Category Archives: History

Meyer Eugen’s skin-stretching razor

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Razors shave better over stretched skin, which is why most of us do a bit of facial contortions as we have our moment of daily Zen.
Meyer Eugen, of Wurttemherg in Germany, had other ideas on how to achive the desired tightening of the skin… as he states in the patent he filed in 1961:

When shaving with a safety razor, the skin is usually tightened so as to raise up the hairs relative to the blade to permit them to be cut as closely as possible toward their roots, whereupon the remaining stubs will recede into the released skin. In order to attain this result, numerous designs of safety razors have already been proposed. Thus, for example, the comblike guard in front of the razor edge of earlier safety razors was replaced by a beaded friction bar which, however, was too smooth and exerted too little friction upon the skin.

I never figured the point of the safety bars or comb was to provide friction… I’ve always believed the point was to stop the blade digging into your cheek and taking off the outer layer of skin – along with the deeper layers, flesh and a surpricing amount of blood. I’m not saying Herr Eugen was wrong in his assertion, just that his view isn’t shared with most shavers. He does then go on to describe other failed – in his opinion – ways to provide friction, before revealing his brilliant idea:

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety razor in which the friction bar produces a considerably improved skin-tightening and hair-raising effect so that the hairs will be cut more closely to the skin. This is attained according to the invention by providing the bottom plate of the razor with a friction bar of a curved shape as seen in cross section, which is divided into a plurality of serrations or teeth of an angle, the bisector of which is inclined away from the razor edge and toward the base of the friction bar so that the serrations have a shape similar to the teeth of a file or saw. The serrations may form a plurality of straight rows of teeth or series of individual teeth, scales, or the like which may be offset relative to each other. The longitudinal rows of teeth always extend transverse to the axis of the razor handle and therefore also transverse to the shaving direction of the razor. Thus, if the head of the razor extends at right angles to the axis of the handle, the serrations extend parallel to the edge of the razor blade and if it extends obliquely to the axis of the handle the serrations extend obliquely to the razor edge. In the latter case, the friction bars may be provided with additional serrations or grooves which extend in the shaving direction and exert a guiding effect.

In other words he wanted to turn the safety bar into a rasp or a file, which would hold onto and tug on the skin and stubble, holding onto hair and raising them up; there is a quite wordy technical description of how the undercut teeth on the safety would not only force the hairs upright, but also allow for easy detection of missed hairs.

The rest of his razor seems to be a fairly standard three piece razor, although the drawings also show a variation where the head is mounted at a 45° to the handle.
Given that modern razors don’t seem to be manufactured with the idea that the safety bar or comb should provide as much friction as possible in order to pull the skin tight when we’re shaving, I’ll leave it up the reader to assess how successful Herr Eugen’s patent were in the grand scheme of things.

Ralph E Thompson’s 1929 offset razor patent

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Ralph E Thompson have quite a few razor related patents to his name, most of them assigned to Gillette Company… and one of them caught my eye. As the patent text says:

I have discovered that the capacity of such a safety razor is increased, that it is adapted or certain special uses and that its shaving efficiency is improved by providing, a series It of spaced connecting devices formed in the holderwhich may be employed selectively in attaching the handle thereto.

Or in simpler words; a razor where you can move the handle back and forth. Ralph depicted a razor with two studs in his patent drawing; one in the centre where one would expect to find one, and one towards the end of the razor head.

While I personally have no issues shaving near my ear as shown in the drawing, it is likely that the main idea was not to get a neater shave around your side burns but to more easily facilitate the “Gillette Slide” – a technique where you held the razor at about a 45° angle as you pulled it across your whiskers.
I can see a couple of issues with the design of Mr Thompson’s razor. One of the big ones is that if you move the handle to one end of the razor head, the clamping force at the far end of the blade is reduced, leading to potential blade chatter and uneven shaves.

Ideal holiday gift…

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…at least according to this advertisement that was printed in The Literary Digest Volume 31 (4 November), 1905.

I do like this almost 114 year old advertisement – the juxtaposition of the happy guy with the safety razor and the scared looking shadow with the safety razor really drives home the selling point that the safety razor was safer and easier to use.

Clifford E Dunn’s ratcheted one piece razor

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One piece razors tends to be twist to open, these days almost always with silo doors. But one of the earliest ones went a different route; a ratcheted lever operating a cam to press the base plate towards the top cap.

