For some reason people keep inventing disposable razors. Simple and complex apparatuses for hair removal. Hard to recycle, resource intensive consumer goods that is meant to be thrown away after a few uses. At least the disposable safety rotary razor patented by Rudolph A Gagnon had six blades that could be used before it was thrown away. And it was supposed to be colourful.
Continue readingRotary, or revolving, razors isn’t a new idea. I’ve featured several of them before. That did not stop Hirotsugu Matsuura from patenting one in 1969, with an interesting variation. He described it as being a rotary spare blade razor. The idea seems to have a plurality of sharp edges available as needed, without having to open or take the razor apart.
The blade carrying element of the razor was also replaceable, making this an early form of cartridge razor.
Continue readingA safety razor is often said to be a razor with a guard. So a safety razor blade is therefore a blade for a safety razor. Or is it a razor blade with a guard. Is it, in fact, a safety-razor blade, or a safety razor-blade?
According to Alfred W Ferrara, it is the later. So lets us see what imaginary problem he sought to solve with his invention:
Continue readingIt is important to stretch your skin while shaving. So important that several inventors have come up with ways to do it for you, in the forms of razors or attachments. So Giulio Benvenuti was in good company when he invented a razor with skin stretching means. And the means in his case was rollers, which is also a recurring idea on razors. What makes Giulio’s invention stand out is how he used rollers to stretch the skin.
But first, let us see what he intended to achieve with his invention:
Continue readingAfter coming across a meme on the internet, I recently spend some time tracking down the patent for what I can only think of as the Crime Skeleton. It is a perfect example that the line between genius and insanity is blurry at best. I’m not quite sure which side of that line Helene Adalaide Shelby’s invention falls under, but I am inclined to go for “genius”. And a somewhat spooky and misguided genius at that.
So let’s take a short break from weird shaving patents and look at a plain weird patent.
Continue readingSelf protected shaving device having multiple cutting edges… Try saying that three times fast.
A couple of days ago I posted about a razor that was all edge and no point. One of the patents that cited that one is Donald J Yellon’s self protected shaving device having multiple cutting edges. So lets see what that actually is, and means.
Continue readingMost inventions have a point to them. Charles Ackerman’s patent, filed in the last days of 1950, could be said to be an exception. It is a safety razor that can being described at being all edge and no point.
And honestly, that is not a bad thing. No point means less chance of nicking oneself on the corner of a blade. So let’s have a look at how a razor can be all edge and no point.
Continue readingA little while back we looked at a lather spreading attachment for your razor. Unsurprisingly, bad ideas keeps coming back – although Fredrick Schallgruber referred to his 1949 invention as a lather applying razor, rather than as an attachment. And it was single, rather than double sided. And it didn’t make it harder to change blades, so that at least was an improvement.
Continue readingThere are times that I see a patent and just know, deep in my soul, that the inventor was the kind of guy I could probably get along with. Charles H Dolan, the patentee of a wall mounted toilet kit, is one of those goys. The mind that came up with this idea is a mind similar to a mind that can spend hours browsing old patents to find the odd ones.
This isn’t the first toilet kit I’ve showecased.1 Not even the first to go on a wall. But this toilet kit is a product of a very tidy mind.
Continue readingRazor handles can apparently be used to store many things. In the past I’ve riffed on razors with styptic pencils, shaving cream, and even pens in the handle. It is an idea that don’t seem to want to die, as proven by Arthur E Keene’s 1943 patent for a soap-containing safety razor. While Arthur’s invention shares some traits with most of the razors that have things in the handle,1 it has a couple of interesting ideas I have not seen elsewhere.
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