To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, James R. Curley, a citizen of the United. States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Safety-Razor, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved safety-razor arranged to permit of using the razor to produce either a right or left hand shearing cut or a straight scraping cut and to allow convenient opening for cleaning purposes and insertion and removal of the blade and a very fine adjustment of the blade relative to the guard.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same, which will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, part being broken out. Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the improvement, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the razor-blade.

The casing A of the safety-razor is approximately U-shaped and is provided at its front edge with an integral guard B, operating in conjunction with the cutting edge of the razor-blade C, having its back C′ fitting into a recess formed in a blade-holder D, pivoted at its ends at E on the lugs F′ of a carrier F in the form of a spring following-approximately the contour of the casing A and arranged within the same, the carrier being secured by rivets or other means to the casing A adjacent to the guard B, as plainly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. By the arrangement described the blade-holder D, carrying the razor-blade C, can be swung into an open position, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, to permit convenient insertion or removal of the razor-blade C and to allow thorough cleaning of the safety-razor after shaving.

In order to bring the cutting edge of the razor-blade C in proper relation to the guard B, the blade-holder D, with the blade C therein, can be bodily adjusted in a transverse direction, and for this purpose set-screws G are employed, screwing in the back of the casing A and abutting against the free end of the spring-carrier F. By screwing up the set-screws G the free end of the spring-carrier F is moved forwardly, and consequently the blade-holder D and the razor-blade C moved with the said free end in a forward direction to bring the cutting edge of the blade C in proper relation to the guard B. In a like manner when unscrewing the set-screws G the resiliency of the spring-carrier F causes its free end to move rearwardly, thereby moving the blade-holder D and razor-blade C in a rearward direction in case it is desired to set the cutting edge of the razor-blade C farther back relative to the guard B.

When the blade-holder D and the razor-blade C carried thereby are swung into an active or closed position, as illustrated in the drawings, then the blade-holder is locked in position for the time being, and for this purpose a locking device is provided, preferably in the form of spring-catches D² and F², secured to or formed on the blade-holder D and the carrier F, respectively. In swinging the blade-holder D into a closed position the spring-catch D² moves in engagement with the spring-catch F², thus interlocking the catches and thereby securely holding the blade-holder D in a locked position. (See Fig. 3.) When it is desired to open the safety-razor, it is only necessary for the operator to press on the ends of the blade-holder D or the razor-blade C in an outward direction to disengage the spring-catch D² from the spring-catch F².

In order to securely and removably hold the razor-blade C in the blade-holder D, the following arrangement is made:

The back C′ of the razor-blade C is provided ‘with a diagonal slot C², adapted to engage a pin D′, held on the blade-holder D and extending into the recess receiving the back C′ The length of the back C′ corresponds to the length of the blade-holder D, and the lugs F′ are extended forwardly, as plainly illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, so that when the blade-holder D is in a closed position then the ends of the back C′ abut against the inner faces of the lugs F′ to prevent longitudinal movement of the razor-blade C during the time the holder D and the razor-blade C are in a closed position. When, however, the blade-holder D and the razor-blade C are swung into an open position, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, then the ends of the back C′ are clear of the lugs F′, so that the razor-blade C can be moved longitudinally in the blade-holder D to disengage the back C′ from the blade-holder D and also to disengage the slot C² from the pin D.

Thus from the foregoing it will be seen that when the blade-holder D and the razor-blade C are in a closed position the lugs F′ prevent longitudinal movement of the razor-blade C, while the pin D′ prevents transverse movement of the razor-blade in the blade-holder D.

A handle H for the casing A is connected by a pivot I with lugs A′, projecting from the back of the casing in a horizontal direction, and the heel H′ of the said handle H is provided with flat surfaces, one of which is engaged at a time by a flat spring J secured at one end by a rivet or other means J′ to the casing A. The flat spring J extends between the lugs A′ and rests with its free end on the back of the casing A. By the arrangement described the handle H can be swung into a right-angle-position relation to the casing A or into an angular or longitudinal position, either to the right or to the left, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When the handle H stands in a right-angle position relative to the casing A, then the safety-razor is used like ordinary safety-razors—that is to produce a straight scraping cut—and when the handle H is swung into a longitudinal position relative to the casing A and either to the right or to the left then the safety-razor can be used to produce a shearing cut on either side of the face of the person using the safety-razor.

The safety-razor shown and described is very simple and durable in construction and is arranged to permit convenient insertion or removal of the razor-blade and allows proper and thorough cleaning after shaving. It will also be noticed that the cutting edge of the razor-blade C can be accurately adjusted relative to the guard B, so as to insure proper shaving without danger of cutting the face.

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

1. A safety-razor, comprising a casing provided with a blade-holder, a handle pivoted to the casing and adapted to be moved into an angular or longitudinal right or left hand position relative to the casing, and a spring on the casing, said handle being provided with means coöperating with the spring for retaining said handle in its adjusted position.

2. A safety-razor comprising a casing having an integral guard, a curved carrier secured at one end to the casing adjacent to the said guard, a blade-holder for carrying the blade mounted to swing on the free end of the carrier, and means for varying the curve of the carrier whereby to adjust the blade with respect to the guard..

3. A safety-razor comprising a casing having an integral guard, a curved spring-carrier secured at one end to the casing adjacent to the said guard, a blade-holder for carrying the blade mounted to swing on the free end of the carrier, and set-screws on the casing engaging the free end of the carrier for varying the curve of the same whereby to adjust the blade relative to the guard.

4. A safety-razor comprising a casing for supporting the razor-blade, a handle fulcrumed on the said casing and having a plurality of bearing-faces at its heel, and a spring on the said casing adapted to engage the said heel-bearing faces of the said handle.

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

James R. Curley.

Witnesses:

Theo. G. Hoster,

Jno. M. Ritter.