To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Percy R. Greist, a citizen of the United States, and Emanuel J. Boyler, a citizen of Canada, both residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Razors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to safety razors, and has for its object to provide a razor of this class which may be made at little cost, in that the parts thereof may be stamped from sheet metal, which is efficient in use, and the parts of which may be quickly and conveniently assembled and may be readily taken apart for cleaning.

In the accompanying drawing, Figures 1 and 2 are front and back views, respectively, of the improved razor. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3—3, Fig. 1, and Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the guard and blade-holding member detached from the handle.

Referring to the drawing, 12 denotes the handle of the razor, and integral with which is a head portion 13 extending at an angle from the top of the handle in such a manner as to serve as a clamping member for the blade 14 which is held by clips 15 against the top or upper face of a guard member 16 provided at its front edge with a comb or guard teeth 17. The clips 15 overhang or overlie the upper face of the detachable member 16 so as to overlap the blade 14 lying thereon and prevent its displacement when said member 16 is being inserted in place. The guard and blade-holding member 16 is preferably formed integral with a spring shank 18 which is cut away to provide a central guiding and steadying strip or member 19 bent to form a projecting knuckle 19′ adapted to enter a slot or opening 20 formed in the upper portion of the handle 12. The lower end of the shank 18 is cut away and bent to form a catch 21 adapted to be sprung into a slot or opening 22 formed in the handle below the slot 20. The lower portion of the shank 18 is preferably widened or rounded out at 23 so as to extend at each side beyond the handle 12, to afford a grasping portion which may be seized by the thumb and finger of the user when it is desired to remove the guard and blade holding member of the device from the handle member thereof, or when these parts are being placed together in operative position.

The clips 15 by which the blade 14 is steadied in place on the top or outer face of the guard and blade-holding member 16, are located at the ends of said member and are, in the construction herein shown, connected at their front ends with the body of the said guard and blade-holding member so as to serve as stops for the forward corner parts of the said blade and thus position the edge portion thereof, the said clips being free of the said member at their rear ends so that a blade may be inserted and removed from the rear of the said guard and blade-holding member and may thus be handled by its back portion, thereby avoiding any danger of accidental injury to the fingers of the user in inserting or removing the blade. To facilitate the insertion and removal of the blade the rear portion of the guard and blade-holding member is cut away to afford a notch 24 into which the thumb or finger of a person may extend in inserting or removing the blade.

From the foregoing it will be understood that a blade may be inserted in place on the guard and blade-holding member 16 and the said member may then be detachably secured to the handle member of the device by inserting the said guard and holding member beneath the overhanging head 13 of the handle member, with the knuckle 19 inserted in the slot 20 of the said handle member; and the catch 21 at the lower end of the spring shank 18 of the said guard and blade-holding member may then be sprung into the slot or opening 22 in the said handle member, thus detachably securing the two members together in such a manner that the blade will be securely clamped between the overhanging member 13 of the handle 12 and the guard and blade holding member 16. In separating the said members from each other, for the purpose of cleaning, or for removing or inserting a blade, the operator will grasp the widened lower portion 23 of the shank 18 in such a manner that the catch 21 may be lifted out of its holding slot 22 in the handle.

It will thus be understood that the invention provides a simple and convenient safety razor device the parts of which, being of sheet metal, may be stamped out at little expense; while the construction is such that an efficient operation of the device, and a convenient assembling or separating of the parts is provided for. By utilizing the removable guard member of the device as a blade holder it will be evident that a blade may be conveniently inserted in place on said member or removed therefrom while the latter is detached from the handle member, and when the blade has been mounted in place on the top or outer face of the guard and blade-holding member the catch on the spring shank of the latter may be detachably engaged with the handle member so as to maintain the guard and blade-holding member in working position, with the blade securely clamped between the head 13 of the handle member and the said guard and blade holding member, the latter being steadied in place by the two points of connection, to wit, at the knuckle 19′ and the catch 21, with the said handle member.

Having thus described our invention we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a safety razor, the combination with a handle member provided with a head portion extending at an angle from said handle member, of a guard and blade-holding member adapted to fit beneath said head, a blade mounted at the top or outer face of said guard and blade-holding member, the latter being provided with a spring shank having a catch adapted to be detachably engaged with the said handle member so as to maintain said guard and blade-holding member in place, with the said blade clamped between the said head and the said guard and blade-holding member, the said shank having a steadying knuckle or member engaging said handle member at a point between said catch and the said guard and blade-holding member.

2. In a safety razor, the combination with a handle member provided with a head portion extending at an angle from said handle member, of a detachable guard and blade-holding member adapted to fit beneath said head, said guard and blade-holding member being provided at its ends with overhanging blade-holding clips and with a thumb or finger notch at its rear edge, and being also provided with a spring shank having a catch adapted to engage said handle member to maintain said guard and blade-holding member in place, said guard and blade-holding member being provided at its front edge with stops for positioning the edge portion of said blade.

3. In a safety razor, the combination with a handle member provided with a head portion extending at an angle from said handle member, and with two slots or openings, of a guard and blade-holding member adapted to fit beneath said head, said guard and blade-holding member being provided at its ends with blade-holding clips and with a thumb or finger notch at its rear edge, and being also provided with a spring shank having a catch adapted to engage said handle member at one of said slots or openings to maintain said guard and blade-holding member in place, said shank having a steadying member engaging said handle member at the other of said slots or openings.

4. In a safety razor, the combination with a handle member provided with a head portion extending at an angle from said handle member, and with two slots or openings, of a guard and blade-holding member adapted to fit beneath said head, said guard and blade-holding member being provided with a spring shank having a catch adapted to engage said handle member at one of said slots or openings to maintain said guard and blade-holding member in place, said shank having a steadying member engaging said handle member at the other of said slots or openings.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

Percy R. Greist.
Emanuel J. Boyler.

Witnesses:

Margaret J. Stumpf,

W. C. Greist.