HAIR REMOVAL TOOL
United States Patent 3613690
A hair removal tool comprising a handle having at one end a short blade having a stiff body with a relatively thin, blunt edge and sidewall surfaces that are serrated by crossing surfaces not perpendicular to the blunt edge.
Application Number:
04/844761
Publication Date:
10/19/1971
Filing Date:
07/25/1969
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
119/631
International Classes:
A45D26/00; A01K13/00; A61B17/00
Field of Search:
81/3 7/1C,14.5 128/355 132/76.4,76.5 29/78-80 119/92,86,83
Primary Examiner:
Riordon, Robert C.
Assistant Examiner:
Parker Jr. V, Roscoe
Claims:
I claim
1. A hair or thread removal tool comprising
2. The tool of claim 1 having said working edge provided with shallow serrations.
3. The tool of claim 1 having said working edge smooth.
4. The tool of claim 1 wherein said serrations meet the working edge at an angle between 20° and 70°.
5. The tool of claim 1 wherein said serrations meet the working edge at about 45° to 60°.
6. A hair or thread removal tool comprising
1. A hair or thread removal tool comprising
2. The tool of claim 1 having said working edge provided with shallow serrations.
3. The tool of claim 1 having said working edge smooth.
4. The tool of claim 1 wherein said serrations meet the working edge at an angle between 20° and 70°.
5. The tool of claim 1 wherein said serrations meet the working edge at about 45° to 60°.
6. A hair or thread removal tool comprising
Description:
This invention relates to an improved hair removal tool.
The tool of this invention is especially useful for the removal of unwanted hair from harsh-coated dogs, such as Airedales, wire-haired fox terriers, schnauzers, Sealyhams, Scotties, cairns, and Australian terriers. It can also be used to remove hair from people or from other animals. It is useful for the removal of hair around an irritated area, as well as for the removal of hair for the sake of appearance.
Various types of hair removal tools have long been known. Tweezers, for example, are effective, but they are slow, since generally pulling only one or two hairs at a time, and they are also painful to the person or animal from whom the hairs are being removed. In fact, this hurting is a characteristic of practically all the tools presently on the market. Another type of hair removal tool in common use has a very thin, often flexible or nearly flexible blade with a sharp saw-toothed edge. In some instances the edge is characterized by very deep serrations and usually is either right handed or left handed, the side of the blade being inclined on one side and straight on the other side. Such tools produce a pulling action on the hair, sometimes unintentionally severing the hair. When pulling it out or tugging at it, the serrated edges produce a sharp pain and create a weeping of the skin, often resulting in a reaction by the dog that sometimes makes it difficult to remove hair from dogs, who get very impatient with the pain. Moreover, such tools are not easy to use, requiring much skill and practice.
I have found that one of the chief reasons for the pain during removal is that the hairs, usually grasped between the thumb and the blade and clamped between them, tend to slip during the removal operation, and necessitate a continuous tugging or repeat tugging to remove, rather than quickly being extracted.
In my new invention the hair is also clamped between the thumb and the blade, but each side of the blade is provided with a serrated surface like that of a file, with the serrations running at about 45° to 60° to the edge, or at any rate not perpendicular to the edge. The edge itself is blunt and may be either smooth or may have very shallow serrations. The serrations should in all cases be shallow, and both sides of the blade are preferably slightly sloped relative to the blunt edge up to a stiff back, to give increased stiffness. As a result, the tool can be used in either hand, and it becomes possible to operate with the maximum of assurance, removing the hair exactly where one places the tool and doing so with a minimum of pulling and slipping and therefore a minimum of discomfort to the person or animal from which the hair is being removed.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a hair removal tool embodying the principles of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view thereof.
FIG. 5 is a front end elevational view thereof.
FIG. 6 is a rear end elevational view thereof.
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a modified form of tool having a smooth edge.
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the tool of FIG. 7.
The tool 10 of this invention is made up of two principal elements, a handle 11 and a blade 12. The handle 11 is preferably made so that it can be comfortably held by either hand. It may be generally cylindrical at the rear end 13, tapering somewhat in size toward a smaller front end 14 with most of the taper on the top surface 15. The handle 11 may be routed or otherwise provided with a groove 16 adapted to receive a shank 17 of the blade 12. The shank 17 should fit smoothly in the groove 16, and may be held there by cement, to assure its remaining immovable, although it may be secured by other well-known means.
