To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Frederick Kampfe, Richard Kampfe, and Otto Kampfe, citizens of the United States, residing in New York, borough of Brooklyn, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Razor-Blade-Stropping Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved razor-blade-stropping device by which the razor-blade can be stropped in an effective and reliable manner without injury to the strop during the stropping operation and by which the blade can be readily changed from the blade-holder without impairing the back of the holder and producing thereby edges by which the surface of the strop is scratched off or impaired; and for this purpose the invention consists of a razor-blade-stropping device comprising a blade-holder for the blade, a handle, and a disk-shaped guard device arranged between the blade-holder and handle, said blade-holder being arranged at an obtuse angle of inclination to the axis of the handle.

The invention consists, further, of a razor-blade-stropping device comprising a blade-holder, a handle for the same, said blade-holder being arranged at an obtuse angle of inclination to the handle, and a swivel connection between the blade holder and handle; and the invention consists, lastly, of a razor-blade-stropping device in which the blade-holder is provided with elongated slots and filling-pieces corresponding in shape therewith and connected by a narrow shank with the body of the blade-holder, so that the proper degree of elasticity is imparted to the jaws of the blade-holder without cutting holes in the back of the same.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1, 2, and 3 are side elevations of our improved device for stropping razor-blades, showing different modifications of the same. Fig. 4 is a rear view of the blade-holder. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section on line 5 5, Fig. 4, Figs. 4 and 5 being drawn on a larger scale; and Fig. 6 is a section view of the swivel connection of the blade-holder with the handle.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a blade-holder, which is made of suitable sheet metal and provided with converging sides for engaging the blade B. The blade-holder A is connected with a handle H and is bent at an obtuse angle of inclination to the axis of the same, and, as shown in Fig. 1, the handle is attached permanently to the blade-holder and is roughened so as to be readily turned by the fingers from one side to the other when stropping the blade. The handle H is provided at its connection with the blade-holder with a disk-shaped guard C, by which the holder is guided on the edge of the strop, so that the edge of the blade is passed to and fro uniformly in one direction or the other over the strop without scratching the same. For facilitating the turning of the blade-holder on the handle, the modifications shown in Figs. 2 and 3 have the socket A² of the blade-holder connected by a swivel-joint with the handle H′, and the socket A² may be provided with a guard-disk C′, as shown in Fig.3. The stropping device shown in Figs. 2 and 3 shows the blade-holder A′ as arranged at an obtuse angle of inclination to the handle H′ and swiveled on the pin P, which is secured rigidly in the handle H′. On the pin P is loosely secured the sleeve S, which is provided with a slightly-concave finger-piece or collar D, secured rigidly thereto, and the upper end of the sleeve S receives the socket A² of the blade-holder, and a binding-collar E retains the blade-holder A′ firmly on the sleeve S, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the blade-holder turns with the finger-piece D. The handle H′ is grasped in the hand, while the finger-piece D is held between the thumb and first finger, so that the turning of the blade-holder can be easily accomplished as the device is reciprocated over the strop.

The back of the blade-holder A has heretofore been provided with elongated slits, so as to impart a greater elasticity to the converging side walls of the blade-holder, and thereby facilitate the insertion of the blade into the blade-holder or its removal from the same. The slits reduce the stiffness of the sides of the blade-holder; but they are objectionable inasmuch as the edges of the holes are liable to scratch the face of the strop and to impair its smoothness. For the purpose of preventing this injury to the strop the blade-holder is punched with elongated or elliptical slits a, but without removing the metal from within the slitted portion, so as to form filling-pieces a′, said pieces being retained in the opening formed by the slits a and connected by shanks a² with the back of the blade-holder, as shown clearly in Fig. 5. In this manner the filling-pieces a′ fill out the space of the openings and prevent any injury to the face of the strop, while the slits still produce the required degree of elasticity for holding the blade and for inserting the same, as well as removing it from the blade-holder.

We do not desire to claim in this application, broadly, the connection of the blade-holder with the handle under an obtuse angle of inclination to the axis of the latter, as this has been more fully shown and described in a separate application made concurrently herewith, Serial No. 106,233, filed May 7, 1902.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent—

1. A razor-blade-stropping device, consisting of a blade-holder, a handle connected therewith and arranged in constant relation to said blade-holder at an obtuse angle, and a guard provided on said blade-holder adjacent the handle, substantially as set forth.

2. A razor-blade-stropping device, consisting of a blade-holder, a handle connected with the same at an obtuse angle of inclination thereto, a swivel-joint between the handle and the blade-holder, and a finger-piece arranged at said swivel-joint and movable with the blade-holder, substantially as set forth.

3. A razor-blade-stropping device, consisting of a blade-holder having a socket, a handle for receiving said socket, said blade-holder being arranged at an obtuse angle of inclination to the axis of the handle, a guard-disk provided at the socket of the blade-holder, and a swivel-joint between the blade-polder socket and handle, substantially as set forth.

4. In a razor-blade-stropping device, the combination of a blade-holder provided at its back with slits forming openings, and filling-pieces in said openings connected by shanks with the back of the blade-holder, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we have signed our names in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Frederick Kampfe.
Richard Kampfe.
Otto Kampfe.

Witnesses:

Paul Goepel,

C. Bradway.