From the fondly remembered to the thankfully forgotten razors and shaving accoutrements, these books have a look at the patents for them. So far I have released two books, one covering 70 and the other covering 80 patents and patent families.1 Both are available for Kindle,2 in paperback, and as hardcover.
70 razor and shaving patents
A meandering look at the history of shaving, as seen through patents from the last century and a half. Somewhat serious, somewhat humorous, with quite a bit of snark. The book explores a wide range of ideas ranging from electrically heated razors to plug into the light fixtures, magnetic pseudoscience, and of course the ever present vibrating razors. And you’ll find a few sensible razors that were the right idea at the wrong time in there too.
What I appreciate the most is the author’s commentary. He points out the most interesting aspects of the patent in a couple of short paragraphs. This isn’t always obvious from the patent drawing itself, so the author has done the work of reading through the patent and describing the vision and features of the invention.
Dennis, review on Amazon
Another 80 razor and shaving patents
How did today’s refined tools of the traditional shave develop? What missteps was taken, what dead ends discovered? What solutions in search of problems were dreamt up and patented in order to make our daily shave better?
Adjustable razors, tilting razors, razors without a top cap, razors with no base plates, and a razor with neither top cap nor base plate. Folding brushes, disposable brushes, brushes that dispenses soap. If man can dream it up, it can be patented. And if a patent exist, I can show it to you.
My second book also features a few longer chapters on some of Gillettes’, Schick’s and GEM’s competitors, as seen through their patents.
The book covers 24% more patents, contains 29% more pages, 64% more words, and an amazing 471% more footnotes than my first book.
Footnotes
- By patent family, I mean patents that are closely related to each other – like the various patents for the Curbo-razors or the patents for the various King Rotary razors.
- Usable both on dedicated Kindle hardware, and with the free app for your phone, tablet, or PC. You may have to go to amazon.com to purchase the digital version.