Help building the largest human-edited directory of the web Suggest URL - Open Directory Project - Become an editor

directopedia.org uses links and structure from dmoz Open Directory Project.
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.

This article is about the cutting device. For philosophical principles inspired by the razor, see Occam's Razor or Hanlon's Razor.

A razor is an edge tool (primarily, used in shaving).

Contents 1 Early razors 2 Safety razor 3 Electric razor 4 Other razors 5 See also 6 Figurative uses 7 External links

Early razors

In its simplest form, a razor is a steel blade attached to a handle. Razors have been identified from Bronze Age Britain. These are made of bronze, generally oval in shape with a small tang protruding from one of the short ends.

Straight razors (also called cut-throat razors) with open steel blades were the most common before the 20th century—and, in many countries, until the 1950s. They are now used chiefly by barbers.

Safety razor

The safety razor was developed in the mid-1800s. Early razor blades needed continuous sharpening, soon becoming worn out, making them expensive. The Kampfe Brothers developed a type of razor along these lines. The safety razor first developed in the United States by the Kampfe Brothers used a forged blade.

In 1903, the American inventor King Camp Gillette invented a safety razor with disposable blades. Gillette realized that a profit could be made by selling a safety razor at a reduced price and then making a nice profit margin on the inexpensive disposable blades. This has been called the Razor and blades business model, or a "loss leader". To realize his idea, Gillette founded the American Safety Razor Company on September 28, 1901. The company's name was changed in July 1902 to Gillette Safety Razor Company. Gillette's particular innovation for disposable safety razors (patent US775134) beat out competitors.

Gillette's thin blade was covered by the razor, thus protecting the skin against deep cuts. This enabled people to safely shave themselves for the first time. Plastic disposable razors and razors with replaceable blades, often with two or three cutting edges (but sometimes with four and soon five cutting edges), are in common use today.

Electric razor

The electric razor (also known as the electric dry shaver) is a common electrical shaving device with a rotating or oscillating blade. The electric razor does not require the use of shaving cream, soap, or water. The razor is powered by a small DC motor, and usually has rechargeable batteries, though early ones were powered directly from the mains.

It was invented in the 1930s by the American manufacturer Col. Jacob Schick. The Remington Rand Corporation developed the electric razor further, first producing the Remington brand of razor in 1937. Another important inventor was Prof. Alexandre Horowitz, from Philips Laboratories in the Netherlands, who invented the very successful concept of the revolving electric razor. It has a shaving head consisting of cutters that cut off the hair entering the head of the razor at skin level.

Early versions of electric razors were meant to be used on dry skin only. More recent electric razors have been designed which allow for shaving cream and moisture.

Two popular websites devoted to electric razors are:

Electric Razor Rap (http://jimelliott.suddenlaunch2.com)

Electric Shaver Page (http://iavbbs.com/gflinn)

Other razors

A utility knife is a common tool used in grocery stores and other places. Such a knife generally consists of a simple and cheap holder, typically flat, approximately one inch wide and three to four inches long, and typically made of either metal or plastic. Some use standard razor blades, others specialised double ended blades.

A potato peeler is a metal blade attached to a metal, plastic or wooden handle that is used for peeling vegetables, usually potatoes.

Razor wire is a mesh of metal strips with sharp edges whose purpose it is to prevent passage by human beings. Furthermore, razor wire is sharper than the barbs of barbed wire.

See also

• Main : Shaving, Beard, Facial hair, Barber, Haircut, Leg shaving, King C. Gillette, Timeline of invention
• Companies : The Gillette Company, Wilkinson Sword, BIC Corporation, Philips, Remington Rand
• Miscellaneous: Scooter, General nature of the evidence of Aegean civilization, Xootr, Occam's Razor

Figurative uses

A boat or ship made of metal is sometimes said to "now be razor blades" after it has been scrapped.

External links

• How to use a straight razor, from *Mother Earth News, March/April 1972.
• How to use a double-edge safety razor
• Razor Blades UK Supplier of Gillette and Wilkinson blades.

This article is based on the article "Razors" from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. Here you find the list of authors of this article. The article can only edited within Wikipedia. Edit this article in Wikipedia.