Shaving, Razors

A razor is an edge tool (primarily, used in shaving). more...

Early razors

In its simplest form, a razor is a blade attached to a handle. Razors have been identified from Bronze Age Britain. These are made of bronze, generally oval in shape with a small tang protruding from one of the short ends.

Straight razors (also called cut-throat razors) with open steel blades were the most common before the 20th century—and, in many countries, until the 1950s. They are now used chiefly by barbers.

Safety razor

The safety razor was developed in the mid-1800s. Early razor blades needed continuous sharpening, soon becoming worn out, making them expensive. The Kampfe Brothers developed a type of razor along these lines. The safety razor first developed in the United States by the Kampfe Brothers used a forged blade.

Disposable razor

In 1903, the American inventor King Camp Gillette invented a safety razor with disposable blades. Gillette realized that a profit could be made by selling a safety razor at a reduced price and then making a nice profit margin on the inexpensive disposable blades. This has been called the Razor and blades business model, or a "loss leader". To realize his idea, Gillette founded the American Safety Razor Company on September 28, 1901. The company's name was changed in July 1902 to Gillette Safety Razor Company. Gillette's particular innovation for disposable safety razors (patent US775134) beat out competitors. Gillette's thin blade was covered by the razor, thus protecting the skin against deep cuts. This enabled the majority of people to safely shave themselves for the first time. Prior to this, shaving was often only done by family members or barbers.

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