Glancing into my sharps container, I was pondering what I could reuse the blades for. After all the mantra reduce-reuse-recycle makes a lot of sense. I have already reduced the amount of waste from my shaving by shifting to traditional wetshaving. I will recycle a lot of steel when my sharps container is full and I dump the metal. And while I could – in theory – reuse the blades by sharpening them, that is not terrible tempting.
But there is one other use for razor blades, common among soldiers in the past. I am, of course, talking about the so called fox-hole radio.
Ever wished that you had more choices when it came to blades for your vintage Star, GEM or EverReady razor? Or have a lovely old wedge razor, but either is lacking the blades or can’t manage to get them sharpened and honed? Turns out that the solution was invented and patented one hundred and fifteen years ago… It’s a safety-razor-blade holder. To quote Louis Heckel:
A couple of days ago we had a look at Mr Nordskog’s oddly shaped safety razor, which was patented a hundred years ago. One of the patens which cites Mr Nordskog’s patent is assigned to American Safety Razor Company. Filed by Clemens A Iten in 1984. The later invention appears to be a recreation of the former patent in the shape of a multi-blade, disposable, cartridge monstrosity. One straight edge, one convex edge. No rounded edge on the short side though.
The drawings from US patent 4,901,437
A cap and platform having an elongated longitudinally curved surface with a flexible shaving blade between them seem to be one of the major claims in the patent. Other claims goes into the construction of the cartridge.
The patent in its entirety can be read at Google Patents.
Sometimes I peek at a patent because the name of the inventors reminds me of someone. This was one of those times, and I’m happy I did. Mr Nordskog filed his patent for a “new and useful safety-razor” in early 1919. According to the claim, the object was to:
Advertisements definitely seems to have worked differently back in the day. Take, for example, this Ever-Ready advertisement from 1920:
From The Saturday Evening Post, unknown date, 1920
For starters, it’s a fairly long read. I’m used to advertisements being a couple of paragraphs long at most, but this? This is a couple of minutes to read, minimum. Secondly, it talks to the reader in a different way than todays fare. We’re not bombarded with claims of “best blade ever”, but instead treated to a polite little diversion into the idea that a good shave can improve your life and the world before a nudge towards the Radio blade as the blade you ought to try.
Part of the difference comes down to, I believe, the fact that today’s world is full of happenings. We haste from one thing to the next without taking time to sit down and enjoy… but in 1920 there was no internet, no cable network, nor no cell phone competing for our attention every second. So on a Saturday evening, a man could turn on the wireless and sit down to enjoy the evening newspaper – and have the time to read it.
Take the time to sit down and read the advertisement. Ponder what it has to say about shaving giving you an advantage. And ponder – as I have – what exactly the the war-discovered Radio process of blade treatment is.
Most of us are happy with a single or double edge razor. Some want more than that, and I’m not talking about carts… I’m talking quad-edge. And I’m not talking about the one that Mr J K Waterman patented in 1909, no… This one is a bit newer, and was filed by Robert E Hamilton in 1924.
So lets see that Robert tried to achieve, that the offerings with fewer edges failed at:
…its prime object to generally improve upon such devices by providing a simple and efficient construction which will afford a maximum number of shaves with a minimum amount of trouble, one which is reliable, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate, strong, durable, and well adapted to the purpose for which it is designed.
US patent 1,721,113
As can be seen from the patent drawing, Robert’s razor features a massive – and I mean massive – head. The square top cap, plate, bottom plate, and handle is secured together in a somewhat convoluted way.. Lets quite Robert again:
A guard plate 7 having a square formation is provided with a concave inner surface indicated at 8 on which is mounted a U-shaped spring clip 9 by means of a screw 10. This verging terminals 11 and is adapted to be inserted through the square opening 2 so that its diverging terminals 11 overlap the outer face of the body 1. The upper face of the body 1 is of a substantially concaved formation and a square blade 12 is adapted to rest thereon being held in place by the guard plate 7. This blade is provided with four cutting edges and the corners thereof are prevented from contacting with the skin by guards 6. A bracket 14 is mounted on the outer face of the body 1 over the opening 2 and is provided with a threaded opening for receiving the reduced threaded extension 15 of a handle 16.
