The history of the invention of the razor. History of the safety razor: The Star Safety Razor (1880) Pictured: sketch of Henson's safety razor
We continue the history of shaving, which, as it turns out, has its hair roots going back hundreds of thousands of years. In this issue we will understand the intricacies of the history of beards and shaving in Russia, the appearance of a normal razor from Gillette and the first mechanical and electric razors.
Beard and shaving in our country
After the baptism of Rus', the mandatory wearing of a beard was established for any Orthodox man. It doesn’t matter how thick or vice versa a person’s beard is - the most important thing is that it is present. At the time of the split into two branches of churches, the Orthodox Greeks brought forward an accusation against the Romans that they had violated one of the rules prohibiting barber shaving in the Holy Scriptures: “Do not shave your locks...” (Lev.19:27). The Romans paid more attention to hygiene, and the Orthodox paid more attention to the difficulty of following all the rules. Wearing a beard was enshrined in law, and barber shaving was considered a sign of sodomy. For “touching” mustaches and beards, a hefty fine of 12 manes was imposed; for comparison, I’ll say that killing a person cost three times more. Therefore, the beard is a third of the person. This ban lasted for almost seven hundred years. Barbers were considered effeminate, pederasts, and for some reason compared to cats and dogs.
The 19th century, or rather its end, was marked by the legendary razors from the Germans, the Kempe brothers, who patented their invention in 1880. The blade was sandwiched between two strips of forged steel. The big disadvantage of the blade was that it required a constant point. Shaving kits began to be actively sold, which included blades for the whole week (for greater hygiene), a razor and a special attachment for the blade to make it safer. From a modern point of view, another extremely dangerous razor that can cut you just by looking at it. But dudes from Europe in the 19th century managed to shave with such razors and not die, and you complain that you cut yourself from the razor. But the first razors from Kempe did not suggest that razors could be changed at all; a set of blades for the whole week is an already improved version of this razor.
Razor King King Camp Gillette
Yes, dude, Gillette is not the name of the company, but the name of the person who gave us disposable machines with replaceable blades. Honor and praise to him! King founded this business, which brought him billions, when he was already 50 years old. Before that, he worked as a traveling salesman. Since childhood, the dude, whose father was a sort of local gloomy genius, has been inventing and making things. Traveling all over the country with goods from a hardware store, Gillette developed incredible skills of persuasion. All this time he was inventing something, selling it and simply coming up with all sorts of nonsense, showing himself not only as an excellent businessman, but also as a smart inventor. It only dawned on Gillette in 1885, when he was holding a Kempe razor in his hand. It dawned on him that only the blade works in the razor, and everything else is useless for shaving. He realized that a razor simply had to be light and cheap, but the blades had to be expensive, sharp, relatively strong and... replaceable. But none of the specialists of that time in matters of metallurgy could offer Gillette steel that was cheap and fully satisfied his requirements. For six years, the future billionaire searched for investors and a solution to the problem until he met mechanical engineer William Nickerson. The dude managed to solve King's dilemma and came up with a technology for strengthening and specially sharpening the blade.
Then the dudes received a patent for their invention and founded their own company. But things still weren't going well. But Gillette's gift of persuasion was able to attract investors. At first the machines were sold reluctantly. In the first year they sold only 51 machines and 168 blades. But the next year, more than one hundred thousand Americans bought new machines, and profits exceeded $13 million. Subsequently, the company began to sell more than 3 million machines per year, making Gillette richest man. The First World War and other wars contributed a lot to the growth of popularity of razors; the machines were cheap, convenient and were received with a bang by the soldiers different countries. The model itself of selling the main product at a reduced price (machines), but inflating the cost of consumable goods (blades), became extremely popular in the future. You can cite, for example, the sale of game consoles. Most often, the cost of the console itself is underestimated, while the cost of games is ungodly overpriced. Closer to 1970, disposable plastic razors were invented. You probably saw the very model of a T-shaped machine with two twisting halves at your parents’ house, I even still have it.
