To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Guy Osborn, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, borough of Manhattan, State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Safety-Razors, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains, to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a safety razor which shall be simple in construction, inexpensive in manufacture, and at the same time be strong and durable.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention will be hereinafter pointed out with particularity in the claims, but for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of my invention, the blade being removed; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the blade; Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the blade assembled in the holder; Fig. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale, partly in side elevation and partly in section of the razor in condition for use; and Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5—5 of Fig. 3, the scale being the same as in Fig. 4.

Generally speaking, my improved razor comprises three pieces: A blade; a holder for the blade; and a handle. The blade is adapted to be removed and replaced when it becomes dull. The holder and the handle virtually form a single piece, they being, for convenience of manufacture made in two pieces permanently secured together. When a person desires to use the razor it is only necessary for him to insert a blade, there being no other parts which must be assembled in order to place the device in condition for use.

Referring to the drawing, A represents a holder struck up from a single blank of skeet metal so as to provide a broad flat base or platform a upon which the blade is adapted to rest and a resilient spring member a′ which is adapted to bear upon the top of the blade and hold it securely upon the supporting base.

B is a handle, preferably tubular in form and provided with numerous perforations b throughout its length; the handle being permanently secured to the member A by means of ears b′ and b² which pass through openings a³ and a⁴ respectively and are riveted or otherwise bent across the top of the member a so as to tie the holder and the handle securely together.

C is a blade having at one side a cutting edge c and having the back stiffened in any suitable, manner, as by means of a U-shaped member C′ which is clamped about the rear edge of the blade. The member C′ provides a pair of shoulders c′ by which the blade is guided and held as will be hereinafter described.

The base member of the holder has a lug a² struck up at one side thereof, this lug being adapted to engage with one end of the blade so as to limit the movement of the blade upon insertion thereof and hold it in proper endwise position. The spring member a′ is provided with one or more downwardly projecting lugs or ears a⁵ (there being preferably at least two of these lugs or ears) for engaging with one of the shoulders c′ on the blade. It will be seen that as the blade is inserted, the members a⁵ act as guides so that the blade will position itself properly without attention on the part of the user and, after the blade has been inserted so far as to engage with the lug a², it is securely locked in place by the lugs a² and a⁵. Furthermore the free end of the member a′, is so arranged that it bears upon the top of the blade between the shoulder c′ and the cutting edge and thereby presses the front of the blade upon the supporting base.

The intermediate portion of the base is preferably concaved as at a⁶ in order that the underside of the blade may be clear of any support except along the line near the cutting edge thereof. The holding spring can therefore act more reliably to hold the cutting edge in proper position than would be the case if a wider bearing area were provided. At the front end of the supporting base are a series of teeth a⁸ — read a⁷ which form the guard so as to prevent the blade from cutting into the skin. The outer ends of the teeth are preferably joined by a bar a⁸ which extends across the entire length of the holder and serves to stiffen the teeth and hold them in proper alinement at all times. The holder may therefore be made of comparatively thin metal without fear that the teeth will become bent or displaced and thus spoil the adjustment and effectiveness of the guard. The holder is preferably secured to the handle so as to make an angle of approximately 60 degrees therewith. In using the razor, therefore, the arm may be held close to the body and the blade will lie at the proper angle to the surface which is being shaved to give the best results and even permit a sliding stroke to be made as in the case of an ordinary razor.

It will be seen that the blade is reversible so that the user, when inserting a blade, need only hold the blade with the cutting edge in front without paying any attention to which is the top and which the underside. It will also be seen that when the blade is removed ready access may be had to every part of the holding device so that the whole may be quickly and satisfactorily cleaned without difficulty. It will also be seen that by perforating the handle in the manner shown a firm grip is provided since the fingers of the user will sink into the perforations.

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

1. In a safety razor, a holder composed of a single piece of sheet metal bent so as to form a flat base for engaging with one side of a blade and a spring member for engaging with the other side of the blade, said base having a depression extending longitudinally through the center thereof, and a handle arranged beneath the base and having a portion projecting through and bent laterally across the base at a point within said depression.

2. In a safety razor, a holder composed of a single piece of sheet metal bent so as to form a flat base for engaging with one side of a blade and a spring member for engaging with the other side of the blade, said base having a depression extending longitudinally through the center thereof, and a handle united to said base at the depressed portion, said base having a shoulder to limit endwise movement of the blade when it is inserted in the holder and said spring having a longitudinal guide for positioning the blade upon the holder in the direction transverse to the cutting edge.

3. In a safety razor, a holder composed of a single piece of sheet metal bent so as to form a base for engaging with one side of a blade and a spring member for engaging with the other side of the blade to force the blade against the base, and a tubular handle having ears projecting through the base from the underside thereof and bent laterally across the top of the base.

4. In a safety razor, a holder for a detachable blade composed of a single piece of sheet metal bent so as to form a base having guard fingers at the front edge thereof and an overlapping spring member at the opposite edge, said base having at one side edge a shoulder projecting upwardly in the direction of the spring and said spring having a plurality of distributed lugs near its free end projecting toward the base.

In testimony whereof, I, sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

Guy Osborn.

Witnesses:

H. H. Nieman,

A. A. Kelley.