| CPC B26B 21/165 (2013.01) [B26B 21/4075 (2013.01); B26B 21/521 (2013.01)] | 13 Claims |
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1. A shaving instrument comprising:
a handle extending in a first direction;
a head attached to the handle, said head having two ends, and extending from one of said ends to the other in a second direction transverse to said first direction, said head also having a slot with an elongated opening extending along said second direction and an end opening at least at one of said ends, said end opening being continuous with said elongated opening;
a blade clamp removably receivable in said slot though said end opening, said blade clamp being molded from a polymeric material and having first and second parts hinged together at a hinge axis and rotatable toward and away from each other about said hinge axis; and
a planar metal blade having a blade-surrounding edge, said edge including a sharpened cutting edge and being receivable between said first and second parts of the blade clamp with its sharpened cutting edge protruding from the blade clamp;
wherein said blade clamp includes opposable clamping portions engageable respectively with portions of said metal blade on opposite sides thereof adjacent said cutting edge, when the first and second parts of the blade clamp are moved toward each other about said hinge axis, and at least one protrusion on one of said clamping portions, said protrusion being adapted to engage a part of said blade-surrounding edge and thereby prevent movement of the blade relative to the blade clamp in at least one direction parallel to the plane of the blade when said opposable clamping portions are engaged with said portions of said metal blade adjacent said cutting edge;
wherein the shape of said slot is such that, when the blade clamp, with said blade received therein, is received in said slot, the engagement of the exterior of the blade clamp with the interior of said slot prevents movement of the blade clamp in all directions other than in said second direction; and
wherein the position of said protrusion is such that, when said blade is in engagement with the protrusion, and the blade clamp, with the blade positioned therein, is received in said slot, portions of said head press the opposable clamping portions of the blade clamp against the blade and the cutting edge of said blade protrudes outward from said blade clamp and outward from the elongated opening of said slot.
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