A couple of days ago I posted about an all in one shaving kit. As mentioned, that patent is cited by a couple of much more resent patents, including this one from 1991 for a portable shaving brush.

As I keep repeating, inventions are about solving problems. Some are imaginary, others are real. And the problem Paul Hiromura tried to solve was traveling with a brush. To quote from the introduction to his patent:

At the present time most men prefer to shave using a razor and lather rather than an electric shaver. Although shaving cream may be obtained using the foam from a pressure can and applied directly to the face, there are many men who prefer to obtain their shaving lather using a wet shaving brush.
However, shaving brushes present a problem when traveling. Often, as an expedient, the user will wrap the wet or damp shaving brush in aluminum foil, plastic wrap or paper. The process of wrapping the brush may be messy and time-consuming. The wrapped brush, if wet, may leak on the traveler’s clothes or, if in a toiletry bag, it may leak on the other items in the bag. In addition, the brush uses soft bristles which may be damaged by being squeezed against other items.
If the brush is tightly wrapped to prevent leakage, it may not dry in time for its re-use the next day. Furthermore, such treatment of the brush, repeated over time, is detrimental to the quality of the brush and can cause a weakening in the seating of the brush fibers, thereby resulting in brush fiber loss.

From US patent 4,998,545

So… I guess in the late eighties travel brushes were not a thing? That must been a nasty shock for Archer G Jones, Joel B Fesler, Warner, Marcus B Berhman, and the many others who have invented, patented, and manufactured shaving brushes suitable for travel. With, I might point out, didn’t require the shaver to wrap the knot up in foil, wrap, or paper.

That said, let us have a look at the portable shaving brush Paul got a patent for.

Its’… a travel brush. And conceptually it is not too different from my Omega 50014, in that a sleeve is pulled up over the knot.

There is of course differences and peculiarities. There sleeve has a lid, for starters. Personally I suspect that the hinge (29 in the drawing) would be a weak point. Open and close it enough times, and it would tear apart.

Storing a tiny can of canned goo in the handle is also not something we see often. Some soap powder or a shave stick, sure… but not canned goo.

I see no reason why Paul’s portable shaving brush wouldn’t work as intended. Well, apart from the canned goo, that is. Replace that with a soap stick, and you’ll have a nice, compact travel brush. If you want to go overboard you could also mount a double edge razor head on the lid (40 in the drawing) to get an all in one solution… perhaps not the best idea.

You can read the full patent for Paul’s portable shaving brush at Google Patents.