Women also decided to shave. If hair was not always removed from the armpits, hair from the legs, arms and part of the pubic area had to be removed, as men became more demanding about cleanliness. The T-shaped machine was good for everyone, but it still left cuts. Gillette also released a model for a female audience - Milady Decolletée, which was more convenient to use.
The Gillette razor changed dramatically only in 1960, when blades began to be made of stainless steel. In 1971, the traditional T-shape razor was replaced by the Trac II double-blade razor. The presence of more blades made shaving much more convenient and less energy-consuming. At the same time, the company invented special shaving soaps, creams and gels. At first they were appreciated more girls, but then the men also caught up.
Electric razors
For most comrades, this is a very dubious matter, although many really like it. The first electric razor appeared in 1920; it had an unrealistically long “tail” of wire. The first prototype was developed by Colonel Yakov Shik. He was unhappy that traditional shaving requires water and cream, which are not always available. The first razors required two hands and were extremely uncomfortable. The year 1927 was marked by the fact that Yakov finally invented a normal, comfortable razor with moving blades. The first sales, as in the case of Gillette, did not bring Chic much money. The razor cost $25, which today is $350. Frankly, not little. In the first year they sold 3,000 units. By 1937, Chic had sold 1,500,000, earned $20 million, and opened up the dry shaving market.
In 1940, the first convenient razors for women appeared, since hairiness peeked out indecently from fashionable nylon tights, like grass through asphalt. In the 50s, rotary electric razors appeared, which were much safer than regular ones. But in 1960, the Remington company, which also produced women's razors, released a razor that worked both from batteries and from the mains, allowing the batteries to be charged from an outlet. The widespread use of plastics and the discovery of new compounds has made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of electric razors.
Until the present moment, nothing radically new has happened in the history of shaving, except for all sorts of laser and photoepilation, after which nothing grows like after a nuclear explosion. The number of blades and types of electric razors change. Hipsters are returning to shaving with blade razors and Kempe razors, as if they shave cooler.
King Kemp Gillette is perhaps best known as the inventor of the safety razor. But in fact this is not true: the first safety razors were invented already in the 1880s by the Kampf brothers. The photos below show razors circa 1903.
The Kampf brothers, Frederick (c.1851-1915), Richard (1853-1906), and Otto (1855-1932) were born in Saxony. The two youngest, Richard and Otto, immigrated to the United States in 1872, shortly after the end of the French-Russian War. By that time they were 17 and 19 years old, and they, according to some sources, managed to serve for several years as apprentices to a knife manufacturer in Germany. It is also possible that their older brother, Frederick, had also already come to the United States. The brothers settled in New York and opened a hardware business. Not many facts have been preserved from this time, but judging by the papers, things have progressed.
In May 1880, Frederick and Otto filed a patent for "a new and convenient improvement for the safety razor." This was the moment when the name "safety razor" was first used. The trademark, filed in 1903, "claimed the use of the name 'Star' and the mark since June 1, 1880."
Official story as described by American Safety Razor Co. (which acquired the business in 1919) states that "the Kampf brothers began manufacturing the Star safety razor in 1875 in a one-room shop in New York City." By 1899, the establishment occupied the entire space at 8-10-12 Reade St. An advertisement for the Kampf Brothers 1911 read: “Star... has been in use for 36 years. We were experts in knife making before we invented the safety razor." This also confirms that the razor was first made in 1875. (Some collectors mark the date 1875 on the top of the handle.)
Star used Henson's idea: a hoe-shaped razor with a wedge-shaped blade and a short body (4 cm long and 2 cm wide). The blade was attached using metal brackets and did not require knocking on the screw hole. Distinctive feature was the shape of the razor's body, which functioned as a "foam eliminator". The razor was cheaper to produce than some of its parts that were later patented by competitors
The leader in the Shaving Products category - the Gillette brand (USA) - has not changed even once during all the years of the project. In the world, the products of this company also have no equal. Anything related to so-called “safe shaving” is automatically associated with Gillette. How did you achieve this?