The blade 12 projects from the front end 14 of the handle 11 and projects radially of the handle 14 at one side thereof, which may be thought of generally as the bottom. The blade 12 has a stiff top edge 20 that is thicker than the blunt bottom or working edge 21; the sidewalls 22 and 23, therefore, are somewhat sloped. The top wall 20 may be curved, as shown. The blade 12 is made with the working edge 21 blunt rather than sharp but as thin as it can be while having the sidewall surfaces 22 and 23 serrated and still having the blade 12 stiff and strong. Each sidewall 22, 23 of the blade 12 is provided with serrations, preferably at about 45° to 60° in both directions, although it may vary from about 20° or 30° to about 60° or 70°. The serrations are definitely not perpendicular to the blade edge 21, and preferably they should not be parallel to it either. The serrations should not be deep, usually less than one sixty-fourth of an inch, but should be quite sufficient to provide a definitely serrated and roughened surface, generally like a file surface. Note that the major portion of the blade 12 and all its working part lies at one end of the handle 11 and preferably about a quarter to three-eights of an inch to one side, which is a good position to enable the thumb to come strongly against it.
The edge 21 in the tool of FIGS. 1-6 is serrated, just as are the sides 22 and 23, while the edge 25 in the tool of FIGS. 7 and 8 is smooth. Both forms give satisfactory results, since the edge 21 or 25 is not used to cut nor to file, but to provide a terminal edge.
In operation, the handle 11 is held by the palm and fingers, and the thumb is used to clamp hairs against either side 22 or 23 of the blade 12, depending on whether the user is right handed or left handed. Thus the blade edge 21 or 25 is placed at a desired location, and the thumb used to clamp the unwanted hair firmly against the serrated side surface 22 or 23. Then the handle 11 is moved and turned, to give a slight rotation away from the skin surface, and the hair is extracted. Due to the firm nonslip grasp of the hairs between the thumb and the serrated surfaces, it becomes possible to be more selective-- to take off either a long coat or short hairs, or both, without gouging the skin or cutting the hair. It becomes possible to work very quickly and very efficiently, and the animals treated apparently experience a minimum of discomfort. It is possible to get very exact trimming, therefore, for show use and also to use it to remove hair from around irritated areas with a minimum of pain to the animal, all of which have obvious advantages. Also, it will be noted that since the edge 21 or 25 is blunt, the tool 10 is used with very small risk to the user, since he can hardly be cut by it.
The tool of this invention is also useful for thread pulling in sewing, especially for removing threads when two pieces of fabric, particularly the less thin and flimsy fabrics and the more firm fabrics, have been stitched together and the stitching must be removed. It is often difficult and tedious to grasp the cut threads between the thumb and fingers, and the use of this tool makes this a faster and easier operation.
To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.
The tool of this invention is especially useful for the removal of unwanted hair from harsh-coated dogs, such as Airedales, wire-haired fox terriers, schnauzers, Sealyhams, Scotties, cairns, and Australian terriers. It can also be used to remove hair from people or from other animals. It is useful for the removal of hair around an irritated area, as well as for the removal of hair for the sake of appearance.
Various types of hair removal tools have long been known. Tweezers, for example, are effective, but they are slow, since generally pulling only one or two hairs at a time, and they are also painful to the person or animal from whom the hairs are being removed. In fact, this hurting is a characteristic of practically all the tools presently on the market. Another type of hair removal tool in common use has a very thin, often flexible or nearly flexible blade with a sharp saw-toothed edge. In some instances the edge is characterized by very deep serrations and usually is either right handed or left handed, the side of the blade being inclined on one side and straight on the other side. Such tools produce a pulling action on the hair, sometimes unintentionally severing the hair. When pulling it out or tugging at it, the serrated edges produce a sharp pain and create a weeping of the skin, often resulting in a reaction by the dog that sometimes makes it difficult to remove hair from dogs, who get very impatient with the pain. Moreover, such tools are not easy to use, requiring much skill and practice.
I have found that one of the chief reasons for the pain during removal is that the hairs, usually grasped between the thumb and the blade and clamped between them, tend to slip during the removal operation, and necessitate a continuous tugging or repeat tugging to remove, rather than quickly being extracted.
