To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fredrick W. Gotterke, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Razors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in razors, the object of my invention being to provide an improved razor having a blade separable from the back, and especially to provide a razor of such construction that the blade, while separable from the back, may when inserted therein be held firmly in position and yet the pressure of said back shall not be too great to prevent the blade from being easily withdrawn.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved razor with the parts connected. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the parts disconnected. Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section on the line a a of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is a similar view when the parts are disconnected. Fig. 5 is a similar view on the line b b of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal section on the line c c of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the back of the razor, connected to the handle 2 in the usual manner, contains the blade 3, removably inserted therein. Said back has comparatively thick inflexible sides and a thin yielding intermediate portion 5, the whole being made of spring metal. The free edges 6 of the sides are in close proximity to each other, as shown in Fig. 4; but when the blade 3 is inserted in the back said sides are spread apart slightly, as shown in Fig. 3, this being permitted by the resiliency of the intermediate portion 5. The interior of said back is therefore wedge-shaped in cross-section and the back of the blade 3 is of similar conformation. Said blade is inserted longitudinally through the free end of the back, and when inserted is maintained in place by the pressure of the sides 4 of the back, which grips the blade; but as an additional safeguard there is provided a notch 7 in one side of the blade near its end, into which fits a rib 8, stamped inwardly from the sides of the back.

I am aware that razors have been constructed having a blade separable from the back, which latter was attached to the handle; but in all such constructions, so far as I am aware, the back has been formed of a tubular shape with a longitudinal slit to receive the blade, and in such construction the pressure on each side of the blade was along a single line only. The blade inserted would therefore not be held firmly in said back unless the spring of the back was a very powerful one, and this again rendered it difficult to withdraw the blade from the grip of the spring. In my invention the blade is gripped by the two sides of the back along the whole of the interior of the surface of the side of the back, and since the internal cross-section of the pack is dovetailed and exactly conforms to the wedge-shaped rear portion of the blade the result is that the blade is held in place with a comparatively-small pressure and yet with sufficient rigidity.

The resilient intermediate portion of the back is not an absolutely essential part of my invention, as the construction of the back and blade is such that the blade would be held in place even were the intermediate portion of the back not thin and resilient. This arises from the snug fit of the back around the rear portion of the blade and from the dovetailed form of the back and the wedge-shaped form of the blade. Such a blade will be held in such back even without spring-pressure if the fit be sufficiently snug. However, a slight spring-pressure is desirable, as it permits of less accuracy in manufacture to obtain a snug fit.

I claim—

1. A razor comprising a back attached to a handle, said back being dovetailed in cross-section, and a separable blade, wedge-shaped at its rear portion, and fitting accurately within the back, substantially as described.

2. A razor comprising a back attached to a handle and a separable blade movably held by spring-pressure in said back, said back being dovetailed and conforming exactly to the wedge-shaped rear portion of the blade, said blade having thick inflexible sides and a thin resilient intermediate portion, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Fredrick W. Gotterke.

Witnesses:

Francis M. Wright,

M. R. Daniels.