Safety razors have guards on the blades to reduce the risk of cutting the skin. The safety guard protects the skin from all parts of the razor except the very edge of the blade. This is in contrast to a straight razor--these can, and have, caused some serious injuries, as they call for more skill and attention.
History
Frenchman Jean-Jacques Perret, actually invented the first safety razor in the late 18th century, according to TheHairFacts.com. Then the Kampfe Brothers patented a version with a wire skin guard along the razor's edge in 1880. But it wasn't until 1895 when King Camp Gillette had a brainwave one morning while shaving at the mirror that the first safety razor as we know it came about. According to AmericanHeritage.com, on this day he told his wife: "I have got it; our fortune is made."
Invention
In 1901, with the assistance of William Nickerson, Gillette invented the first safety razor with disposable blades. Bettershaving.com says, "Gillette realized that a profit could be made by selling an inexpensive razor and generating a market for disposable blades." This model has since been known as the "razor and blades business model," and is still used today.
Rise to Success
The following year in 1902, Bettershaving.com says, "Gillette manufactured its first razor and began its climb with total sales of 51 razors and 168 blades. In 1904, sales skyrocketed with total sales for the new safety razor reaching 90,000 razors and 123,000 blades." Gillette owed his product's popularity to the covering of the thin blade in the design, this protected the skin against deep cuts, which allowed men to shave themselves rather than visiting the barber. Gillette didn't believe the experts who kept telling him such a thin blade was impossible. AmericanHeritage.com reports he once said, "If I had been technically trained, I would have quit or probably never would have begun."
Marketing
According to Bettershaving.com, it was during the First World War that Gillette razors guaranteed their ongoing popularity. "Gillette worked out a deal with the U.S. Armed Forces which provided Gillette safety razors and blades to every enlisted man or officer on their way to Europe as a regular part of their standard-issue gear." By the time the war finished, they had issued 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades to an entire nation of men.
Innovation
In 1965, Wilkinson Sword introduced stainless steel blades, which could be used repeatedly without rusting. Gillette was forced to switch to keep up, and today most razor blades are made of stainless steel as oppose to carbon steel.
Gillette as a company continues to innovate and invent and is better informed on effective patenting. Along with other shaving product companies, they've invented completely disposable razors, lubricating strips, pivoting razors, vibrating razors, sensor systems and triple-blade, four-blade, five-blade cartridges as well as five-blade cartridges with an additional single-blade for trimming.
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