Modernizing things often means more than inventing them. In terms of importance, a fundamental “revision” can be considered a full-fledged invention. Gillette began its glorious journey this way.
The history of razors, that is, objects for removing hair from the human body, begins a long time ago. A long time ago. Essentially, a “shaving object” is an ordinary arc-shaped knife that has been known since prehistoric times. The first straight razors appeared among the Romans in the first centuries of our era. Further, the principle of shaving has not changed for centuries, except that the razor itself began to resemble a regular one, i.e. straight, knife People were cutting themselves, but they couldn’t do anything about it. In the 17th century, the knife became “folding”, but the essence did not change.
It is believed that the safety razor was invented in France in the 18th century. In 1762, French knife dealer and barber Jean Jacques Perret (1730-1784) came up with the idea of “packing” a knife into a wooden shell, leaving only the tip outside. He literally called his invention “the carpenter’s plane.” It was this subject that led him to create the then “new generation razor.” Perret made and sold the razor, however, he did not patent his invention. He described the operation of the mechanism in his treatise “Potogomy or training in the art of shaving,” published in 1770.
Some time later, in 1787, a publication appeared in Germany that a certain Monsieur Letien from Paris had made a special shaving knife called “à rabot” (flat). When using it, there was no fear of getting wounded. The “fashionable thing” was sold in Germany with a six-month warranty and was most likely a copy of Perret’s invention.
The following description of a safety razor "surfaces" in July 1799. Also in Germany, a local trade magazine showed a razor with a removable “frame blade” called Friedlische Rasiermesser, which literally means “Peaceful Razor.” It was said that this " new idea from England". This illustration (pictured above) was later cited in another German article from 1936 as an example of a precursor to the safety razor. The razor itself was manufactured in England by Harwood & Co and sold by the German Johan Christoph Roeder in Leipzig. One way or another, no one received a patent for the razor as such. This happened almost half a century later.
In the photo: sketch of Henson's safety razor
Pictured: William Henson (1812-1888)
On January 10, 1847, Englishman William Samuel Henson (1812-1888) from Somerset applied for a patent. Its essence was as follows. The shaving device, let's call it that, had the shape of a hoe. Henson himself stated that he did not claim to have invented a new method of protection from the blade, although, in fact, it was so: it was he who proposed the use of an additional comb blade. The subject of the invention was the principle of connecting the blade and the handle.
Henson's razor is believed to be the first safety razor to be patented. Interestingly, he himself became famous not in the field of shaving products, but in aeronautics. It was William Henson who designed and patented an airplane called the “aerial steam carriage” in 1842. But let's get back to shaving.
Then the modernizers of his invention began to receive patents. For example, in 1851, Charles Stewart & Company introduced their version of Henson's razor in London under the name The Plantagenet Guard Razor, with a reference in the name to the origins of British history - the Plantagenet dynasty. Apparently, they invented this way to play on the national pride of consumers.
In the photo: The Plantagenet Guard Razor razor
The next “approach to the projectile” happened in 1877 in the USA. Michael Price's invention is essentially no different from the previous two, with the exception of minor details. One way or another, the safety razor appeared in the world, however, it did not become an event for various reasons.
Pictured: Michael Price's razor, 1877
In the photo: “Pig Scraper”, 1878
In the photo: Francois Durand's razor, 1879
Don't think that all razors had the same shape. Experiments have been conducted in this area as well. So, in 1879 in France, Francois Durand patented a device that had a fixed wedge-shaped blade and roller protection. This razor was quite heavy. Five years earlier, in 1875 (the patent was issued in 1878), a razor was created, made from a single piece of sheet metal. People called it the “Pig Scraper”, since it could cut not only people, but also animals. Despite the simplicity of the device, mass production these models did not make it, but luck smiled on immigrants from Germany. By the way, at the same time the expression “safety razor” itself appeared for the first time in the language.
