Inventors
History
of Razors and Shaving
By
Mary
Bellis
Gillette
Razors
On November 15, 1904, patent #775,134
was granted to King C. Gillette for a safety 'razor'. King
Camp Gillette was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1855. To support himself
when the family’s home was destroyed in the Chicago Fire of 1871, Gillette
became a traveling salesman. This work led him to William Painter, the
inventor of the disposable Crown Cork bottle cap, who assured Gillette
that a successful invention was one that was purchased over and over again
by satisfied customer.
In 1895, after
several years of considering and rejecting possible inventions, Gillette
suddenly had a brilliant idea while shaving one morning. It was an entirely
new razor and blade that flashed in his mind—a razor with a safe, inexpensive,
and disposable blade.
It took six
years for Gillette’s idea to evolve. During that time, technical experts
told Gillette that it would be impossible to produce steel that was hard,
thin, and inexpensive enough for commercial development of the disposable
razor blade. Then in 1901, MIT graduate William Nickerson agreed to try.
By 1903, he
had succeeded. Production of the Gillette ® safety razor and blade
began as the Gillette Safety Razor Company started operations in South
Boston. Sales grew steadily. During World War I, the U.S. Government issued
Gillette safety razors to the entire armed forces. By the end of the war,
some 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades were put into military hands,
thereby converting an entire nation to the Gillette safety razor.
Schick Razors
Schick traces its origins to the
inventive U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Schick. On November 6, 1928,
Colonel Jacob Schick patented the first electric razor.
King
Camp Gillette
Brief biography of King Camp Gillette - inventor of the disposable blade safety razor.
Razors
- The History of Shaving Timeline
The razor and shaving historical
timeline.
History
of Razors and Shaving
History going into great
detail about safety razors, mechanical razors and especially electric razors
from 1935 to now, razors for women, and more.
Electric Shaver Museum
Old
Razor Patents
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