A travel razor usually either have a very tiny handle – like my, admittedly tiny all over, Laurel Ladies Boudoir Razor – or a handle in two parts – like my Merkur 985CL. But James Alex Denby Watt had a different idea. He patented a collapsible, hexagonal razor handle in 1930 – and it worked well enough to be part of a production razor.

More on that later – lets first look at the handle.

As can be seen from the drawing, it operates on the same principle as the combined traveller’s drinking cup and shaving mug we looked at a couple of years ago. It is segmented and hollow, and each segment will lock into the ones above and below it when it is extended. This means that the collapsible handle will only be one segment long when co

Shaving requires a lot of gear – at least if you want to do it the right way. You will need a brush, a mug, a mirror, and maybe even a styptic pencil. And all that stuff makes a mess on the vanity… unless you got one of the patented all in one shaving mugs invented by Bernard Goodfellow Savage and Albert Cecil Lawless Loughran, that is.

Granted, their stated goal is a little less ambitious. To quote from the patent:

The object of the invention is to provide shaving-mug with a mirror which will virtually constitute an auxiliary bottom for the I5 mug when the mirror is not in use, the attachment between the mirror and mug being such that when the mirror is removed the mug will be completely closed at its bottom and will have a suitable base upon which to stand.

So all they wanted was a way to attach a mirror to a shaving mug – or any other mug. Although… I am less sure if my coffee mug needs a mirror?

The all in one shaving mug is well described in the patent as well as in the accom

A little while back – because four years is nothing – I wrote a little piece on the Rally dry shaver. And now, while aimlessly poking through online patent texts, I found the patent for it.

Filed in the US and Germany by a Swede, the Rally was, as I mentioned, a lawnmower for your face. A handy way to get rid of that five o’clock shadow. A great gift that would likely be used twice and then put in a drawer.

So what was Jonas Åke Gregorius Malmberg trying to achieve? Well, mostly to improve on improving rolling drum dryshavers, apparently. By making the blades replaceable. Which makes a lot of sense, when you think about it. To quote the patent:

The present invention relates to an improvement in such shaving-apparatus having a finely slitted rotatably mounted drum and a fixed knife applied inside and in the longitudinal direction of the said drum, and the object of the invention is to obtain an effective operating and dur

A problem challenge with straight razors is that they require skill to keep sharp. A safety razor on the other hand – be it using double edged, single edged, or even wedge blades – requires a lot less skill. So it is perhaps inevitable that someone will come up with a straight that uses replacable blades. Today we often call them shavettes. But when A V Brokhahne and C Langbein patented an early version back in 1887, they choose a more descriptive name: attachable and detachable back for razor-blades.

Conceptually there is little – if anything – that conceptually differs between their attachable and detachable back and a modern shavette.

There is a holder for the blade. The holder can be swung to rest against a handle. The whole thing looks more or less like a straight. The main differences seems to be the way the blade is secured, and that you would have to remove the blade to fold it.

But first, let us see how the inventors described their idea:

Our invention relates to detachab

The Big Fellow.

A new – in 1920 – Old Type. Even if no one called it an Old Type back then, because the New Type wasn’t even a twinkle in Gillette’s eye.

So what is a Big Fellow, and how did I learn about it? Especially seeing as how I’ve not heard the term before, at least not used on a razor?

Well, to tackle the last question first; I learned about it because I found an advertisement that appeared in the Literary Digest in 1920.

This advertisement, in fact:

1920 advertisement for the Big Fellow

In short, it is a Gillette for guys with big hands. Meaning, as far as I can understand, it has a longer handle than the other Old Types.

Realising that, I also realised another thing.

I actually do own a Big Fellow. I found it at a flea marked a little over six years ago. And after [a clean-up](https://wegianwetshaving.com/2018/05/cleaning-a-flea-

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 N

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 kno

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, [

A couple of days ago I shared a video I found on the restoration of a Simens razor sharpener. And guess what? I’ve now found the patent for it. Filed by Ferdinand Souczeck in 1933, the patent was applied for in – as far as I can tell – Czechoslovakia, Austria, and USA.

I’m not sure if Ferdinand worked for Simens, of if they simply bought the rights of him. What I do know is that Simens must have manufactured the device in several places. The one I own is clearly marked as made in Sweden, while other examples I found online is marked with Austria, Japan, USA, USSR, and elsewhere.

Every invention is an attempt to solve a problem. But the problem Ferdinand tried to solve wasn’t to sharpen the blade per se – it was to sharpen it better. To quote:

In known grinding devices of this type, the movement between the razor blade and the grinding agent which is necessary for the grinding is generally only r

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 insi

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.

![](https://wegianwetshaving.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/US375592-drawings-page-1

I little while ago I bought a Christy razor. It’s a fun and interesting razor, fairly unique compared to modern razor. And, as I mentioned, you can’t get blades any more, as the Christy blade (which existed in a couple of variations) went out of production sometime in the late 30’s.

Some of you wondered if I couldn’t get another blade to fit.. and the answer; no, not really. And this is why:

First off, apologies for the glare in some of these pictures – taking photos of shiny blades can be difficult.

From the top: Common DE, GEM, Injector, and Christy blades.

