WegianWarrior

No shadow of doubt ever exists in the mind of a man who uses a –

Gillette Safety Razor.

Well, at least that was the claim in this 1905 advertisement for the new Gillette safety razor; the one we today would call the Old Type. Which was then the very newest type, and also the only type.

1905 advertisement from the Literary Digest.

In 1905 you would be an early adopter, and like most early adopters you would pay for the privilege. While the ad don’t mention how much you would have to fork over for an ideal holiday gift (either the standard silver-plate or the gold plated special set), they do mention how much you would have to pay for a dozen new blades.

One dollar.

Which may not sound like much for a claimed 240 to 480 shaves, but… inflation can be harsh. One dollar in 1905 is roughly the same as 36 dollars today (33€, 28£, or 395 Norwegian kroner). So not cheap.

But at least there would be no shadow of doubt in the mind of the shaver. But today I would very much doubt the mind of a man who opts to use the latest Gillette cartridge razor, at least if he has had the option of trying a proper safety razor.

As a side note, I like that they point out out their patent (#775,134) and what they claim it covers.

I have pointed it out before. Perfection is not achieved when there is nothing more to add – but rather when there is nothing more to remove. Seen through that lens, John B Lydiards 2020 patent for a shaving brush with interchangeable bristles is far from perfect.

The idea is simple enough. Different shaving brush knots have different qualities, and people prefer different knots. Some likes the softness of badger, some prefer a scritchy boar. Me, I like a good horse. But to get back on track, let us see what John had to say in the patent text

A problem with shaving brushes is that the bristles are permanently attached by glue or other adhesive, thus making it impossible to change to different bristles according to the desires of the user, thereby requiring one to purchase multiple brushes for different bristles. Thus, a need exists for a shaving brush which will allow a user to change to different types of bristles, such as without limitation, synthetic, boar, badger, or bristle knot, by cartridgizing the shaving brush knot.

Needlessly to say, I disagree with the perceived need. And I have a reasonable modest brush collection, compared to some shavers.

So, how were John planning to get around using an adhesive to secure the knot in the handle? By replacing it with arrangement of threads, levers, push-rods, bell-cranks and a clamp. Easy-peasy.

The pictures do more justice to the gadgetry of the invention than mere words.

From my understanding of how John envisioned his shaving brush with interchangeable bristles working, this would be the order of operations:

• Loosen the tension ring (#1 on the drawing) and screw it all the way down.
• Push on the spring loaded release button (#4) so the two halves of the fastening cuffs (#9) swings up and to the side.
• Pick up the old knot (#32) from the floor, sink, or wherever it fell.
• Insert a new knot (still #32) with an adaption hoop (#12) into the fastening cuffs (#9) and push the cuffs together.
• Screw the tension ring (#1) all the way up around the fastening cuff (#9) and tighten it.

Now, compare this to how I pick a new shaving brush knot:

• Reach out, grasp the brush I want.

And even if it wasn’t pointlessly complicated, John seems to have forgotten one minor thing: Storing a shaving brush knot takes up about as much space as storing a whole shaving brush! So there is added complexity with no benefit that I can see.

I mean, I can see part of what he was going for. The words cartridgizing the shaving brush knot gives the game away. I think John wanted to set up a walled garden, where people who bought his handle would have to turn to him for shaving knots.

While it is only two years since John patented his brush with interchangeable bristles, I just can not see it being successful in the marked – unless the target audience is people with more money than common sense.

Which is, admittedly, a large market.

You can read the full patent for the shaving brush with interchangeable bristles over at Google Patents.

One would thing there would be little left to invent, at least as far as shaving brushes goes. One would be wrong. Over in Japan, Mrs 由美子 井上 – or Yumiko Inoue for those of us who don’t read Japanese – recently got a patent for a shaving brush with a notch.

We have looked at a lot of brushes before. And I do mean a lot; folding, telescoping, collapsible, self-feeding, fountain style, antiseptic, disposable, self destructing, hygienic, sanitary, and many, many more. But Yumiko’s idea is the first notched brush that I can recall seeing.

Yet the idea is delightfully useful. The notch will let you rest the brush on the edge of a shelf (if the shelf has a lip of a certain size, that is). Or, perhaps more interesting, the notch lets the brush rest on the lid of a box. A box that is also a combined soap holder and ‘roughing bowl’. Or, as I would put it, a lather bowl.

The notch is sized so the brush can also rest on the size of the lather bowl.

And while the patent uses a lot of words to describe the brush with a notch, as well as the nesting bowls, the claims summarise it nicely:

A brush characterized by having a recess or a notch that fits into a locked body at the center of the handle in the longitudinal direction.

When the locked body is one or more of the handles provided on the protrusion, the protrusion, the edge of the container, and the lid, and the recess or the notch is fitted into the locked body, the handle is fitted. The brush according to claim 1, wherein the brush is held horizontally or with the hair bundle facing diagonally downward.

A whisk comprising the brush according to claim 1 or 2, and a whisk container for whipping a cleaning agent or soap.

