Gillette safety razor patentIn 1904, King Camp Gillette was issued a U.S. patent for his invention of a safety razor using disposable blades (No. 775,134). He began working an idea to invent something that everyone would use, and in 1895 produced a crude version of a disposable razor blade. It took another six years to refine his invention, then he filed an application for a U.S. patent on 3 Dec 1901. The blade was made from very thin sheet-steel which is placed in a holder to provide a rigid backing and support. By being very thin - 0.006" - just thick enough to take a suitable edge - the blades required little material and could be ground both very quickly and easily. Further, their low cost enabled the user to buy them in quantity and simply throw them away when dull. Two sides were finished with cutting edges thus doubling their life.« |