Be it known that I, Clifford E Dunn, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Razors…

Where the two previous early single piece razors we looked at worked by lowering the base plate, Mr Dunn’s idea revolved around a top cap that came away from the rest of the razor on two long arms. Mr Dunn solved the challenge of securing the top cap to the rest of the razor with a lever operated cam… and to secure the cam he used a ratchets along a curved surface. If that sounds complicated, have a look at the drawings:

Quite simply, the cam and lever (8) goes down the centre hole of the blade – the modern slotted blade would be a better fit for this early razor – and when pushed up the cam will press against the underside of the base plate, holding the top cap down. The end of the lever moves along the curved ratcheted arm (15) and the teeth of the ratchet holds it in place. Simple, although not too elegant to my eyes… and unless the razor is manufactured from a hard metal the teeth in the ratchet will get blunted and rounded with use, and thus less suited to keep the lever tensioned.
Like the patent by Mr Edmonds, this one is also assigned to Gillette – and the text even states that it’s assigned to the Gillette Safety Razor Company. Probably never manufactured though, which makes me wonder if Gillette bought this one simply to prevent a competing razor on the market.

Frank M Edmonds’ early twist to open double edge razor

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Another contender for the first twist to open and adjustable razor? Lets hear the inventors own words:

The main inconvenience of safety razors of what may be termed the Gillette type where the blade is clamped between a back piece and a guard or clamp, lies in the fact and that in the only practical form of this razor which has appeared on the market the holder has to be taken entirely apart to insert and adjust or remove the blade.
My invention pertains to an improved form of holder wherein the various parts are so connected together that they never are detached one-from the other in the ordinary use of the razor. A This is due primarily to the fact that what may be termed the handle and the back piece are made in one piece, the clamp mechanism being attached thereto in such a way that the clamping operation may take place by the manipulation of the parts without their separation.

While I’m not inconvenienced by the fact that I have to take a three piece razor to pieces to replace the blade, I must admit that a twist to open razor is convenient – and Mr Edmonds’ description sounds like a twist to open razor to me. Another interesting morsel when it comes to this patent is the fact that it’s listed as filed by and assigned to Gillette Co LLC… while the filing data might be wrong, it strongly suggest that Gillette bought the patent from Mr Edmonds, which would make it the earliest twist to open patent held by Gillette I’m currently aware of.
On to the invention proper:

The invention is – in hindsight – simple enough; the base plate is mounted on a rod that can be moved up and down, the top cap is connected to a split handle with a yoke, and the rod run between the split handle. A knurled knob with a small plunger is attached to the handle with a split-ring, and when turned move the rod up and down. There are a spring (or a couple of small springs) between the base plate and rod to allow a certain degree of tightening up, and the base plate have pair studs for a Gillette three hole blade, and the top cap have slits for the studs to slide into. The patent also claims that the knob could be used to “adjust” the razor, much like you can “adjust” a three piece razor by tightening the handle more or less. A simple idea, but a complex execution to make it work.
Or as the patent text more or less explains it:

In a safety razor, a handle, a back piece fixedly mounted thereon, a clamp, a pivoted rod and means whereby said clamp may be adjusted thereon toward and from said back piece, said rod being adapted to be swung out from its clamping position with relation to said back piece to expose said back piece for cleaning and for the reception an delivery of the said blade, as set forth.

 In a safety razor, a handle, a back piece integral therewith, and a clam adapted to clamp a blade against said back piece, said clamp being mounted on a cross axis whereby it may be swung in and out from 1ts clamping position and also being provided with means whereby .it maybe moved in a direction toward and away from said back piece, said back piece having centering pins adapted to receive and center said blade, and said clamp having slots registering with said pins whereby said clamp may be swung into and out from a position registering with said back piece, as set forth.

In a safety razor, a handle, a back piece fixedly attached thereto, a rod mounted in said handle, and a clamp, and means for maintaining the clamp in with said position, said means comprising a shank and a stud attached one to the rod and the other to the clamp, said stud being angular in cross section and said clamp containing a clamp position to register back piece when out of clamping clamp may be adjusted toward and from said back piece, as described.

Easy, peasy… and probably more expensive and fiddly to machine than a simple three piece razor, which may be part of the reason Gillette to the best of my knowledge didn’t put this patent into production.
Still; the patent offers a very early glimpse into the development of a one piece razor, and one that Gillette found it worthwhile to purchase. This was also as far as I can tell the only razor that Mr Edmonds placed a patent for; his other patents being for self closing fire doors and a dip stick for gas tanks.

Thomas E McDermott’s spring-loaded and adjustable “twist to open” razor

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Be it known that I, Thomas E McDermott, a citizen of the United States, residing at Somerville, in the county of Middleand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Razors…

I’ll grant that Mr McDermott’s invention – which he filed a patent for in 1908 – was certainly new and novel enough for the patent office to grant a patent for… but I’m not entirely convinced that it was a particularly useful improvement. Or an improvement, period. The patents describes a couple of interesting ideas though, and his razor is one the first one to include a twist to open mechanism even if Mr McDermott describes it as an mechanism to primarily adjust the blade gap.

