Method for manufacturing an inner cutter of a reciprocating electric shaver and an inner cutter of a reciprocating electric shaver

A method for manufacturing an inner cutter for a reciprocating electric shaver, said inner cutter being caused to make a reciprocating motion while a plurality of arch-shaped cutter blades disposed on said inner cutter are caused to make sliding contact with an inside surface of an arch-shaped outer cutter, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) press-stamping a thin metal plate to obtain a thin metal plate element that has an outer contour of an unfolded shape of said inner cutter and a plurality of elongated openings that extend substantially perpendicular to a direction of a reciprocating motion of said inner cutter, thus forming a plurality of bridging-portions between said plurality of elongated openings;
• (b) pressing said bridging-portions of said press-stamped thin metal plate element so that each of said bridging-portions has a final sectional shape of each of said cutter blades in a direction substantially parallel to a surface of said thin metal plate element;
• (c) twisting said bridging-portions so that cutter surfaces of said cutter blades are aligned substantially to said surface of said thin metal plate element;
• (d) forming said thin metal plate element into substantially an arch shape with said cutter surfaces of said cutter blades facing outward;
• and
• (e) executing finishing-work on an outer circumferential surface of said arch-shaped thin metal plate element;
• wherein said pressing step (b) further forms cuts in the vicinity of edge areas of said plurality of bridging-portions, said cuts being arranged so as to form cut-outs that open inwardly on inner circumferential edges of said cutter blades.