The whipping container includes a razoring bowl for whipping shaving soap, a soap dish on which the shaving soap can be stored, and a removable cover having a handle on the upper surface, which covers the soap dish. The whipping device according to claim 3, further comprising, the recess or the notch being fitted into the handle of the cover or the edge of the roughing bowl, and the brush can be held.

I know, auto-translate makes somewhat of a dogs breakfast out of the text. But luckily the drawings are very clear.

I find myself almost wanting Yumiko’s brush with notch – and the nested soap-cup and lathering bowl too. It would make an excellent addition to my shave gear. Perhaps as my at work shave set.

You can read the whole translated patent at Google Patents, or over at Espacenet.

It is easy to forget, as one is looking at old patents online, that not every inventor spoke English. I’ve looked at several interesting non-english patents in the past, and stumbled over an interesting looking one today too. It is for how to do attach a handle to your shaving apparatus. Or to put it in a different way; a handle attachment to your razor.

Patented by Paul Druseidt, the invention gives a razor that both pack flat and is easy to assemble. It consists of a normal-ish razor head and a U-shaped handle made from spring steel. The handle is ever so slightly smaller than the head of the razor and can nestle inside it.

Patent drawing from German patent 323,451

The key is the shape of the recesses or hole on the underside of the razor. The keyhole, if you will. As can be seen from the drawing, it was longer one way than the other, and had arches or troughs on either side.

The U-shaped handle was, as mentioned, springy. You would insert it along the long axis of the hole, then twist it 90°. The arches on either side would stop it from slipping back, and the tension of the spring steel would hold it in place. After shaving the handle could be twisted back, removed, and placed against the inside of the razor head

Or, to quote the patent;

…der U-förmig gebogene Handgriff 6 zwecks Befestigung an der Kammplatte 2 mit seinen federnden Enden 5 in zwei unter der Kammplatte vorgesehene muldenförmige Aussparungen 4 eingeführt und sodann um 90° gedreht wird, wobei die federnden Enden in zwei weitere, enger aneinander liegende, muldenförmige Aussparungen 3 eintreten und in diesen festgehalten werden, während er nach Gebrauch aus den muldenförmigen Aussparungen herausgezogen und von unten gegen die Kammplatte gelegt wird.

For those whose German is a bit rusty, the autotranslated version runs as follows:

…the U-shaped curved handle 6 for attachment to the comb plate 2 with its resilient Ends 5 inserted into two trough-shaped recesses 4 provided under the comb plate and then rotated by 90 °, the resilient ends in two more, narrower Adjacent, trough-shaped recesses 3 enter and held in these while he is pulled out of the trough-shaped recesses after use and is placed against the comb plate from below.

All clear and fairly straight forward.

I though initially that a top cap could have been fastened by the pair of hook shaped projections on the bottom plate. I also though that these projections also would have acted as blade guides for a normal Gillette three hole blade.

Further research showed me that maybe was no top cap, and the hooks just held on to a proprietary blade. The first hint came in Waits’ Razor Compendium. Waits’ Compendium do mention a Druseidt razor – along with the similar Impero and Ratio razor. And in the description of the later, Waits states that “the special thick double-edged blade has two square holes and two centre oval dimples”.

Waits’ Compendium also mentions that “later versions has two pieces”, by which he seems to mean that at least the late production Ratio was made with a top cap. This in turn matches with pictures I found in a thread over on Shaving Universe, which clearly shows a top cap.

A top cap, I might add, that looks very much like Waits’ description of a “special thick double edged blade”…

Was Waits just confusing a poor quality picture of a top cap for a proprietary blade? Quite possible. It could simply be that a lot of the Druseidt, Impero, and Ratio razors that have survived have lost their top caps over the years.

Interestingly all three of the razors mentioned also have u-shaped handles. But none of the three has the handle attachment method described in the patent. Instead they uses a swinging out handle, which still relies on spring pressure to lock in place.

Overall the Druseidt patent looks like it would make an interesting razor, possible more interesting than the Druseidt razors that were actually manufactured.

You can read the full text of Druseidt’s patent at Espacenet, or a translated version at Google Patents.

A razor can take up space in a gentleman’s vest-pocket… a problem several inventors searched for a solution to, including Mr Albert S Aloe. He came up with a folding razor all the way back in 1886.

Described, unsurprisingly, as a new and useful improvement in safety razors, Albert didn’t have the benefit of the thin replaceable blade. Like most razors of this era he had to work with a wedge blade. A wedge blade is chunkier than a modern razor blade, but also has the benefit that it can be stropped and honed.

In hindsight his razor is simple enough. A couple of pieces of sheet metal, shaped to hold and clamp a razor blade. The blade holder and guard were made to fold flat when not in use. In some ways you could see it as a folding version of John Monks’ razor.

Patent drawing for US patent 375,592

It is worth noting that the first claim in the patent isn’t the razor per se. Rather it is for the spiral guard, which was meant to ‘carry the lather endwise’ when the razor was used. Or in simpler words; keep the lather out of the way.

