To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Terence F. Curley, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new Improvement in Safety-Razors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to safety razors having thin, flexible blades, and its object is to provide a new and improved safety razor, arranged to permit of conveniently placing the razor blade into accurate position on the frame or holder relative to the guard thereof, and to provide a back plate for giving the desired rigidity to the razor blade and which back plate can be readily opened or closed and securely locked in place when in a closed position.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same, which will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improvement; Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the improvement, the razor blade being removed and the back plate being swung rearward; Fig. 3 is a cross section of the improvement; Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the same, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the locking lever for the back plate.

The razor-blade A, preferably formed of a thin, flexible piece of steel, is supported at its front and rear portions by front and rear members B and C of the frame or holder for the razor blade A. The front frame member B is provided with the usual guard D, operating in conjunction with the cutting edge of the razor blade A, and on the said front frame member B are formed the upwardly and rearwardly bent stops E for receiving the front corners of the razor blade A, to limit the forward movement of the said razor blade and to bring the cutting edge thereof into proper relation to the guard D. The front member B of the frame is also provided at its sides with upwardly-extending guide-lugs F, for engaging the side edges of the razor blade A, thus preventing the razor blade from sidewise movement. The rear frame member C is provided with a retaining means C′ for receiving and holding the back of the razor blade, the said retaining means C′ being in the form of a pocket in which the back of the razor blade can be inserted.

The front and rear members B and C of the frame or holder are provided with downwardly-extending arms B′, C², riveted or otherwise secured to the upper ends of the shanks H′, H² of a handle H, preferably made of spring metal bent into U-shape, as shown in Fig. 3. The shanks H′, H² have a tendency to move towards each other, owing to the resiliency of the handle, so as to hold the razor blade A securely in position on the front and rear members B and C, it being understood that the retaining means C′ tends to press the blade forwardly, to firmly engage the latter with the stops E.

In order to give the desired rigidity to the razor blade A, a back plate I is provided, formed at the sides at or near the rear end with downwardly-extending lugs I′ engaged by trunnions C³ projecting sidewise from the rear members C of the frame or holder, so that the back plate I can be sprung rearwardly into an open position, as shown in Fig. 2 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, or forward into a closed position onto the top of the razor blade A at a point near the cutting edge of the blade and above the front member B of the frame, as plainly indicated in Figs. 1 and 3.

In order to firmly hold the front end of the back plate I in engagement with the razor blade A, and at the same time lock the back plate I in place, the following arrangement is made: A lever J is fulcrumed on a bolt K held on a boss L attached to the rear of the depending arm C² of the rear frame member C, and the lever J is adapted to engage the rear end of the back plate I at or near the middle thereof, and in the rear of the axis of the trunnions C³, so as to press the rear end of the plate I upward and consequently the front end of the plate I downwardly against the razor blade A. The lever J is provided with a suitable handle J′ and with a lug J² adapted to snap into a recess L′ formed in the face of the boss L so as to hold the lever J in a locked position when engaging the back plate I (see Fig. 3 and dotted lines in Fig. 4).

When using the safety razor the several parts are in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, that is, the razor blade A is securely held in position on the front and rear members B and C, and the desired rigidity is given to the razor blade A by the back plate I locked in place by the lever J. When it is desired to wash the razor it is only necessary for the operator to swing the lever J into an open position, as shown in Fig. 4, to release the back plate I, which by a slight jerk given by the operator to the handle H causes the back plate I to swing rearwardly into an open position, thus giving access to the razor blade A. When the safety razor is in this open position it can be readily washed without removing the blade A, but, if desired, the latter can be quickly removed by pressing the handle shanks H′, H² apart, so as to disengage the razor blade A from the retaining means C′ and the stops E. The screw K previously mentioned preferably extends through an opening in the shank H′ to the front thereof, and on this front end of the bolt K is formed a head K′, to prevent the handle shanks H′, H² from being pressed too far apart.

The safety razor shown and described is very simple and durable in construction, composed of comparatively few parts, and not liable easily to get out of order.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A safety razor provided with a frame for the razor blade, a back plate mounted to swing on the rear of the said frame and adapted to engage with its free end the razor blade adjacent to the cutting edge thereof, and a lever fulcrumed on the frame and adapted to engage the rear end of the said back plate for pressing the free front end of the back plate into contact with the razor blade adjacent to the cutting edge thereof.

2. A safety razor provided with a frame for the razor blade, a back plate mounted to swing on the rear of the said frame and adapted to engage with its free end the razor blade adjacent to the cutting edge thereof, a lever fulcrumed on the frame and adapted to engage the rear end of the said back plate for pressing the free front end of the back plate into contact with the razor blade adjacent to the cutting edge thereof, and means on the said lever for locking it in a closed position.

3. A safety razor provided with a frame for the razor blade, a back plate mounted to swing on the rear of the said frame and adapted to engage with its free end the razor blade adjacent to the cutting edge thereof, a lever fulcrumed on the frame and adapted to engage the rear end of the said back plate for pressing the free front end of the back plate into contact with the razor blade adjacent to the cutting edge thereof, and a lug on the lever adapted to engage a recess in the frame for locking the lever in a closed position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Terence F. Curley.

Witnesses:

Theo. G. Hoster, Jr.,

Everard B. Marshall.