Do You Know The History of the Razor?
Most Western men have spent a good part of their lives on the end of a shaver. But the humble shaver has come a long way since the caveman first practiced hair removal. So here follows a short history of the humble razor.
Based on cave paintings showing our early male ancestors with shaven facial hair, plus item found on Archaeological digs, lead historians to conclude the cavemen were shavers. The implements of shaving choice were sharpened sea-shells or flint to be scraped across the skin surface.
The first real razors, as we know them, were found in India and Egypt. These were copper and the year was 3000 BC. The wild Scandinavians were being buried with their razors. The items found in burial mounds were often ornately carved.
For the period from here through to the 18th Century was a period of small variation on this basic metal blade concept. The fashion for hair removal gained and lost popularity a number of times in the period, but the practice was never lost.
In the 1700s the Perret Razor is developed. This was the first inroads to developing a safety razor. The Perret Razor has a blade encased in a wooden guard, the style is designed to stop the shaver cutting too deeply into the skin. In the 18th Century razors of Sheffield steel were in high demand. Although they cut very effectively they had the problem of dulling quickly. In America in the 1880s the first patent for a safety razor is filed. The safety feature was a wire guard on one side of the razor, allowing the blade to be removed for sharpening.
In America in 1895, King Gillette, a salesman in Baltimore hit upon the idea of a disposable razor blade. He was so serious about the idea he formed a working partnership with an engineer from M. I. T to improve the design, the result was a double edged disposable blade. It was quickly a sales success with sales jumping in just one year to over 90, 000 razors and 123, 000 blades.
The next big invention had it roots in the First World War. Here an army Colonel, Schick, thought the principle of the repeating rifle could be applied to the razor. From this he invented the repeating razor with its blades stored in the handle. While the idea was good he thought he could do better and so sold the rights to this so he could fund the electric shaver.
From then on the developments have been refinements to the disposable razor or the electric razor to the improve hair removal experience. New blade combinations, multiple heads etc – all for a clean shave.
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