The blade was held in place by a spring loaded catch. This also made sure the distance between the edge and the guard stayed constant, even as the edge was gently worn away by stropping and honing. You could say the blade was self adjusting to keep it working as intended.

I see no reason why Aloe’s folding razor shouldn’t work as intended, nor any reason why a version couldn’t be made for a GEM blade. At the same time I see no reason why anyone would want one today, as it is unergonomic and looks like a kludge.

You can read the full patent for Aloe’s folding razor at Google Patents.

Some razors are all edge and no point. Ferdinando Pasquale Musso’s cylindrical safety razor is arguable one of them. Even if Mr Musso did have a point with his invention. In the words of the patent;

A razor of this type has the advantage that it will produce a a fast clean shave whether the beard is long or short, and can be moved over the face in any direction with equal effectiveness.

In other words, the point of the invention was a unidirectional razor. And since the razor featured a circular blade with an internal edge, it does in fact matter little what direction the user pushes the cylindrical safety razor. It cuts just as well going any way.

A unique aspect to Mr Musso’s safety razor was that it was meant to be used either manually, or to be motor driven. Although given the large opening and sheer amount of exposed edge, I think I would prefer to use it by hand.

The heart of Mr Musso’s cylindrical safety razor is the frusto-conical shaver blade with a circular opening. Or in layman’s terms, a blade that is made from a cone with the top chopped of. The opening is sharpened to provide a cutting edge.

The frusto-conical blade is mounted on the razor proper. This is basically a hollowed out cylinder. A collar is threaded onto the main body of the razor, holding the blade in position. This collar can be considered the analogue of the top cap on a regular three piece razor.

In the middle of the hollowed out cylinder that makes up the main body of the cylindrical safety razor is a mushroom shaped protrusion. This functions as the guard of a regular razor. It would prevent the skin of the shavers face from disappearing into the middle of the blade. The guard mushroom would be kept in place by a small thumb screw.

Patent drawing from US patent 2,598,711

If you look at the parts making up the razor, Mr Musso’s cylindrical safety razor was quite simple. Just four bits – the blade, the cylindrical body, the collar, the mushroom, and a thumb screw. All of which would be easy to machine in quantity.

As for downsides, I can see a few.

For starters, the cylindrical safety razor requires a special blade. Making a razor that requires a unique blade isn’t easy, even less so when most of the marked was covered by the ubiquitous double edge blade. Breaking into the marked is always hard to do.

Secondly, it’s tiny. While this makes for a good travel razor, it also means it will be tricky to shave with. The lack of a handle is both a pro and a con. On one hand it makes areas like under the nose easier to do. On the other hand, it means the shaver have to to keep holding the little cylinder between three fingers the whole time.

And thirdly, the little hollowed out cylinder would fill up with lather and beard hair in no time. It would need to be rinsed out frequently, and throughoutly.

I’m sure Mr Musso’s cylindrical safety razor would work as intended. I’m just not sure it would be any better – or even as good – as a regular three piece razor.

You can read the whole patent for the cylindrical safety razor over at Google Patents.

Every man remembers his first shave, according to the internet…

I don’t.

I do remember my first shave with a traditional safety razor though, and how my face looked afterwards… was hooked right away, despite several nicks. Thinking about it, I do believe my first shaves as a pimply teen was with an unremarkable electric razor… a no-brand rotary. First experiments with carts and canned goo came a little later as I was gearing up for boot camp – I believe my logic was that you can’t find an outlet while on exercise in the deep forests. The main takeaway from the first few years was that I dislike canned goo; left my face feeling dry and funky.

Enter stage right; a cheap brush and cream from BodyShop. Much better, even if ingrown hairs and shaving rash still plagued me.. at the time I though that was just how it was.

Over the next couple of decades I waffled between carts (Sensor Excel), various electrics, and growing beards… until I was pointed in the direction of traditional wetshaving while I was gearing up for a one year Tour of Duty as a UN Military Observer in Africa – the logic at the time being that you can’t always find an electrical outlet nor reliable buy carts while in a third world country… seems to be a common theme with why I switched to a cart years before.

The anticipation when I slid the Feather blade into my Parker R22 and slowly twisted it closed was palatable… and I promptly opened and closed it a few times to make 100% absolutely sure I had put it in right. I was happy with the lather I had made with my brand new Omega boar brush and my just as new tube of Proraso Green… even if looking back it was frankly not particularly good. And the less I say about my pre-shave, the better… because there is not much to say about splashing some warm water on ones face.

The feeling of sliding a traditional safety razor over my cheeks for the first time? Unforgettable. The actual sound of stubble being sliced through by a piece of wicked sharp steel? Simply wonderful.

Yes, there was several nicks. Blood was drawn. The Feather is, in hindsight, way to sharp for an aggressive razor like the R22. My lather was too watery and provided little cushion. But despite all that I knew one thing for sure when I rinsed the bright red remains of watery lather of my face:

I wanted more. Much more.

To roll back, I think my first shave was forgotten because it wasn’t anything special. I do remember my first traditional shave because it was quite simply unforgettable.