sides are the fingers 16 which are bent inwardly toward each other and under which the blade 15 is slid before it engages the guard, the fingers and the guard acting to hold the blade in position.

A clamping plate 17 is arranged to swing on the guard, the preferred form of doing this being by means of the studs 18 which pass through perforations 19 in the ears 20, the ears being preferably struck up from the guard and integral therewith. A handle 21 is provided with a screw-threaded stud 22 which fits into a screw-threaded perforation 23 in the bottom of the guard, the screw coming up through the guard underneath the swinging or free end of the clamping plate 17 so that when the handle is screwed up tight, the clamping plate is forced and locked against the under side of the blade, which blade is then securely held between the fingers 16 and the clamping plate 17. The clamping plate is adapted to clear the fingers when it is swung upward to the position shown in dotted outline in Fig. 3, when the blade is not in place, so that the guard can be opened fully so that all parts can be easily cleaned. The front end of the clamping plate is usually extended forward far enough to be underneath the fingers 16 when in clamping position, being permitted to pass the fingers 16 by being made narrower than the space between the fingers 16, as will be seen from Fig. 2.

The blades as usually made for this type of razor are made of the thin flat part 15 with a reinforced or thickened back 24. The clamping plate is depressed as at 25 to receive the thickened back and still permit the thin part of the blade to lie substantially flat when it is clamped so that the blade is not subjected to any severe bending strain which would be the case if the clamping plate was made flat and the whole pressure of locking the blade was administered to the reinforced back by reason of this reinforced part being engaged first.

This construction of razor is cheaply made, and forms a solid, rigid structure when the parts are assembled and the handle is screwed tight, and the blade, by reason of its being engaged for a large part of its surface when it is clamped in position, is not subjected, at any particular point, to a strain sufficient to cause fracture which would easily occur if this were not the case, in view of the thin blades that are used in the razor.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:—

1. A safety razor comprising a fixed guard, ears on the sides of the guard, fingers extending inwardly from the sides of the guard in front of the ears, the front of the guard being a support and a fender for a blade, the front of the guard being elevated, a clamping plate pivoted to the ears and normally extending toward the front of the guard, a thin flat blade with a reinforced back having its thin portion resting on the front of the guard and under the fingers, the clamping plate having part of its top surface depressed to receive the reinforced back of the blade, and a handle in screw-threaded engagement with the handle and forcing the clamping plate against the thin and the reinforced part of the blade to lock the thin part of the blade against the fingers.

2. A safety razor comprising a guard having fingers extending inwardly from its side edges, the guard having its front part elevated, a blade having a thin fiat body portion with a reinforced back, the thin portion of the blade resting on the front part of the guard and under the fingers, a clamping plate swinging on the guard and having its end engaging the thin part of the blade to lock the blade against the fingers, the clamping plate having a depressed portion to receive the reinforced back of the blade, and a handle forcing and locking the clamping plate against the blade.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of December, 1910.

Joseph Molkenthin, Jr.

Witnesses:

E. A. Pell,

M. A. Johnson.