In the photo: Star shaving set, 1887
In 1880, brothers Otto and Frederick Kampfe applied for a patent for the first Star safety razor. Moreover, de facto it was invented five years earlier, at that time the brothers were working in a carpentry shop. It was then that it was put into production, at least this is the year indicated on the oldest surviving razors of the company. The Kampfe brothers took Henson's razor as a basis, however, the shape of the machine was significantly different. Actually, this machine is quite similar to what we use today. The advantages of the new device include a lower, although still considerable, price. This was made possible by simplifying the design.
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The company was doing very well. Now the Kampfe brothers themselves bought patents from others in order to improve their own razor. But there was something to work on - the razor still required straightening and sharpening before each use. As a result, the owners of Star acquired about fifty patents, including improvements to the handle.
In total, the company released more than 25 razor designs. However, there was one more problem - the price. One dollar, which is how much the Star razor cost, was a significant amount at the end of the 19th century. By the way, this is why many continued to use inexpensive straight razors until the very beginning of the 20th century. This is when machines with Gillette disposable blades became available. How did they appear?
King Camp Gillette was a divine inventor. Before the razor, he managed to invent a lot of things: an original mechanism of a piston and bushing for a water tap, several types of electrical conductors, a new valve made of soft rubber, etc. and so on. Despite all this, he continued to work as a traveling salesman, since he could not get much money for these patents. Everything changed in 1895.
Surprisingly, people started shaving back in the Stone Age. It is not known for certain why men began to actively fight hair growth on their faces. Perhaps they were driven either by the desire to separate themselves from the animal world by removing the external resemblance to fur-wearing animals, or by the always present female capriciousness in relation to appearance man and his beard.
At the end of the Stone Age, men began to massively get rid of the “growth” on their faces. Moreover, they chose not the most humane tools: scrapers, stone knives, mollusk shells, etc. There was another extremely unusual way: unwanted hair they smeared it with clay, like modern wax for hair removal, and when it dried, it was torn off, of course, with the hair.
The Stone Age was replaced by the Iron Age,which entailed a significant modernization of shaving accessories. People immediately appreciated the strength of the metal, and from about 3000 BC. metal razors became an item of constant use. Razors created by Scandinavian craftsmen approximately 3,500 years ago are considered the most complex and amazing razors. ancient world. on their bronzeMythological scenes were reproduced on the blades using both engraving and embossing, and the handles were shaped like a horse's head.
Around 1100 BC, the prototype of modern razors appeared. According to scientific research, it was then that people began to use a razor with a handle and one blade. The great commander Alexander the Great was an ardent supporter of shaving, and the soldiers imitated their idol: they wore short haircuts and had a clean-shaven face - so the enemy could not grab the warrior by the long forelock and defeat him.
The only exceptions were sailors - the likelihood of cuts and their corrosion by salt sea water increased several times, so many of them wore a beard. Others, if possible, visited barber shops.
Barbers in those days occupied a special place in the cultural life of any city. They were something like a secular institution, where they learned and discussed the most last news. The barbers of Rome made their own modification of the razor, which was called the Roman razor. Other razors had an arched cutting edge, but the Roman razor was a straight blade with a rounded edge and handle that was hardened and then sharpened using a sandstone whetstone.
Over time, inexorable progress slowly did its job. The changes also affected razors. Europeans became aware of the secrets of damask steel from India and Persia, and Europe itself reached great heights in the production of welding steel. Toledo and Damascus steel took places of honor. The processes of forging, hardening and sharpening blades were also improved.
The idea of a safety razor was first expressed in 1770 by a French barber named Jean-Jacques Perret in his work “The Art of Learning to Shave Oneself (La Pogonotomie”). The razor of that time looked almost like the straight razor we are used to.
Since the 18th century, the stronghold of razor production has been the English city of Sheffield. Later, a second shaving center appeared - the German city of Solingen. The number of brands and manufacturers that existed at that time was so large that today it is difficult to reconstruct the history of their development. Hundreds of small and large enterprises supplied countless razors to the world market. Razors from Solingen have become famous for their first-class deep sharpening. The rustling rustle they make when shaving has earned them the additional name “singing razors.”
