Tag Archives: Gillette

Protector for safety-razor blades, patented in 1907

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There are several online shops that sells protectors for your DE razor these days, mostly made from plastic. You can even download a file to 3d-print your own, if you’re so inclined and have a 3D-printer handy. But did you know that the concept is about as old as the Gillette safety razor itself?

The patent was filed by Frederick Bunnell King in 1907, assigned to Gillette Co LLC. The patent describes a protector that not only protects the edge or edges of the blade, but is held in place by the tendency of the razor head to open slightly when tension is taken off the handle. Or to quote part of the patent text:

The protector for the cutting edge or edges of the blade comprises shield sides bent over to form pockets for enclosing the cutting edges of the blade when the shield is inserted over the back plate, the blade and the guard. This shield is transversely curved as shown and is of such shape that when the arts are drawn into position for use of the shield may be readily slid into and out of its protective position.

In short, the protector would also serve to keep the head and blade assembly together when the handle was unscrewed completely, thus allowing the blade to be kept in the razor even when the razor was packed away in a travel kit or drawer.

Ralph E Thompson’s one-hole razor blade patent

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Another one of Mr Thompson’s patents assigned to Gillette Co, this one dates from 1929 and highlights Gillette’s attempts to make a better blade than the original three hole design – a search that didn’t end until Gillette acquired the Probak Corp (and their parent company; AutoStrop Co) and started using the slotted Probak blade we know and love today.
This 1929 patent is trying to address one of the key issues with a safety razor with replaceable blades; the accurate and repeatable positioning of a mass produced, loose tolerance blade in the razor. To quote Mr Thompson in his patent text:

In the use of razors of this type satisfactory operation depends in a large measure upon the accurate positioning of the blade with respect to the cap and guard and the positioning of the cap and guard with respect to each other. A slight inaccuracy in relation of these parts will result in an uneven edge exposure of the blade at different points in its length, or may produce an excessive edge exposure which renders the razor dangerous.

King Gillette originally solved the problem with having three holes that had to line up with three studs. Today we have a stilted blade that can line up with a raised bar, or studs, or a combination. Both designs makes the manufacture of the razor head somewhat complex, since multiple studs or a raised portion has to be machined into the top cap or base plate. A blade with just one hole on the other hand… then you could get ways with just the threaded stud that holds the handle, as shown in the drawing.

A quick sidebar; the razor shown in the drawing looks very much like the Gillette Single Ring as manufactured in the twenties.
So how did Mr Thompson intend for this blade design to easily and accurately align with the cap and guard? By bending the ends of the blade into flanges that would naturally align with the short sides of the base and cap… one turned up, the other turned down. This would – in fact – serve to align the blade, but at the cost of not being able to easily wrap them in paper and pack them flat. Looking at the drawings, the blade was modified from the three hole blade with the rounded sides, which would simplify the production.
It’s hard for me to judge how serious this design was meant to be all the time Gillette was experimenting with a slotted blade at the same time. Possible this was a case of patenting something just to stop the competition from making blades this way, literary throwing stuff at the patent office to see what stuck.
In hindsight there is a better, simpler, and cheaper way to make a razor with just one threaded stud… but I think that in order to see it you needed to be familiar with the modern DE blade; the one developed from the Probak blade with notched corners. It’s clearly shown in the cheap and cheerful razor I bought from Flying Tiger Copenhagen close to two years ago; raised corners on the cap that engage the notched corners, as the photos below shows.

This patent shows an interesting attempt at moving away from the three hole blade before the patents expired, even if the shape would have made packaging more complicated. In the end though I do believe the modern slotted blade is a better solution though, especially as it’s backwards compatible with the older razors originally manufactured for the three hole blade.

Ralph E Thompson’s 1924 safety blade patent

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I’ve mentioned Ralph E Thompson and his stack of razor patents (the majority of which is assigned to Gillette Co) before, and one of his earliest ones are for a peculiar blade design – suitable, he claims, for both safety razors and razors of the open-blade type.
The basic idea what that the blade should, in effect, be it’s own guard. In his own words:

…a razor blade having a safety edge, by which I mean an edge which is self-protected in such manner as to prevent it from cutting the skin without materially impairing its effectiveness for shaving.

And how was this to be achieved? Well, the drawing make it reasonable clear that the secret was how the blade was ground.

By having alternating sharp and blunt portion of the blade, the edge would act as a safety comb. Or, as Mr Thompson puts it:

A blade embodying my invention is characterized by having its shaving edge provided with a series of alternating sharp an dull portions of limited extent, of which the dull portions are located near enough together to prevent the sharp portions from entering the skin of the user when the blade edge is which ting them to reach the beard in the act of shaving. I have found that in spite of the presence of the dull portions a clean and comfortable shave can be readily obtained…

In addition to being safer for shaving, such a blade should be – according to Mr Thompson – be safer to handle outside of the razor as well.
While I can see several reasons why this blade never took of, there are two that stands out to me. Firstly, the machinery that ground and honed razor blades would have to be significantly redesigned, which would mean a significant investment. Secondly, say goodbye to a decent one-pass shave – this blade would by design miss roughly half the stubble.

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.

Shave of the day 20th September

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Razor: Gillette Old Type “Khaki”
Blade: Lord Classic
Brush: Omega #50014 Travel
Lather: BEA Shavestick
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Additional Care: Alum Travel Stick, & WSP Matterhorn Beard Oil

Shave of the day 18th September

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Razor: Gillette Old Type “Khaki”
Blade: Lord Classic
Brush: Omega #50014 Travel
Lather: BEA Shavestick
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Additional Care: Alum Travel Stick, & WSP Matterhorn Beard Oil

Shave of the day 16th September

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Razor: Gillette Old Type “Khaki”
Blade: Lord Classic
Brush: Omega #50014 Travel
Lather: BEA Shavestick
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Additional Care: Alum Travel Stick, & WSP Matterhorn Beard Oil

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.