It's merely a ring at the top of the handle with seven transparent opening to let the light out. There is just one single massive light bulb inside the sealed handle - connected to mains power. That bulb will overheat and blow in minutes. The base plate is permanently connected to the top cap by springs. I mean... honestly... No. This is two or three patents rolled into one big mess. Visionary? Crackpot!
Depending on where you lived, the lighting options in 1910 were limited. Natural light was what most people used. They went to sleep when the sun went down, and got up when it got light. Candles were the most ubiquitous Lamps were next (oil based candles, basically) "Coal Oil" or Kerosene lamps were available to some. (Railroad lamps) These were brighter than standard oil lamps. Gas lamps. Limes (limelight) Carbon Arc lamps. Needless to say, you generally didn't use Limes or Carbon Arc in confined spaces like a home. None of the artificial lights were particularly wonderful lighting for trying to traverse a face with a blade, especially if there were a number of wrinkles, or you had bad eyesight. [edit] - there were some electric lights for homes, but they were NOT cheap, or prevalent.
Excellent job! This is one of the best shaving videos I've ever seen and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The brush needs a light as well...
Thanks. The light from the razor was enough to see pretty good even though you can no tell with the cell phone camera. It was a fun shave.
Cool But seems like in action it would throw light on your hand not the razor edge.after watching the video it's hard to tell A little fog on my mirror throws me off BC I'm a novice so no shaving in the dark here.
Great job. I bet you were the the kid that would try anything. It always worked out for you. Then when your friends tried it, lots of crying went on after their failed attempts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
LOL something like that!! IT actually lit things up pretty good. I could see better in the mirror then the camera shows.
Hm. Do you think it'd be better with the bulb that the OP put up? Where the light isn't forced straight up, but rather spreads out a bit?
This was a project for fun in the 30DC thread. I did not try to build a proof of concept razor. I took what I had using the skills I have and made something I got a good shave out of. Would a better design do better.... certaintly it would. Any one who wants to step to the plate and build better is welcome to. I will cheerlead and clap the loudest to see it.
It's actually on my "what to do with some of this crap" list. You'd be astonished at the weird .. stuff I end up with because of what I do. I may still have a steel barreled penlight hiding around somewhere.
With a Goodwill head on the razor, that dates it to 1931. Electric lighting didn't begin to become common in households until after WWI (1918). Many poorer people probably couldn't afford it until much later. Heck, my grandmother told me stories about living in a renovated chicken coop during the great depression because they couldn't afford anything better. They certainly couldn't afford electricity, had it even been available. It's possible my grandfather would have shaved with one of these if he's had one. I doubt it though. He was a straight razor user and a barber for a time (along with being a locksmith, truck driver, mechanic, musician, and piano tuner at various other points in his life).