Patent Application
20110047805
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sharpeners for hand held safety razors.
2. Description of Prior Art
Hand held safety razor blades used for shaving hair from the human body generally include a razor cartridge attached to a razor handle. The razor cartridge includes one or more individual blades, with multiple blades being arranged in parallel. Generally the razor blades are capable of a maximum of between five and ten close shaves based on the hair being shaved and the care given to the razor blades. The razor cartridge is then discarded and a new razor cartridge inserted into the handle.
Moisture within the environment causes damage to the razor blades if not removed between use. No protective coating is applied to the razor blades after use to prevent the formation of microscopic rust on the razor blades surface.
Sharpeners for hand held safety razors are known in the prior art. Leather razor strops have been used for decades to hone straight razors. While this has worked on single hand held blades, it was not intended for sharpening multiple blades or a cartridge of blades. In addition the hard leather does not conform to the shape of the razor blades in the razor cartridge, making it difficult to provide the precise angle required to sharpen the razor blades in a multi-bladed razor cartridge. It also does not remove excess moisture from the razor blades after shaving is completed or coat the razor blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades.
A hand operated sharpener is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,731, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Although effective, it requires stoking the razor blade at a precise angle to properly sharpen the razor blade. It also does not remove excess moisture from the razor blades after shaving is completed or coat the razor blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades.
An automated sharpener is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,106, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. While this automated process presents a significant advance over the manual sharpener, the basic sharpening method is essentially the same for both the manual and automated method. In addition, the motorized portion of the automated sharpener makes the overall device somewhat bulky, generally larger, and possibly more expensive than necessary. It also does not remove excess moisture from the razor blades after shaving is completed or coat the razor blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades.
A manual sharpener with aloe vera gel lubricant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,553,218, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference, in its entirety. While this apparatus for sharpening uses a mirrored plate glass to sharpen with a holder to achieve the precise angle required to sharpen the razor blades, the surface does not easily conform to the razor blades. It also does not remove excess moisture from the blades after shaving is completed or coat the blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades.
The prior art discloses examples of apparatus for sharpening blades of a razor, but none providing the combination of features disclosed and claimed herein.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a system to hone the razor blades of a multi-bladed razor cartridge and to prevent rust from forming on the razor blades between uses.
Accordingly, there are several objects and advantages of my invention. First, the angle at which the handle of the razor handle may be honed is not critical since the flexible honing material conforms to the surface of the razor blades in the cartridge. The flexible honing material presses directly against the razor blades at a variety of angles of the razor handle conforming to the razor blades and spaces between the razor blades. A further advance is that moisture can be removed from the razor blades after shaving and transferred to the flexible honing material reducing the formation of microscopic rust on the razor blades. A further advance is that a coat of oil is transferred from the flexible honing material to the razor blades to reduce or prevent the formation of rust on the razor blades between use.
Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
As shown in
The flexible honing material 14, being a soft material loosely fitted over the handle 10 conforms to the razor blade cartridge 20 and allows the razor blades 22 to push against the flexible honing material 14. This action aligns the edge of the razor blades 22 which produces a cleaner shave when used.
The razor blades 22 are passed repeatedly over the flexible honing material 14 five to ten times to hone the razor blades 22. The razor is then used to shave.
Once the razor has finished being used to shave, it is rinsed, dried, then the razor blade is again passed repeatedly over the flexible honing material 14 five to ten times to remove any remaining moisture on the razor blades 22. This also has the effect of transferring a small amount of oil present in the flexible honing material 14 to the surface of the razor blades 22 which helps to coat the razor blades 22 and prevent rust from forming between use of the razor.
Thus the reader will see that the razor blade extender allows the razor blades 22 to easily and quickly be honed before each shave to help realign the razor blades 22 edge. It also removes excess water after the razor blades 22 are cleaned after use and deposits a small amount of oil from the flexible honing material 14 onto the razor blades 22 to protect the razor blades 22 from the formation of rust between use.
While my above description contains many specificities, there should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible. For example, the width of the handle 10 and flexible honing material 14 can be made narrower to more easily conform to the razor blades 22 so the razor blade cartridge 20 does not stand off from the flexible honing material 14.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
