I’m not normally one to look at straights, but these intersects with another interest of mine.
I’ve heard the argument that havign a bear in winter means you’re warmer… and as someone with a well groomed mustache and trimmed goatee I take offence to that idea… after all, it’s been rather cold in Norway these last few days, and… well, lets look at a photo from Shackleton’s Trans Antartic Expedition shall we?
Your breath is humid, humid means water, water freezes, and there you go. Not too pleasant, and certainly not warm. Back in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration this was well known, as shown in this excerpt from Roald Amundsen’s book about his Antartic Expedition in 1910-11:
When the meal is over, one of them calls for scissors and looking-glass, and then one may see the Polar explorers dressing their hair for the approaching Sunday. The beard is cut quite short with the clipper every Saturday evening; this is done not so much from motives of vanity as from considerations of utility and comfort. The beard invites an accumulation of ice, which may often be very embarrassing. A beard in the Polar regions seems to me to be just as awkward and unpractical as — well, let us say, walking with a tall hat on each foot. As the beard-clipper and the mirror make their round, one after the other disappears into his bag, and with five “Good-nights,” silence falls upon the tent. The regular breathing soon announces that the day’s work demands its tribute.
While the weather was a wee bit colder for Amundsen, I do agree with him; beard and winter don’t mix well. Thankfully I don’t stay out in the cold, or I would shave what I got off…
Similar in concept to various patents I’ve documented before.
Just some pictures of an antique carved shaving brush I found on etsy
A razor is formed entirely of an inexpensive glass material. In one embodiment the razor is formed as a single piece of material which includes a handle portion, a blade portion and an arcuate intermediate portion interconnecting the handle and blade portions, with the blade portion being provided with a sharp cutting edge. In another embodiment the razor includes a handle and an essentially cylindrical blade received between clamping jaws at one end of the handle, with the blade being provided with opposed cutting edges.
The idea has some good points – simple construction, only one material in use, long lasting edge. On the less good side is the fact that it’s essentially a section of straight-edge – having no safety bar – so the risk of cuts and nicks would be rather higher than Joe Average might be prepared for.
In genera, a razor in accordance with the invention comprises an elongated handle portion and a cutting blade portion having first and second surfaces which intersect to define at least one sharp cutting edge. The handle portion and the blade portion, including the one sharp cutting edge, all are formed entirely of a glass material.
More specifically, in one embodiment of the invention the handle portion and the blade portion are interconnected by an arcuate intermediate portion, with the handle portion, blade portion and arcuate intermediate portion all forming parts of a single integral body of glass material. Further, the handle portion and the blade portion of the razor extend essentially perpendicular to one another.
In another embodiment of the invention, the elongated handle portion includes a pair of arcuate opposed clamping jaws at one end thereof, the arcuate opposed clamping jaws being integral with the remainder of the handle portion and having spaced opposed ends. Further, the blade portion is of elongated essentially cylindrical construction and is formed with an axially extending gap between spaced opposed ends thereof to define elongated edge portions extending in spaced opposed parallel relationship for the length of the blade portion. The spaced opposed elongated edge portions have respective intersecting surfaces which define first and second opposed sharp cutting edges. The blade portion is removably and rotatably received in the arcuate clamping jaws of the handle portion with the opposed elongated portions and the sharp cutting edges of the blade portion projecting beyond the clamping jaws of the handle portion.
The second version described – the cylindrical glass blade – has the benefits of not just a rudimentary guard, but also the more questionable benefit of being able to shave on the opposite direction without changing the grip.
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a first embodiment of a razor in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, as seen along the line 2–2 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a handle member of a second embodiment of a razor in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a blade portion of a razor for use in the razor handle shown in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the handle and blade portion shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in assembled relationship.
Bouncing around on Google Patents is fun… sometimes I find brilliant ideas, sometimes I find goofy ones. I’m not sure if Burton Christmas’ idea is one of the later or former… it definitely have elements of both.
This invention relates to safety razors and is herein disclosed as embodied in a razor adapted to be cheaply manufactured and also adapted to carry advertisements, so that it may be sold at a nominal price or may be given away.
As herein illustrated the razor blade lies in a pocket or enclosure formed by folding a sheet, and the other end of the sheet forms a cover or flap which may serve as a handle adapted to be folded into about the same space as an ordinary card of cardboard matches.
A pretty neat idea, and while waste is an issue in this day and age it would make for a neat razor that a hotel or motel could leave in the bathroom along with the ridiculously tiny soaps they place in there…
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the razor folded.
Figure 2 shows the razor opened.
Figure 3 is an enlarged side view of the folded razor.
Figure 4 is a side view of the razor showing the parts in the position they assume when grasped by the hand.
Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the razor grasped by the hand for use.
Just something I found online… not much other information out there. Waits’ says it’s similar to the Simplex 7, but says next to nothing about the Simplex 7…
Old advertisements can be fun… and while these may seem like simple public information messages they were also brand reinforcement messages – keeping Gillette in the front of peoples mind during WW2.
