To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Richard Marx, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Safety-Razors, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide a razor of the so-called safety type which shall have its various parts so arranged that when operated with a straight away pull it shall none the less act to cut with a drawing effect so that the shaving is done thoroughly and without pulling, while the edge of the blade is not dulled or turned so quickly as would otherwise be the case.

I further desire to provide a safety razor having the above characteristics with a novel form of guard, which while presenting a number of teeth having spaces between them, shall make it possible for the razor to cut with a drawing action while said teeth are moved in lines parallel with themselves.

I also desire to provide a safety razor whose body plate, blade and holding plate shall be of novel form with a view to rendering possible the accomplishment of the above object, the arrangement being such that the resulting article is of a relatively simple, substantial, and easily cleaned construction.

Another object of my invention is to provide a safety razor having a substantially rhomboidal blade with holding means for said blade mounted in such a relation to the handle of the razor that it shall be possible to secure a drawing action of the blade for shaving even though the blade be moved to a straight away direction; the invention also contemplating the provision of a series of differently ground blades for use with the same holding devices whereby the razor may be made to shave closely or otherwise as required.

These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which;—

Figure 1, is a front elevation of a safety razor constructed according to my invention; Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively a rear and a side elevation of the razor shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4, is a front elevation of the body plate and handle; Fig. 5, is a plan of the blade; Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a plan and an end elevation of the holding plate; Fig. 8, is a plan of the razor showing the peculiar angular arrangement of the handle and body plate, and Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are enlarged sections showing a set of the blades used in my razor.

In the above drawings 1 represents a handle on one end of which is rigidly mounted a body plate 2. This plate is rhomboidal in outline and is slightly concaved when considered from above as well as convex underneath; one of its longitudinal edges being provided with a series of projecting teeth 3 whose lines are substantially parallel to the lines of the ends of the plate. These teeth constitute the guard for the razor and owing to their above described arrangement and mounting they may, under conditions of use, be described as lying in substantially vertical planes parallel to the line in which the razor is moved as a whole when making a straight away cut. These teeth 3 project from what is known as the forward or advancing edge of the body plate and its rear edge adjacent its ends is provided with two upwardly extending projections or lugs 4. The razor blade, like the body plate, is rhomboidal in outline as indicated at 5 and is of substantially the same size as said plate; being intended to abut upon the lugs 4 when mounted thereon. At each end of the blade near its rear edge is an outwardly projecting lug 5^a, though in some cases these lugs may be omitted.

The holding plate 6 of the razor is slightly concave on that face designed to lie adjacent the blade and is beveled or sharpened at that edge which is adjacent the cutting edge of said blade. Like the latter, it is substantially rhomboidal in outline and while being of practically the same length as the body plate and the blade, is less in width than the latter in order that it may leave the cutting edge thereof properly exposed. At each end of this holding plate 6 is provided an L-shaped clip 7 designed to fit around the end of the body plate 2 and frictionally engage the under surface thereof.

In assembling the parts of the razor, the blade is laid upon the top face of the body plate 2 and the holding plate 6 being grasped by its ends between the thumb and first finger of the hand, is slipped over the blade with its retaining clips 7 in position for engagement with the under surface of the said body plate. Owing to the fact that the under face of this plate is convex, these clips practically grip or frictionally engage it and the blade, holding the latter rigidly in position when said cover plate has been moved back so that its rear edge is in engagement with the stops or lugs 4. At such time the beveled or sharp edge of this cover plate is slightly to the rear of the cutting edge of the blade while the teeth of the guard project beyond said blade for a suitable distance. The blade itself is moved to its proper position and is held therein by reason of the engagement of its lugs 5^a by the lugs 7 of the holding plate.

One of the important features of my invention resides in the fact that the body plate and therefore the blade and the cover plate are mounted in a peculiar position relatively to the line of the handle for, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a plane substantially parallel with the general plane of the razor blade and of the two plates, is inclined at an acute angle relatively to the line of the handle 1 both when considered from the rear and also when considered from the end; that is to say, such a plane is inclined at an angle less than 90 degrees to the line of the handle both in that plane which includes the said center line and one of the longitudinal lines of the blade and its plates, as is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and it is also inclined at an angle less than 90 degrees with reference to a second plane passing through the center line of the handle and one of the transverse lines of the blade and its plates. As a result of this peculiar arrangement of parts, when the razor is in use, the guard teeth are moved forward in lines substantially parallel to the general line of movement of the razor.

With safety razors of the ordinary construction such a straight away movement is to be avoided as much as possible since, as is well known, the best cutting action is secured when the razor is being moved sidewise at the same time it is being moved forwardly in order to secure a drawing action of the blade. When, however, such a sidewise movement is given to razors of the ordinary guard construction, the guard teeth are drawn over the projecting hairs and actually serve to prevent their being cut, since they push them into a horizontal position or knock them down. Owing, however, to the peculiar disposition of the parts of applicant's razor, the straight away movement of the latter causes the hair entering between the various teeth to strike a cutting edge which is already inclined at an acute angle to the general line of motion of the razor, so that even though the latter is operated with a straight away movement, the hair is engaged and cut with a drawing action as is desirable for the most efficient and rapid operation.

According to my invention it is not necessary to give a sidewise movement to the razor in order to secure a drawing action, the teeth interfere to a minimum extent with the engagement of the blade with the hairs to be cut, and consequently it is possible to shave a given surface with a considerably less number of strokes than has hitherto been possible.

In order to separate the parts for the purpose of cleaning, the cover plate is preferably pushed toward the guard teeth, the operator placing two fingers in engagement with the under surface of the body plate 2 and pushing the holding plate as noted by engaging its top surface with his thumb; the various parts being so made that all portions of them are then freely accessible and it is possible to clean and dry the entire razor most thoroughly and in a minimum of time.

While all the blades used with my razor may be the same in form and have their cutting edges ground to the same angle or shape, I preferably supply with each razor one or more sets of blades ground in the manner indicated in Figs. 8, 9, and 10—read Figs. 9, 10, and 11 in order that it may be possible to use the razor to shave with different degrees of closeness. With this idea in view the blade 5^b, Fig. 8—read Fig. 9, is so ground that its actual cutting edge is relatively distant from the guard teeth 3; the blade for this purpose being ground away on that side or face immediately adjacent the guard teeth. Such a form of blade is used in close shaving, while the blade 5^c shown in Fig. 9—read Fig10, is used when it is desired that the blade shall have an intermediate action. Such a blade is so ground that its cutting edge is relatively closer to the guard teeth than the edge of the blade 5^b and for this purpose said blade is ground more deeply on the face adjacent the teeth than on the distant face, though not so deeply as in the blade of Fig. 8—read Fig. 9. Finally, the blade 5^d shown in Fig. 10—read Fig. 11 is ground equally on both faces and such a blade would be used when it was desired that the razor would shave with a minimum of closeness.

I claim;—

1. The combination in a safety razor of a handle; a blade holder having guard teeth; a blade; and means for retaining the blade in the holder, the handle being rigidly attached to the blade holder and extending in a line at an acute angle to both the longitudinal and the transverse lines of the blade.

2. The combination in a safety razor of a handle; a blade holder having-guard teeth; a blade; and means for retaining the blade in the holder, the handle being rigidly attached to the blade holder and extending in a line at an acute angle to both the longitudinal and the transverse lines of the blade, the projection of the line of the handle on the plane of the blade being substantially parallel to the lines of the guard teeth.

3. The combination in a safety razor of a handle; a blade holder having guard teeth; a blade having a rhomboidal outline; and means for retaining the blade in the holder, the handle being rigidly attached to the blade holder and extending in a line at an acute angle to both the longitudinal and the transverse lines of the blade; the guard teeth extending in lines at an acute angle to the cutting edge of the blade.

4. The combination in a safety razor of a handle having a rigidly attached plate of rhomboidal outline provided with guard teeth along one edge, said handle projecting at an acute angle to both longitudinal and the transverse lines of said plate; a blade of rhomboidal outline mounted on said plate; and a holding plate also of rhomboidal outline for retaining the blade in position.

5. The combination in a safety razor of a handle having a rigidly attached plate of rhomboidal outline provided with guard teeth along one edge, said handle projecting at an acute angle to both the longitudinal and the transverse lines of said plate; a blade of rhomboidal outline mounted on said plate; and a holding plate also of rhomboidal outline having clips engaging the plate on the handle for retaining the blade in position.

6. A safety razor consisting of a handle; a plate rigidly attached thereto and having its surface adjacent the handle convex, there being guard teeth along one edge of said plate; a curved blade mounted on the plate; and a blade holding plate for retaining said blade in position, said latter plate having clips at its ends placed to frictionally engage the high portions of the convex surface of the plate attached to the handle for retaining the blade in position and being concaved adjacent said handle plate.

7. A safety razor consisting of a handle, a plate rigidly attached to said handle and formed to be convex on that side adjacent thereto; there being guard teeth adjacent one edge of said plate; a blade mounted on the plate; and a curved blade-holding plate for retaining said blade in position having clips at its ends placed to frictionally engage the high portions of the convex surface of the handle plate to retain it in position; the handle projecting at an acute angle both to the longitudinal and to the transverse lines of the handle plate.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Richard Marx.

Witnesses:

William E. Bradley,

Jos. H. Klein.