Safety razor

A selection of low-cost safety razors

A safety razor is a shaving implement with a protective device put between the edge of the blade and the skin. The reason for the protective devices was to make it easier for people to shave without getting hurt. This made professional barbers less needed. The term was first used in a patent issued in 1880.[1]

Plastic disposable razors and razors with replaceable blade attachments are in common use today. Razors commonly include one to five cutting edges, which are sharp.

Design

Safety razors first had an edge protected by a comb patterned on different types of protective guards that had been placed to open-blade straight razors during the preceding decades.[2]

Lifespan

To maintain the sharpness, razors can be stropped using an old strip of denim.[3]

Safety razors are usually made of razor steel. That is a low chromium stainless steel, and it can be made very sharp. However, it corrodes easily. Drying the blades after using them can make them last longer.[4] Salt from human skin also can corrode the blades, but washing and carefully drying them can make them last longer.[5]

Safety Razor Media

References

  1. Waits 2014, page 6 of the introduction.
  2. Waits, Robert K. (2014). A Safety Razor Compendium: The Book. pp. 96, 260, 323, 67, 81. ISBN 9781312293533.
  3. "How to Sharpen Old Razor Blades". wikiHow. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  4. Pa, GREGORY KARP, a personal finance writer for The Morning Call, a Tribune Co. newspaper in Allentown. "Extending life of razor blades leaves users dry". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. Tarmy, James (22 April 2014). Science Reveals the Secret to Making Your Razor Last. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-22/science-reveals-the-secret-to-making-your-razor-last. Retrieved 2019-05-14. 

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