No other blades are a good match – or even a partial match, for the Christy. It’s not just a matter of width and thickness, but more importantly of the inclined blade alignment cut-outs on the sides of the Christy.

The Christy compared t

A little while ago I bought a Valet Autostrop, almost by accident.

Unlike some vintage razors, you can still get blades for the Valet. And since I consider myself a shaver and not a collector, I got some blades and gave the Valet a spin to see if it belongs in my rotation.

The jury is still out on that though. Yes, I have shaved with it for a week, but a few shaves isn’t enough to show me just how good the Valet is.

Of how bad, for that matter.

The Valet Autostrop in question

We know how it goes. Peacefully puttering around on the internet, and boom: You accidentally bought two vintage razors. Earlier this week we looked at one of them, and today we’ll have a peek at the other. The other being a Christy razor.

Christy, like the CURBO, Diamond Edge, and others, were aiming for the low end of the shaving marked. Whereas Gillette and others were offering affordable razors, Christy’s razors were cheap or even free.

The seller had mislabelled this in their classified ad; the seller had it listed as an Gillette. It came in the original box, with a couple of spare blades.

We’ve all been there. You are peacefully puttering around on the internet, and suddenly you’ve accidentally bought a razor. Or two, as I happened to do a couple of weeks ago. So let’s have a look at one of my latest accidental buys; a Valet Autostrop VC1. At least it was listed as a VC1 – right now I’m less certain, as the blade holder is a much closer match to the description of a Valet VC2.

From what both the internet and Waits’ Compendium tells me, the VC1 was introduced in 1922. It likely stayed in production until 1928, when the VC2 came out. The VC2 was manufactured until 1935. The VC3 replaced it, and was in turn replaced by the VC4 in 1940. Production seems to have ended in 1946.

The main difference between the VC2 and the VB2 – which was manufactured at the same time – was that the VB2 was supposed to be adjustable (according to Waits at least).

My Au

Have a Double Edged razor you enjoy? Want to use your favourite GEM or other Single Edged blade? Fear not, Walter Althof¹ patented the solution in 1923; An adapter that let you use a single edged blade in a double edged razor.

Well, more on than in. But even so, you could use your favourite single edged blade in on with your favourite double edged razor.

As to why you should is a completely different question. And one the patent text fails to address. What it does talk about though, is the position of your hand while shaving. To quote:

The object of the invention is to produce a device capable of being assembled with the ordinary safety razor of the double edge blade type to adapt said razor for use with a single edge blade. Further, safety razors of the double edge blade type support the blade in a position practically at right angles to the longitudinal axis or extension of the handle so that the handle must be held at substantially right angles to the surface to be sha

…in addition to being self-stropping. According to the advertisement, that is. Just how instantly adjustable it truly was is a different matter. I do suspect less so than the copywriter claimed.

Valet 1918 advertisement

By a touch on the adjusting lug you can vary the distance between the blade and the guard with supreme precision and accuracy, according to the toughness of your beard or the tenderness of your skin.

From what I can tell, the “adjusting lug” they are talking about is the lever you use to release the blade for stropping. Which means that if you use it to lift the blade away from the guard, the blade is less well supported for the actual shaving.

And I might be less tough and more tender… but I do not want to shave with an unsupported blade.

As for what an instantly adjustable Valet would cost you.. .21 shilling is 1.05 pounds, also known as one Guinea (British pre-decimal currency

Not only did Jacob Schick think up various repeating magazine razors – he also came up with the idea of a combined sales package and razor. Or, put another way, a razor blade dispenser with a built in razor. Or, arguably, a disposable razors that came with a supply of blades.

And the one I’ll discuss today isn’t even his first one… but the improved version.

Both versions of the combined sales package and razor aimed making a small and convenient blade package and razor that could fit in your vest pocket. Having looked at both, this version is smaller, handier, and requires less parts. Which is good when the whole point is to make it cheap. Or as the patent put’s it:

This invention relates to an improv

Schick didn’t go directly from his first patent to the Type A. In between he patented a second repeating razor, that has a fair bit in common with the first patent.

Unlike the first patent, the second patent specifically mentions the use of a blade package. It extols the virtue of the package as a sanitary improvement. To quote:

The holder and the stack of blades in it form a unit that can be inserted into the razor without the user handling an individual blade either to in sort it in the holder or to place it in shaving position. The holder and the blades form an expendable unit so that the purchaser simply inserts the filled holder into the razor and after the blades are used up the holder is thrown away. This not only provides for economy in manufacture and saves time in using the razor, but it also guards against injury as the user need not handle a

We all know that the Type A was the first Magazine Repeating Razor. But nothing gets created in a vacuum, and Jacob Schick filed a patent for his first repeating razor as early as 1921. And while it could hold a blade pack in the handle as the later types A through C, the main magazine was in the razor’s head.

As I’ve said over and over again, an invention is an attempt to solve a problem. And reading Jacob’s patent, it is clear that his repeating razor was aimed at simplifying the act of changing blades. To quote:

This invention relates to an improved safety razor which is adapted to use what are commonly known as wafer blades, that is, thin blades, these blades being held within the razor and adapted to be fed therefrom into shaving position when desired, and can be pushed beyond the shaving position for ejection or either to be replaced by a new blade or for the purpose of washing the blade and the razor.

The idea was both s