Mr McDermott’s main idea seems to be that what he terms the “blade-bed” – the base plate in double edge terminology – should be resilient and exert a “constant yielding pressure” on the blade, thereby permitting the blade to be adjusted for a close or medium shave and preventing the cutting edge from vibrating.
He solved this by making the base plate spring loaded and movable, so the springs would press the base plate against the equivalent of the top cap. The blade-bed assembly consisted of a bottom piece that included the safety bar, two springs with spring guides, an upper piece that presses against the blades, and some “attaching and connecting parts” – ie.: fasteners and the like. The whole blade-bed assembly is mounted on a threaded rod that can be adjusted up and down via a nut in the handle to adjust the blade gap… and to allow replacement of the blade. It’s the last detail which in my opinion makes this a very, very early example of a twist to open razor.
Mr McDermott also added a second so called improvement to his patent; a roller for rubbing lather on the face. Curiously enough he barely explains it in the text of the patent, just a short paragraph:

A lather roller 34 provided with longitudinal corrugations 35 on its surface is attached to the wall 6 by ears 36 or the roller may be attached to the side arms 2 of the frame l. The ears 36 are provided with openings into which the ends of the spindle 38 pass. A spring catch 39 may be placed, if desired, over the ends of the spindle 38, to permit the lather roller to be readily attached and detached.

And that is all he had to say about that improvement… to me it seems like his main idea was the resilient blade-bed, and the roller just got tacked onto the design later. Such a roller could be added to almost any single edged razor though, if someone was so inclined.
To me the outstanding idea in Mr McDermott’s patent was something he barely touched upon; twisting a knurled nut located in the handle to open the razor for replacing the blade. His resilient blade bed was an evolutionary dead end when it comes to adjustability, and the less we say about his roller, the better.*
This seems to be the only razor or shaving related patent Mr McDermott filed, his other patents are for an animal trap, a folding boat and an improved oar lock.

*) We don’t want to give the multinationals ideas of what more to tack onto their flexible, vibrating, multi-bladed cartridge razors, do we?

…like climbing ten flights of stairs

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If you are still depending upon the barber or old fashioned razor you are in the same category with the man who climbs ten flight of stairs when there is an elevator in the building.

While there is many things we can gleam from this advertisement from May 1908 – one of which is the almost curious lack of contractions (“you are” instead of “you’re” in the small excerpt I copied above) – the two that stands out to me is the fact that a safety razor with a dozen blades set you back a mere 5 USD, and you could get combination sets for tens times that price.
Adjusting for a hundred and eleven years of inflation, that equals about 140 USD for a single razor with blades, and a whooping 1400 USD for the most expensive set…

More razor infrastructure – the art of the sale

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So you invented a safety razor. You designed the machinery for making blades cheaply and easily. But until you can convince shavers to buy your razor, you’re nowhere close to turning every man into his own barber.
Selling is – I’m told – mainly about presentation, double so when selling to a merchant. And who wants to rummage around in a dark box to pick up a cased razor? So Gillette bought out a patent by Mr Nelson H Fairweather for a suitable display case; one I think would be well suited to a travelling salesman peddling his wares to merchants.

The mechanism is simple, yet elegant… as the lid opens, the tray with the wares lifts up and locks in place – a neat little trick, just the thing to lend a little extra to your sales pitch.

New arrival – a khaki kit for the modern warfighter

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As some of you might recall, I own a vintage khaki kit from the Great War – specifically from 1918 if the serial number on the razor is an indication.
I not just own it, but it is in active use. It lives in my GoBag, so whenever I am on the Go i shave with it… a hundred years and more is no age for a razor, and the single button webbing kit have held up remarkable well too.
Some time ago I was contacted by Ironbeard on twitter (@ SaveYourShave), and told that he was sending me a modern reproduction of the khaki set – he had seen my Shaves Of The Day with it and got interested enough to not only get his own but to make reproductions in modern materials as well. And yesterday there was a padded envelope in my mailbox…
So here it is, both by itself and next to it’s older brother:

I had to try it both with the Gillette Old Type from my original khaki set, and a modern three piece razor from Yaqi (I don’t own many modern three piece razors… so I had to pick the one short handled one I own). The workmanship looks at least as sturdy as the original, the choice of elastic loops instead of fabric means handles and heads of varying sizes can be accommodated with easy.
As luck will have it I’ll be travelling a fair bit the next couple of weeks, so I’ll be able to give it a good test. Expect a review in the near future.

Sta-Neet – the home barber?

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As I was trawling the net, I stumbled over a device that should pay for itself after a single use.

It trims, it thins, it cuts, it shaves legs… probably chops onions too. A device that promises a lot usually delivers just a little, but the thing seems simple enough: a comb with a DE-blade attached.

I can see a device like this cutting and trimming hair – especially if your preferred hairstyle is short all over. I can see a device like this thinning and shaping hair, provided you got a steady hand. I cannot see a device like this giving your legs a very close shave though.

For a 98 US cents in the mid ’40s (about 14 US dollars today, give or take), I can see it as a useful tool to extend the time between going to the barber or hairdresser. I can’t see it being a complete replacement though… even less considering the fact that it seems to be made from plastic: