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A Guessing Game

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:00 am
by Pauldog
OK, can anyone figure out (or guess) what the little projections on the blade are for? No fair looking up the patent before making a guess here.





Pat drawing.jpg
Pat drawing.jpg (33.71 KiB) Viewed 5699 times

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:02 am
by Pauldog
The lettering in the picture reminds me of a B. Kliban cartoon. He was probably copying the appearance of similar material.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 2:37 pm
by brothers
Paul, that's a puzzle! I don't know how you manage to find these. :D

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 5:38 pm
by Pauldog
I found it while looking for patents for the Gillette NEW razor, came up with an assumption about the projections, then read the patent and discovered that my assumption was wrong.

My search started by reading an old thread we were both in, where we and others were trying to figure out if you had a NEW razor or a "New Improved."

I also found some Gillette SE razor patents from around the same time.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 11:40 am
by ShadowsDad
I was thinking alignment of some sort but that makes no sense. So I'm guessing they push the blade off of the bed of the razor to make it easier to grasp. Not that I ever thought that was a problem.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 3:16 pm
by Pauldog
No, they're not for alignment while you're shaving.

They do push the blade off the bed, but the reason doesn't have to do with making it easier to grasp it.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:51 am
by drmoss_ca
Early leaf spring suspension for times when you take your razor off-road.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 11:23 am
by Bill_K
Pauldog wrote: Wed Aug 08, 2018 3:16 pm No, they're not for alignment while you're shaving.

They do push the blade off the bed, but the reason doesn't have to do with making it easier to grasp it.
Slant razor without the slanted head?

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:39 pm
by Pauldog
Chris, you're right! (not)

And no, it's not to slant the blade.

I'll also eliminate my original guess - to have yet another patentable, exclusive thing to hold the blade in the razor, in addition to pins, slots, and all the other projections.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 4:23 pm
by brothers
Mr. Gillette or whoever else may have owned Gillette in the 1930s probably had a department (one guy?) who was constantly developing designs fit for patent. Just as he also had a department (some other guy?) in charge of finding small companies they could either buy out or otherwise put out of business.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:07 pm
by Pauldog
Do you know about the merger between Gillette and Auto Strop?

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:44 am
by brothers
The history of the company is very interesting. Here's a good description I found: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company- ... y-history/

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:46 pm
by Pauldog
Should I reveal the answer? The replies seem to have petered out.

I'll give a hint - the feature is apparently an attempt to have some new patentable feature, but it doesn't have to do with how the blade is positioned while the blade is cutting your whiskers.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:35 pm
by Pauldog
Either everybody (all 2 of you! 3?) gave up or, more likely, lost interest. The projections suspend the blade in the middle when you loosen the head somewhat.

Why? is the question.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:55 pm
by brothers
It seemed like a good idea at the time I'm sure. :)

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:38 pm
by CMur12
It seems people used to loosen the razor head slightly for a more aggressive shave. Maybe this made that a bit more practicable before the advent of truly adjustable razors.

- Murray

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 3:32 pm
by Pauldog
Murray, you might be right, but the patent document doesn't mention that. Also, when you loosen the razor to make it more aggressive, you're turning it very little.

If you opened the razor enough to let the prongs suspend it between the top and bottom plates (or between the TTO doors and the bottom plate), I think the blade would be too loose to shave with.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 4:53 pm
by Pauldog
The purpose of the prongs is to hold the blade in a way that makes it easy to rinse clean and then close up the razor again.

Re: A Guessing Game

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 7:34 pm
by brothers
Almost 90 years ago --- looks like the idea just didn't catch on. Makes me wonder what else is out there just gathering dust.