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| == Figurative uses == | == Figurative uses == | ||
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| ==Notes== | |||
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| == External links == | == External links == | ||
Revision as of 17:52, 9 November 2006
For other uses, see Razor (disambiguation).
A razor is an edge tool primarily used in shaving.
Early razors
In its simplest form, a razor is a blade attached to a handle. Razors have been identified from Bronze Age Britain. These were made of bronze and were generally oval in shape, with a small tang protruding from one of the short ends.
Straight razors (also called cut-throat razors because of their potential lethality) with open steel blades were the most commonly used razors before the 20th century. However, they are now chiefly used by barbers.
Safety razor
The safety razor was developed in the mid-1800s. Early razor blades needed continual sharpening, becoming worn out and expensive; however many still consider them superior. 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.
Disposable blades
In 1901, the American inventor King Camp Gillette, with the assistance of appropriately named William Nickerson, invented a safety razor with disposable blades. Gillette realized that a profit could be made by selling a razor with inexpensive disposable blades. This has been called the Razor and blades business model, or a "loss leader", and has become a very common practice for a wide variety of products; for example, game console manufacturers will often sell hardware for a loss, then make up for it by collecting a cut of the money made on software sold for the system. To realize his idea, Gillette founded the American Safety Razor Company on September 28, 1901, and applied for a patent on December 3, 1901, which was awarded as patent US775134 on November 15, 1904. The company's name was changed in July 1902 to Gillette Safety Razor Company and manufactured its first razor in 1903. Gillette's particular innovation for safety razors with disposable blades beat out competitors. Gillette's thin blade was covered by the razor, thus protecting the skin against deep cuts. This enabled the majority of people to safely shave themselves for the first time. Prior to this, shaving was often only done by family members or barbers.
Plastic disposable razors and razors with replaceable disposable blade attachments, often with two or three cutting edges (but sometimes with four and as of recently, five cutting edges), are in common use today. Still, the double-edged blade continues to have adherents, for reasons of cost (4-7 shaves from a blade costing as low as US$0.12 vs. US$3.50 for one of the latest multi-blade cartridges), comfort (some find the multi-blade cartridge hard on their skin), and pleasure (those now using the double-edged blades find such shaves, usually done with a shaving brush and shaving cream or soap, to be pleasurable).
Razors are generally marketed in men's and women's versions; the exact difference between the two varies from color only for most cheap disposable razors to completely different design principles. By and large, men's and women's razor blades and disposable razors are interchangeable; however, there is sometimes a difference in ergonomics -- women's razors either have a longer handle for longer reach or a paddle-shaped handle to allow for a lengthwise grip.
Specialized designs also exist, for such things as head shaving.
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 by house current. Some very early mechanical shavers had no electric motor and had to be powered by hand, for example by pulling a cord to drive a flywheel.
It was patented in 1928 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.
Other razors
A single-edge razor blade is manufactured to emulate double-edge disposable shaving blades, for various applications where the blade is required to be hand-held. Unlike double-edge blades, single-edge blades have only one sharp edge, usually having a reinforced back edge with no sharpness at all. In addition, they are often a more rigid steel and much thicker, as well as being less sharp (but with much sharper non-rounded corners). They are used in carpentry for detailed work, sanding, and scraping (in a specialized holder), in mechanical drawing for paper cutting, in plumbing and finish work for grouting and cleaning, for removing paint from flat surfaces such as panes of glass, and in many other applicattions. Razors are also sometimes used in bread production to slash the surface of an unbaked loaf; in this usage, they are sometimes referred to using the French word lame.
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 or snap-off blades. An X-Acto brand knife, a type of utility knife, is smaller and more precise and usually used for arts and crafts.
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. Razor wire is sharper than the barbs of barbed wire, though not as sharp as a true razor.
See also
- Main : Shaving, Beard, Facial hair, Barber, Haircut, Leg shaving, King C. Gillette, Timeline of invention
- Companies : Braun, DOVO, The Gillette Company, Wilkinson Sword, BIC Corporation, Philips, Remington Rand, Headblade
- Miscellaneous: Aegean civilization, Occam's razor, East Cambridgeshire
Figurative uses
A boat or ship made of metal is sometimes said to "now be razor blades" after it has been scrapped.
External links
- RazorCentral How to use a straight razor
- Comprehensive guide to shaving with a safety razor
- Internet Museum of Safety Razors
- Electric Razor Rap
- Guide to Maintaining a Safety Razor
- How to get that perfect shave
- Biographical sketch of Jacob Schick