Straight Razors to Double Edge Razors

[Shane]

I've read a good bit of articles about when the safety razor, in all of its variations, was introduced to the world. You see things like the Mardor razor which is a late 19th-Century piece, and the Gillette 1904 razor, etc. This is probably a multi-pronged answer, but when did the use of straight razors begin to subside and let the era of the safety razor begin?

[isshou]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

King Camp Gillette (January 6, 1855 – July 9, 1932) was an American businessman, popularly known as the inventor of the safety razor. While Gillette did improve the design of the safety razor (patent US775134), his true invention was an inexpensive, high profit-margin stamped steel disposable blade and a unique business model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_C._Gillette

Scroll further down in the article at wikipedia and you'll find out many interesting things!

regards

[mparker762]

Industrialized production allowed the Sheffield and US manufacturers to saturate the english-speaking market in the waning years of the 19th century, and many of them went out of business before WW1. Solingen manufacturers hung on quite a bit longer as they got a later start and were selling to a different market. But the nail in the coffin was WW1 - gas masks need a clean-shaven face to achieve a good seal. The lack of hot water and mirrors, and the necessity of regular shaving even through nonstop bombardments meant that the DE was a much better choice for the man in the trenches. Gillette provided a free DE for each US doughboy, and after these men came home they stayed with it. The DE's were convenient but expensive to feed, but the postwar years were boom years in the US so about the only men that stuck with the straights were barbers, old coots, and the rural poor.

[joel]

Industrialized production allowed the Sheffield and US manufacturers to saturate the english-speaking market in the waning years of the 19th century, and many of them went out of business before WW1. Solingen manufacturers hung on quite a bit longer as they got a later start and were selling to a different market. But the nail in the coffin was WW1 - gas masks need a clean-shaven face to achieve a good seal. The lack of hot water and mirrors, and the necessity of regular shaving even through nonstop bombardments meant that the DE was a much better choice for the man in the trenches. Gillette provided a free DE for each US doughboy, and after these men came home they stayed with it. The DE's were convenient but expensive to feed, but the postwar years were boom years in the US so about the only men that stuck with the straights were barbers, old coots, and the rural poor.

VERY interesting... thanks for sharing!

[DirtyDave]

Industrialized production allowed the Sheffield and US manufacturers to saturate the english-speaking market in the waning years of the 19th century, and many of them went out of business before WW1. Solingen manufacturers hung on quite a bit longer as they got a later start and were selling to a different market. But the nail in the coffin was WW1 - gas masks need a clean-shaven face to achieve a good seal. The lack of hot water and mirrors, and the necessity of regular shaving even through nonstop bombardments meant that the DE was a much better choice for the man in the trenches. Gillette provided a free DE for each US doughboy, and after these men came home they stayed with it. The DE's were convenient but expensive to feed, but the postwar years were boom years in the US so about the only men that stuck with the straights were barbers, old coots, and the rural poor.

Amazing how things change. Now the DE is the frugal choice for a world that has seen the standard of living, and expectations, rise significantly. Amazing how one little item can say so much about the world.