Humanity owes a new stage in the development of shaving to the well-known American - King Camp Gillette. In 1895, this amateur inventor came up with an innovation that buried straight razors and gave birth to safe razors - he clamped a blade sharpened on both sides in a handle holder.
Gillette patented his invention, which he called the “safety razor,” becoming a monopolist in its production. It took Gillette 8 years to develop and bring the product to market, so his razor appeared on the shelves only in 1903.
Despite the fact that the innovation was not durable, the success of the razor was deafening: the very next year of sales (in 1904), and the number of razors sold rose to an incredible 12.4 million copies. Customer demand for the razor allowed Gillette to open an office in London and sell his razors to Europeans.
In 1910, American inventor Willis G. Shockey patented a kind of electric razor. The design had a hand-operated flywheel that caused the blade to move around its axis. The invention gained great popularity among the male population and occupied a leading position until consumers recognized the first electric razor.
The next round of development of the razor belongs to the military man. According to legend, US Colonel Jacob Schick was inspired by the riflewith the store that he decided to use similar mechanics in the razor. The handle of the razor was filled with replaceable blades, which automatically replaced the blade according to the principle of changing cartridges in a magazine.
The blades were sold in cassettes that were inserted into the razor. It's no surprise that Chic named his razor the "Magazine repeating razor." This was in 1921. And in 1926, the same colonel came up with a razor design with two knives - movable and fixed. The moving blade, as you might guess, began to work from a small electric motor. Through a stationary mesh blade with slits, the hairs fell under a movable knife.
These razors later became known as rotary razors, and they also became the first electric shavers. Colonel Chic's electric shavers went on sale in 1929. However, they did not achieve success among consumers, much to the chagrin of the military entrepreneur. People still used Willis Shockey's imperfect razors and bought Chic's creation rather poorly. Then the colonel decided to team up with a more successful competitor, and a company called “Schick Dry Shaver, Inc.” was born.
In 1939, the already well-known Philips introduced improvements to the Chic razor. Firstly, the Philishave 7730 model already had three blades, instead of two. And thanks more holes, the razor did not “rip out” hairs. Despite the efforts of specialist developers, the first real success of the electric razor came already in the 1970s thanks to improvements introduced by the American company Remington.
Around 1950, so-called “foil” electric shavers appeared, which were invented by Max Brown - model S50. This razor was distinguished by a fixed mesh blade, which was bent in a semicircle and covered the entire area of the shaving head. A movable knife adjacent to the inside moved from edge to edge of the head and cut off the hairs. This razor differed from rotary razors in that it did not cause skin irritation. In the Soviet Union, the first electric shavers appeared in the 1950s and were produced in Kharkov. They were extremely popular among Soviet citizens, and today electric shavers continue to be produced in Ukraine.
A real revolution was made by the invention of Marcel Bic - he proposed making everything disposable, and in 1975 he introduced the world to a disposable razor. The machine with a permanent head had a very low price, was easy to use and guaranteed a clean shave. It makes no sense to talk about the success of a new product: we still use disposable razors today, the main advantage of which is their affordable price.
Fortunately, it was not possible to finally defeat the centuries-old straight razor with disposable razors and electric razors, although they lost popularity for some time. Of all the well-known companies in Solingen, only one remains operating today - Dovo. This company once acquired the Bismarck brand, which in itself symbolizes the high quality of blades. Of course, things were tough for the company, especially during the Second World War.
And in the next decade the situation worsened even further: then only 35 people were involved in the production of straight razors. At this rate, by 1987, Dovo was able to produce only 7 thousand razors. However, now there is a tendency to return to the popularity of blade (dangerous) razors, which have become an accessory stylish men. So a straight razor may well take its rightful place on the market. After all, it all started with her. Those who are tired of machines, but are not ready for a straight razor, now prefer T-shaped machines.