In my new invention the hair is also clamped between the thumb and the blade, but each side of the blade is provided with a serrated surface like that of a file, with the serrations running at about 45° to 60° to the edge, or at any rate not perpendicular to the edge. The edge itself is blunt and may be either smooth or may have very shallow serrations. The serrations should in all cases be shallow, and both sides of the blade are preferably slightly sloped relative to the blunt edge up to a stiff back, to give increased stiffness. As a result, the tool can be used in either hand, and it becomes possible to operate with the maximum of assurance, removing the hair exactly where one places the tool and doing so with a minimum of pulling and slipping and therefore a minimum of discomfort to the person or animal from which the hair is being removed.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a hair removal tool embodying the principles of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view thereof.
FIG. 5 is a front end elevational view thereof.
FIG. 6 is a rear end elevational view thereof.
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a modified form of tool having a smooth edge.
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the tool of FIG. 7.
The tool 10 of this invention is made up of two principal elements, a handle 11 and a blade 12. The handle 11 is preferably made so that it can be comfortably held by either hand. It may be generally cylindrical at the rear end 13, tapering somewhat in size toward a smaller front end 14 with most of the taper on the top surface 15. The handle 11 may be routed or otherwise provided with a groove 16 adapted to receive a shank 17 of the blade 12. The shank 17 should fit smoothly in the groove 16, and may be held there by cement, to assure its remaining immovable, although it may be secured by other well-known means.
The blade 12 projects from the front end 14 of the handle 11 and projects radially of the handle 14 at one side thereof, which may be thought of generally as the bottom. The blade 12 has a stiff top edge 20 that is thicker than the blunt bottom or working edge 21; the sidewalls 22 and 23, therefore, are somewhat sloped. The top wall 20 may be curved, as shown. The blade 12 is made with the working edge 21 blunt rather than sharp but as thin as it can be while having the sidewall surfaces 22 and 23 serrated and still having the blade 12 stiff and strong. Each sidewall 22, 23 of the blade 12 is provided with serrations, preferably at about 45° to 60° in both directions, although it may vary from about 20° or 30° to about 60° or 70°. The serrations are definitely not perpendicular to the blade edge 21, and preferably they should not be parallel to it either. The serrations should not be deep, usually less than one sixty-fourth of an inch, but should be quite sufficient to provide a definitely serrated and roughened surface, generally like a file surface. Note that the major portion of the blade 12 and all its working part lies at one end of the handle 11 and preferably about a quarter to three-eights of an inch to one side, which is a good position to enable the thumb to come strongly against it.
The edge 21 in the tool of FIGS. 1-6 is serrated, just as are the sides 22 and 23, while the edge 25 in the tool of FIGS. 7 and 8 is smooth. Both forms give satisfactory results, since the edge 21 or 25 is not used to cut nor to file, but to provide a terminal edge.
In operation, the handle 11 is held by the palm and fingers, and the thumb is used to clamp hairs against either side 22 or 23 of the blade 12, depending on whether the user is right handed or left handed. Thus the blade edge 21 or 25 is placed at a desired location, and the thumb used to clamp the unwanted hair firmly against the serrated side surface 22 or 23. Then the handle 11 is moved and turned, to give a slight rotation away from the skin surface, and the hair is extracted. Due to the firm nonslip grasp of the hairs between the thumb and the serrated surfaces, it becomes possible to be more selective-- to take off either a long coat or short hairs, or both, without gouging the skin or cutting the hair. It becomes possible to work very quickly and very efficiently, and the animals treated apparently experience a minimum of discomfort. It is possible to get very exact trimming, therefore, for show use and also to use it to remove hair from around irritated areas with a minimum of pain to the animal, all of which have obvious advantages. Also, it will be noted that since the edge 21 or 25 is blunt, the tool 10 is used with very small risk to the user, since he can hardly be cut by it.
The tool of this invention is also useful for thread pulling in sewing, especially for removing threads when two pieces of fabric, particularly the less thin and flimsy fabrics and the more firm fabrics, have been stitched together and the stitching must be removed. It is often difficult and tedious to grasp the cut threads between the thumb and fingers, and the use of this tool makes this a faster and easier operation.
To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.