To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, William C. Heimerdinger, a resident of Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Razors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in safety-razors, the object of the invention being to provide a safety-razor with two separate and independent blades located at opposite sides and held by an elastic backing in operative position and provide improved mechanism whereby said elastic backing can be adjusted to hold the blades at different angles, according to the closeness of shave desired by the user.

A further object is to provide improved means for holding the blades which permit them to be easily inserted or removed, precludes possibility of incorrectly placing them, and provides positive step-by-step adjustment to clamp the blades and adjust the angle at which they are held.

A further object is to provide the guard with grooves or ducts which permits water, lather, and hair to pass over the blades into a chamber or compartment on the holder and not collect between the blade and guard and interfere with the perfect operation of the razor.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, illustrating my improvements. Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a plan view. Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section, showing the blades adjusted for close shaving. Fig. 5 is a face view of the guard, and Fig. 6 is a view of a blade detached.

1 represents a metal sleeve integral with a guard 2. The guard is of sufficient thickness to insure its rigidity and provides at opposite sides of its center flat inclined faces 3 to receive the razor-blades 4 4 thereon, and guard-finger 5 are provided at the opposite edges of the guard, and the faces 3 are made with grooves 6 extending from points between the fingers 5 to a center cavity 7 in the guard and act as ducts, permitting the passage of water, lather, and hair past the blade into the cavity 7 and prevent the accumulation of the same at the blade edge to interfere with the perfect operation of the device.

The sleeve 1 has an angular bore to receive an angular rod 8, securely riveted at its end to the center of my improved spring backing-plate 9, constructed to clamp the blades 4 against the guard. On the angular rod 8 a gripping-sleeve 10 is located and made with an angular bore to prevent its turning on the rod, and the latter is rounded and screw-threaded at its end to receive a thumb-nut 11 to hold the parts together, permit their ready separation to clean the device, quickly secures the parts together, and adjusts them to proper operative positions.

The sleeves 1 and 10 are made with cylindrical shanks 12, on which is mounted an adjusting-sleeve 13, and one end of said sleeve 13 is made stepped to engage a corresponding stepped formation 14 of sleeve 1, so that when the sleeve 13 is moved from step to step rod 8 will be moved longitudinally to force spring backing-plate 9 against the blades 4 or away from the same for a purpose which will now be explained.

The blades 4 are provided at their ends with lugs 15, which serve as finger-holds to permit the operator to firmly grasp the blade and slip it between the guard and backing when the latter is adjusted sufficiently away from the guard, and the guard has flanges 16 at its ends to receive the ends of the blades, preventing lateral movement thereof, and the lugs 15 engage said flanges 16 and limit the inward movement of the blades and insure their proper operative position.

At the juncture of the cavity 7 and inclined faces 3 a wall or shoulder 17 is formed, which constitutes a fulcrum for the blades when the spring-backing is drawn tightly against the blades, as shown in Fig. 4, the backing serving to press against the inner edges of the blades and fulcrum them on the wall or shoulder 17 and draw their outer cutting edges away from the guard-fingers, thereby permitting the operator to secure a close shave, as the blades can be applied at a greater angle and firmer engagement can then be had with the skin than when the blades are flat against the guard.

In operation when the step of the adjusting-sleeve 13 engages the lowest step 14 of sleeve 1 the blades can be readily inserted into position between the guard and backing, and by holding sleeve 10 and turning sleeve 13 until the step of the latter engages on next step 14 of sleeve 1 the spring-backing will tightly clamp the blades against flat faces 3, as shown in Fig. 2, ready for ordinary clean shaving. Another movement of sleeve 13 in the same direction onto the next step 14 draws the spring-backing against the inner edges of the blades and moves them to the position shown in Fig. 4, ready for close shaving.

The blades may be sharpened on both edges and be reversed when dull or may be sharpened on one edge only, if desired. They can be made and sold at a very small cost, so small, in fact, as to permit the user to throw them away when dull and insert new ones.

The adjustment is perfect, requiring no exercise of judgment on the part of the user to secure the proper angle of the blade, because each movement of the adjusting-sleeve a distance of one step determines the position of the blades.

The device can be easily and quickly taken apart by removing the thumb-nut 11 and after cleansing can be as readily assembled.

A great many slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of the parts described without departing from my invention, and hence I would have it understood that I do not restrict myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

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

1. A safety-razor comprising a holder, guards projecting laterally in opposite directions from one end of said holder, a separate blade disposed on each guard fulcrums on the guards for said blades, a single plate bearing on both of said blades, and means for adjusting said-plate relatively to the guards, to change the angle of the blades relatively to the guards.

2. A safety-razor comprising a holder, rigid guards projecting laterally in opposite directions from one end of said holder and a spring-plate having portions projecting over the respective guards for clamping a separate blade on each guard, two blades fulcrumed under said spring-plate on the rigid guards.

3. A safety-razor comprising a holder, rigid guards projecting in opposite directions from one end of said holder, a spring-plate having portions projecting over said guards for clamping a separate blade on each guard, two blades fulcrumed on said guards, under the spring-plate and means carried by the holder and connected with the center of said spring-plate for adjusting the latter.

4. In a safety-razor, the combination of a guard having a flat face and a fulcrum, a rigid blade thereagainst, and means for holding the blade against the flat face or tilted on said fulcrum away from the same.

5. In a safety-razor, the combination of a rigid guard having two members projecting in opposite directions, two independent blades to bear against the respective members of said rigid guard, said members of the rigid guard having fulcrums for the blades and_a spring backing-plate clamping the blades against the respective members of the guard and the fulcrums thereon.

6. In a safety-razor, the combination of a rigid guard having flat faces adjacent to its fingers and walls or shoulders at the inner ends of said flat faces, blades on said flat faces projecting over the walls or shoulders, and means for tilting said blades on the walls or shoulders.

7. In a safety-razor, the combination with a guard and blades fulcrumed on said guard, of a spring backing-plate constructed to clamp the blades against the guard, a rod secured to the backing-plate and projecting through the guard, and means for moving the backing-plate and guard toward or away from each other, to cause the blades to turn on their fulcrums.

8. In a safety-razor, the combination with a sleeve having an angular bore, and a guard thereon, of a backing-plate, an angular rod secured to the backing-plate and projecting through the annular bore of the sleeve, a holding-sleeve having angular openings to receive the rod, a nut screwed onto the end of the rod, cylindrical shanks on the above-mentioned sleeves, and an adjusting-sleeve mounted to turn on said shanks and having stepped cam engagement with one of them.

9. In a safety-razor, the combination with a spring-clamp for the razor-blade, a handle connected with the clamp, and means for adjusting the spring-clamp and a step-by-step adjusting mechanism for said means.

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

William C. Heimerdinger.

Witnesses:

R. S. Ferguson,

S. W. Foster.