To all whew it may concern:

Be it known that I, August William Scheuber, a citizen of the United States, residing in Jersey City, county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Razor-Stropping Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to machines for stropping razor blades and is particularly useful for stropping detachable blades such as are used in many safety razors. It may also be used for stropping the blades of ordinary razors.

The invention has for its object to provide a simple and economical structure wherein the blade shall be securely held and exposed, with slight movement, to the action of the strop, and wherein the blade holder is directly connected with, and controlled by, the friction roller, and thereby doing away with gears and separate springs to operate and return the parts, and providing a structure which is not liable to get out of order nor wear out quickly.

The invention consists in a pivoted blade-holder and a pivoted friction roller adjacent and directly connected thereto by a connection which rocks the blade holder in the opposite direction to that in which the friction roller is rocked, and by the spring action of which the blade is quickly returned to central position.

It also consists in sundry details of construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein

Figure 1 is a side view of my improved stropping machine, partly broken away; Fig. 2 an end view thereof; and Fig. 3 a vertical section taken on the line 3—3 of Fig. 1.

The side frames 1, 2, are connected by a series of rods 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, and by a supporting loop 8. Rod 3 is principally a connecting or strengthening rod, although it also serves to maintain the strop in position. Rods 6, 7, guide the strop and maintain it in proper position to engage the blade.

Upon the rod 5 is mounted the blade-holder 8, which, as illustrated, is made of a single piece of stiff material adapted to hold its shape and possessing resiliency such as thin sheet iron or steel, although, of course, I do not confine myself to a single-piece structure. This blade-holder 8 is constructed with a central, longitudinal channel 9, formed by bending out its material, and into this channel rod 5 enters, and permits the blade-holder to rock freely thereon. Upon its lower side the blade-holder is provided with the blade-receiving lips 10, which are bent substantially to the shape of the back of the blade to be held, and owing to the slight spring of the sheet metal, will hold the blade firmly. The upper end of the blade-holder is formed into a tail-piece or feather 11, through which the blade-holder is rocked and returned to central position.

A semi-cylindrical friction member 12 is mounted to rock freely upon rod 4, and this is perferably formed of material such as is used for the blade-holder. This rocker has an upper friction surface 13 over which the strop 18 passes, and its lower part, on each side, is formed into wings or flanges 14, which receive the tail-piece 11. Midway of its length each of the wings 14 has a portion of its material separated by slots from the main body forming spring tongues 15, which are pressed toward the center and are in close contact at all mes with the feather 11, preventing all play of the latter and always tending to press the blade to central position out of contact with the strop.

The blade 16 is inserted in the holding lips 10 of the blade-holder from the end, and to permit this the side frames 1, 2, are cut away, as at 17, thereby forming two pendent portions in each frame, which receive the connecting and strop-guiding rods 6, 7, at their lower ends.

The operation of my device is exceedingly simple and certain and will be readily understood. The strop and blade being in position and the device being suspended by the loop 8, the strop is grasped at the ends by each hand and pulled first one way and then the other, and the strop, bearing on the friction rocker 14, will cause the blade to be rocked, bringing it into position to be stropped by the descending side of the strop: e. g., in Fig. 3 the left-hand portion of the strop is moving in the direction of the arrow, and the razor is then rocked to stropping position in contact with that part of the strop. This will cause rib 11 to press the oppositely disposed spring tongues 15 apart (Fig. 3), thereby flexing said springs and operating to return quickly the blade to central position the instant the movement of the strop is reversed. A reversal of the movement will cause the razor to engage the opposite part of the strop. This arrangement possesses many advantages, among others, the quickness of response of the razor to the friction rocker; the absence of play between them; the doing away with wire springs and gear wheels, thereby producing a device, which will wear a long time, will keep in order, is not liable to cut the strop, and is economical to manufacture.

It will be observed in Fig. 1 that the lower parts of the frame forming the inner walls of recesses 17 may form stops to limit the rocking movement of the bladeholder.

It is obvious that many modifications and changes may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and I do not mean to limit myself to the exact construction shown and described, but

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a stropping device, strop guiding means, a friction rocker disposed in operative relation to the strop, pendent flanges on said rocker, spring tongues in said flanges, a blade-holder pivotally supported in said device, blade-holding means in said blade-holder, and a projection therefrom adapted to be received between said pendent flanges and to be embraced by said spring tongues, substantially as described.

2. In a stropping device, side frames, strop guiding and connecting rods mounted therein, a friction rocker mounted to swing therein, pendent flanges thereon, spring blade-holding lips therein, a blade-holder mounted in said frames to rock, and a projection adapted to enter between the flanges and to be embraced by the spring tongues of the rocker, substantially as described.

3. In a stropping apparatus, a rocking device having spring tongues, and a blade-holder having a projection adapted to pass between and be embraced by the said spring tongues and to flex the same when oscillated, substantially as described.

4. In a stropping device, side frames recessed at their lower parts, strop-guiding rods connecting said lower parts, a friction rocker mounted to swing in the frames, integral flanges depending from said friction rocker, spring tongues in said flanges, a blade-holder mounted to rock in the frames, a projection therefrom adapted to pass between said flanges and spring tongues, and spring blade-receiving lips, said projection and lips formed in one piece, substantially as described.

5. In a stropping device, side frames 1 and 2, recessed at 17, connecting and guiding rods 6 and 7, connecting and bearing rods 4 and 5, friction rocker 3 on rod 4, pendent flanges 14 and spring tongues 15 integral therewith, blade support 8 on rod 5, comprising rocking feather 11, bearing channel 9, and spring holding lips 10 in one piece, said lips 10 extending within recess 17, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

August William Scheuber.

Witnesses:

Adolph F. Dinse,

William Schmidt.