To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Otto Kampfe and Frederick 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-Strops, of which the following is a specification.

Razor-strops heretofore in use for sharpening razors were usually made of a leather strap provided with a suitable grain, having a solid non-flexible handle at one end and a bail at the opposite end thereof for suspending the strop from a hook or other suitable support. These handles and bails were clumsy, heavy, and unsightly, notwithstanding that attempts were made to ornament them, so as to improve the appearance of the strop.

The object of the present invention is the provision of a razor-strop having an improved handle and suspension-bail formed of light material possessed of a certain degree of resiliency, so that the handle of the strop may be readily and firmly grasped without cramping or stiffening the hand of the user and an effective connection can be made between the suspension-bail and a hook or other suitable means for suspending the razor-strop; and to this end the invention consists in the novel features to be hereinafter described, and recited in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of our improved razor-strop. Figs. 2 and 3 show top views, respectively, of the suspension-bail and handle of the strop shown detached from the leather strap. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on line 4 4 seen in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a detail section on line 5 5, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, a represents the strap, b the suspension-bail, and c the handle of our improved razor-strop. The strap is made of any approved construction, having a surface provided with any suitable grain for sharpening the edge of the razor when the same is passed to and fro over the strop. The ends of the strap a are turned over and stitched together, forming loops for connection with the ends of the suspension-bail b and handle c. Both the suspension-bail b and handle c are made of stout steel or other wire, the bail being preferably made of inverted-U shape with ends inwardly bent and extending into the loop of the strap a. The handle c is also preferably made of U shape with depressed sides, the ends being bent inwardly toward and located in the loop at the opposite end of the strap, as shown in Fig. 1. The suspension-bail b and handle c are each made of a core of stout wire and of a covering-coil d d′ of thin closely-wound wire, which extends from the said inwardly-bent ends around the curvature of the suspension-bail and handle, so as to entirely cover the same, the inner diameter of said coil being greater than the outer diameter of said core-wire, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to produce a certain amount of resiliency in the suspension-bail and handle, thereby affording a firm and reliable gripping of the same, while obviating in the case of the handle any cramping of the hand while using the strop. The thin covering-wire of the suspension-bail creates with the suspension hook or eye a certain friction, so as to hold the said suspension-bail in proper relation with the hook, while said covering-wire permits the handle to be grasped by the hand and held firmly, the depressed sides of the handle “giving” slightly when grasped by the hand, so as to give a firm hold on the same when the strop is used for sharpening the edge of the razor. The suspension-bail b and handle c are bent from U-shaped wire blanks of the required size, the ends of the blanks being parallel with each other, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, after which the closely-wound covering-wires d and d′ are slipped over the suspension-bail and handle and crowded up sufficiently to cover the wire core, after which the ends of the suspension-bail and handle are bent over toward each other and sprung into the loops at the ends of the strap a. The crowding home of the covering-wires of the handle and suspension-bail is for the purpose of leaving the inwardly-bent ends of the suspension-bail and handle uncovered, so as to prevent the unnecessary enlargement of the loops at the ends of the leather strap, the ends of the covering-wires being then located closely adjacent to the ends of the strap and extending from one end to the other of the suspension-bail and handle, respectively, so as to impart a finished yet light appearance to the suspension-bail and handle and an elegant and attractive appearance to the strop.

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

1. A razor-strop provided with a bail or handle comprising a core-wire, and a covering of resilient coiled wire, the convolutions of which are closely wound and of an inner diameter greater than the diameter of said core-wire.

2. A bail or handle for razor-strops and the like, comprising a U-shaped core-wire, and a covering of closely-coiled resilient wire, the ends of said core being inwardly bent adjacent the ends of said coil, so as to crowd the convolutions of the same and to engage a strop or the like.

3. A razor-strop provided with a bail or handle comprising a core-wire, and a covering for said wire consisting of a resilient coil of wire the convolutions of which are greater in inner diameter than the diameter of said core-wire, the ends of said core being bent so as to crowd said convolutions and engage the strop proper.

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

Otto Kampfe.
Frederick Kampfe

Witnesses:

Henry J. Suhrbier,

Paul Goepel.