As I said in my introspective review on my Holy Grail Razor, I was waiting for another Schick Type B. It has now arrived. I am a happy man – I mean, I mostly am, but now I got one more reason to be happy.
Continue readingAs I mentioned a couple of days ago, I found and ordered my Holy Grail Razor. It has now arrived, and it is a beauty. And it is, I strongly suspect, virtually unused. The magazine was full of vintage blades1 as well as a brass blade dummy.
Continue readingThis year, I offer discounts on digital copies of my two books on shaving and razor patents.
Prices for both books will be reduced to just 99 US cents. That is 1.98 US dollars for both. A massive 80% discount!
And I do start the sale slightly early, so those of you who are too stuffed with turkey to do much beyond vegetating on the coach can at least read while you’re digesting.
70 razor and shaving patents & Another 80 razor and shaving patents
Both books covers patents on both fondly remembered and thankfully forgotten razors and shaving accoutrements, these books are meandering journeys through shaving history.
The sale have now started, and will run until Monday 28th at 1600 UTC – so you have all weekend to pick up a Kinle copy of my books.
70 razor and shaving patents & Another 80 razor and shaving patents
If you don’t already own a digital copy of my books, now would be a good time to grab one!
We’ve talked about razors that stretches the skin before. But I can do you one better today… It is a razor that stretches the skin and has a lubricant dispenser built in. And as a bonus it still looks like you can shave with it with it – unlike some patented razors I could mention. So what did William Miller get a patent for almost fifty years ago?
Continue readingOnce you have a razor, it must be stored between shaves. And while I’ve looked at a number of cabinets and other solutions before, I think this is the first one made to keep your razor dry and corrosion free. Filed in ’71 by Jack Cobb, the apparatus for storing cutting implements looks sensible – and pointless.
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 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: Gillette Single Ring
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Vie-Long #12705B
Pre-Shave: Proraso Pre Shave Cream
Lather: Sample – Geo F Trumper Rose Shaving Cream
Aftershave: B&M Reserve Classic
Additional Care: Alum Block
Last day pf my Sample September, and my stock of aamples have been severly reduced. Which is great, considering that was one of my goals with this exercise.
Over the years I’ve showcased quite a few razor blade sharpeners.1 One I have not showed yet is the Sharpex patent from 1930. I do actually own a surviving example, but it is in rough shape.
As for the why of sharpeners, I have touched upon it before. It boils down to the carbon steel blades of yesteryear not staying sharp as long as modern blades, and blades were relatively costly to replace. Keeping your blade sharp for longer meant saving money as well as getting a better shave.
Continue readingRazor: Gillette Single Ring
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Wilkinson Sword Badger
Pre-Shave: Proraso Pre Shave Cream
Lather: Sample – Geo F Trumper Rose Shaving Cream
Aftershave: Sample – Saponificio Varesino Manna Di Sicilia
Additional Care: Alum Block
The home stretch of my Sample September. Been enjoying it a lot so far.