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When creating the initial design on Solidworks I was keen on taking a concept and developing it further through the use of Solidworks.

The develops for this piece where to change the shape of the handle making it not as thick and changing the position of the grips and adding more to provide the user with a more comfortable shave.

To create this design I began by drawing out a basic construction line to the dimension of 120mm, this was down to the research carried out during the investigation in Anthropometrics. I then also positioned the various points where I wanted the handle to bend, again in relation to the anthropometric data gathered in relation to the hand. (click on the screen shots t enlarge them!)

After I had the initial lines and points positioned, I went ahead and drew in the line using the spline tool. Using the spline tool I was able to draw the line to the various points, creating the desired curves that would fit comfortably into the hand.

In order to add some definition and thickness to the design, I create a range of different planes and positioned them along the spline that was drawn previously. On these planes I drew a range of different shapes that I thought would feel comfortable if I were to hold this razor. After the shapes where drawn, I was able to then use the Loft feature and create the initial razor design.

I then also added a circular shape to the front of the design; this would later act as the attachment to allow the razor blade holder to attach to.

I then also added a dome to the end of the razor handle. This helped improve the aesthetics, but also ensured that the sharp edge would not dig into the user whilst they were shaving.

This is the initial design after using the loft feature.

 In order to allow the razor blade holder to attach to the handle I had the idea of allowing the holder to simple slide in and out of slot. To create this slot, I simply viewed onto the side plane and began to create the slot using various sketch tools. I drew one half of this slot and simply mirrored it onto the other side, ensuring for an accurate shape.

After I was happy with the shape, I then went ahead and cut the shape out using the extrude cut feature.

Once the shape had been cut, I was unhappy with the design as it was not clear how the blade would attach and stay attached. So I went ahead and add some more design to the part creating a lip that would hold the blades securely.

At this stage I was happy with the design of the razor and decided to go ahead and begin to improve the ergonomics / comfort of the design by adding some grips to the top of the handle. In the initial sketch I had some simple grips on the side of the handle, however I felt this would be insufficient in providing the user with the comfort and grp they need whilst shaving.

So to address this issue I decided to add some grips to the top of the handle. To do this I create a new plane that was positioned above the handle. On this plane I began to draw a border to ensure that the grips would be positioned correctly on the handle, this border is only used for construction. After the border was drawn I then began to draw the various shapes that would form the grips. To soften the edges I used the sketch fillet tool that allowed me to round of any sharp corners.

In order to create the grips and ensure they are attached to the handle I would need to use the extrude boss / base feature. If I were to use this feature the normal way the grips would look like this and would be unpleasant to look at and hold.

To address this issue the extrude boss / base feature offers the ability to extrude a sketch from a surface / face or plane. So to create the grips I used this feature, extruding the sketch from the top of the razor handle. (See the images below). After the grips where extruded I also rounded the edges using the filet feature, improving the appearance of the design.