US patent 1,721,113
US patent 1,721,113
Clear as mud? No? Didn’t think so… as best I can make out you insert the four descending leaf springs from the top cap through the blade and into slots in the bottom plate. The handle just screws to the bottom plate, so you could in theory use aftermarket handles.
The Great War – known later as the first world war – was a time of rapid innovation and discovery. Sadly, most of what we discovered and invented was faster, better, cheaper, and more horrifying ways of killing each other… but some of the discoveries also had uses after the war. Such as new ways to temper steel, which were later used in the EverReady Radio blades.
A quick online search don’t give any details on the tempering process used, but the kit pictured is identical to one I’ve inherited from a family friend.
Okay Bollywood, what is even this? Apart from this advertisement, all I can work out is that Mr Rajesh Khanna was a well known Indian actor. Allegedly Bollywood was going to make a knockoff 007 movie, and got a tie in with Panama blades.
Case in point; Gillette Co LLC’s patent filed in the US1 on 2013-02-14, and granted just over three years later. Let me quote the relevant part of the patent text in full:
…a razor package showing my new design having a gradient pattern from the upper portion to the lower portion and a band on a razor package disposed between the upper and lower portion…
US design patent #751386S1
Figures 1 and 2 from patent 751386S1
Yeah. Gillette patented the concept of a gradient pattern on the back cardstock piece of their blister packs. Which means no one else can do that until march 2030, unless you want a nastygram from the Gillette lawyers.
If you’ll like to see the other drawings, the patent in full is available at Google Patents.
Remember how difficult it was to disassemble and assemble your three piece safety razor the first time? Me neither, but William J Moore patented the solution in 1907; a Gillette razor – as described in US patent 775,134 – with the bottom plate removed.
Yes, you read that right. In order to make an admittedly simple safety razor simpler, Mr Moore did away with 25% of the parts. Instead of top cap, blade, baseplate and handle, William J Moore’s simplified safety razor contained top cap, blade and handle. To quote:
It will be evident that by giving the guard plate the location shown with reference to the blade, that is, on the side thereof that comes next the face, and which is opposite to the side to which the handle is applied, and from which it projects at a right-angle, make the guard plate perform the extra function of a supporting plate, and thereby materially simplify the structure, since one less part is necessary than in the case of the constructions heretofore employed in razors of this type, which simplification results in the double advantage of cheapening the cost of manufacture and simplifying the work of separation and assemblage of the parts.
US patent 856,793
Drawing from US patent 856,793
In addition, Mr Moore claimed that his improved razor was easier to use than Gillette’s razor. Reading the patent text, I can see what he was going for… but given the plethora of William J Moore’s simplified safety razor that can easily be found in antiques shops, flea markets and so on, I would say the market didn’t agree with him.
An advantage, other than the simplification of the structure, which is derived by the location of the guard on the side of the blade which brings the guard next to the face, is that the degree of closeness of the shave can be determined or regulated in so simple a manner as the variation of the angle at which the razor is presented to the surface being shaved, a variation in the angle resulting in a change of distance of the razor edge from the surface being shaved. With the ordinary construction, wherein the guard is on the opposite side of the blade, the protrusion of the guard fingers beyond the edge of the razor is indispensable, and this precludes the possibility of regulating the closeness of the shave by change in the angle of presentation of the razor to the surface of the face, making it necessary when the degree of closeness of the shave is to be regulated to change or shift the position of the blade with reference to the guard, a procedure which is not only inconvenient and requires time, but which requires a certain degree of skill, which the inexperienced users of safety razors lack. By my invention, as a result of placing the guard on the side of the razor which comes next to the face, the razor edge projects beyond the edges of the guard fingers, as will be clearly seen by reference to the drawings, and it is because of this relative arrangement of the parts that it is possible with my razor to regvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvulate the closeness of the shave by the angle of presentation of the razor to the surface of the face being shaved. It will be evident that, for the attainment of this important advantage in the use of my razor, it is necessary merely to have the handle in such position that it will not interfere with the application of the razor to the face, with the guard next the surface being shaved.
US patent 856,739
William J Moore have a few other patents to his name, including a couple of single edge safety razors – one set up for a wedge blade, the other for a spined blade similar to the Gem blades. The full text of the patent for his simplified safety razor can be read at Google Patents, as well as over at Razors.click.
