Lingreon "Lingue" Selby Morgan (1858-1931) was a farm and ranch hand who moonlighted as a small time inventor/entrepreneur. It was in this second role that he became responsible for an odd little footnote in razor history: The Curve Cut razor.
Attachment 193346
Attachment 193344
Attachment 193345
(You can see pics of a nicer example in Voidmonster's Three Curiosities thread).
Born January 27, 1858 in Kentucky, Morgan eventually moved to South Dakota and from there to Kendall, Kansas where in the late 19th and early 20th centuries he worked as the manager of the Lombard Ranch. While holding this position he was awarded at least three separate patents.
Morgan’s first two patents (patent #620,950 and patent #643,332) involved fences. The first was filed June 26, 1898 and awarded March 14, 1899. The second was filed July 11, 1899 and awarded February 13, 1900.
His third patent (patent # 779,233)—the one we’re most interested in—was for the Curve Cut Razor. It was filed August 29, 1904 and was awarded January 3, 1905.
In the patent, Morgan lays out what he believes are the advantages of this particular blade shape:
By reason of the peculiar formation of the cutting edge of the blade a more perfect shearing action is effected on the beard during the act of shaving, for thereason that during a straight pull on the blade over the face a running cut is producedthat is, the cutting edge of the blade travels or constantly changes, as it were, in the longitudinal direction of the blade, thereby effecting a more perfect and safe cutting of the beard in the hollow places of the face and neck, and, furthermore, since the curvature of the cutting edge terminates in an abrupt circular line ending at the small protuberance or toe projection in the forward end of the blade can be the more freely rocked during the operation of shaving and which also permits the blade being handled in such manner that the hand will not throw a shadow over that part of the face being shaved, especially while trimming the face above the ear.
In his later years Morgan moved with his wife Lucille to Golden City, Missouri where he passed away on January 16, 1931.
Due to the fact that this seems to be a rather rare razor, my guess is that the pattern was not manufactured in great numbers or over any extended period of time. It most likely dates to within a few years of the patent. It may be noteworthy that the example in my collection didn’t make it far from Kansas. It came out of an estate in Hastings, Nebraska. Perhaps Morgan couldn’t broker a deal for the widespread distribution of his product.
