{"id":61070,"date":"2022-06-17T08:59:34","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T06:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zfohl43sjr.onrocket.site\/a-modern-safety-razor-260-years-of-design-and-development\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T19:44:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T17:44:33","slug":"a-modern-safety-razor-260-years-of-design-and-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shavingroom.se\/en\/a-modern-safety-razor-260-years-of-design-and-development\/","title":{"rendered":"A modern safety razor, 260 years of design and development!"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Have you ever shaved yourself with a safety razor? Thought about the history of safety razor? How did it evolve into a modern safety razor that we use today?<\/p>

A modern safety razor comes with a history that is old and storied. It’s something that men have done over 100 years. To shave with a straight razor, razor is something that goes back 260 years. But even then, development began into what would become a modern safety razor. Curious about safety razor history? Of course you are, so are we, so let us tell you about it.<\/p>

A safety razor was and is a way for both men and women to be able to shave with less risk of cutting themselves while shaving. Not wanting to cut yourself while shaving and using a safety razor is nothing new. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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It all started with a comb<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The journey to a modern safety razor began just over 250 years ago. As early as the mid-1700s, it was tried to put a protective comb on a razor. This was designed by the Frenchman Jean-Jacques Perret. <\/p>

The protective comb made of wood would lie between the sensitive skin and the sharp edge. The function of the comb was to protect the sensitive skin from the sharp edge. In addition, raise the beard hairs so that they could be shaved off more easily. This construction with a protective comb between the sharp blade and the skin is still in use today, 250 years later. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Safety razor becomes a threat to the razor!<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The next step to what would become a modern safety razor was something that can most easily be compared to a hoe with a flat blade.<\/p>

The blade was attached to one side of a handle and also had a protective open comb of teeth that protected the skin and helped straighten the beard hairs. This type of razor would be invented in the mid-1800s as a complement to the razor. The patent was registered in 1847 by William S. Henson. <\/p>

Shaving was still something that was done by a barber mainly but now it became easier for the average person to shave themselves without having to visit a barber. The art of shaving with a razor at barbers was thus threatened. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The word safety razor sees the light of day!<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From this development came another similar design towards the end of the 1800s, this one also had a more developed shaver head that is reminiscent of that type of shaver head, the top part of a modern safety razor. <\/p>

It was also here that the word safety razor was used for the first time. This in a patent application for the development of an existing razor. This was done by Frederic and Otto Kampfe in Brooklyn, New York. <\/p>

But still the modern safety razor was not fully developed. The journey to a modern safety razor therefore continued! <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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First came the single-sharpened razor blades!<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In the beginning, single-sharpened razor blades were mainly used, i.e. razor blades with only one sharpened side. It was in connection with the patenting of double razor blades and especially the double razor blades that were interchangeable and became popular in the early 1900s that the popularity of using safety razors increased. Wet shaving with a modern safety razor that we know today was getting closer and closer! But there was still a lot to do!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Next came the double-sharpened razor blades!<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Another big step came at the turn of the century between the 1800s and the 1900s. Then the replaceable double-sharpened razor blade that is used today was patented. The double-sharpened interchangeable razor blades were patented by King C. Gillette in 1904.

Previously, single-sharpened razor blades had mainly been used. For a long time, both single-sharpened and double-sharpened razor blades were used with safety razors until the double-sharpened ones came to take over. Now our modern safety razor was almost here to stay!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The breakthrough for safety razor!<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What we today call a modern safety razor, or at least the first version of it, was popularized in the early 1900s. Back then, there were different types of safety razors with different types of blades. The version that became most popular was the version that still lives on today. A safety razor with a double-edged razor blade where the razor blade can be easily replaced and is not in need of sharpening or other maintenance. This type became especially popular in connection with World War I when American soldiers and sailors were equipped with it as part of their standard equipment. After the war, many chose to continue with it. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The razor blades became stainless steel<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A further development that took place was when the double razor blades used in conjunction with the safety razor began to be made of stainless steel instead of carbon steel. A big step closer to the modern safety razor. This gave a much better durability and longevity of the razor blades. Carbon steel was used because of its ability to get a sharp sharpness. But it also rusts easily on contact with water. In razors today, carbon steel is still used. However, virtually all razor blades used with modern safety razors are made of stainless steel. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A Modern Safety Razor History - Summary <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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