History of shaving and razors

[lentojkl]

Hello!
I'm new to this forum (but I feel like I'm at home, hehe). I'm writing a mini-term paper on various historical facts and decided to add some info about shaving and blades (simply because it will EXACTLY be different from other term papers and I will get a good score).
Do you have any resources or articles right away about what can help me?? I'lll be very glad to your answers.
Have a nice day or night!

 

[Big_T]

For the history of Gillette, there is the book "King C. Gillette the man and his wonderful shaving device".

 

[Robert6891]

A couple links that may be useful:

The Ultimate History (and Future) of Shaving

Like other modifications to one’s outside appearance, the choice to shave and develop a beard has had an important role in male fashion and self-representation throughout history. Ancient shaving techniques, which relied on dull blades, required painful plucking and exfoliation to get any kind...

historycooperative.org

When in Rome: The Ancient History of Traditional Shaving

It may surprise you to find out how old traditional shaving is & how the razor originated. No matter how you shave your face, there’s a history to it that makes it all the more interesting.

uk.bulldogskincare.com

 

[lentojkl]

For the history of Gillette, there is the book "King C. Gillette the man and his wonderful shaving device".

Thank you!
I really need a specific history of one company for research.

 

[lentojkl]

A couple links that may be useful:

The Ultimate History (and Future) of Shaving

Like other modifications to one’s outside appearance, the choice to shave and develop a beard has had an important role in male fashion and self-representation throughout history. Ancient shaving techniques, which relied on dull blades, required painful plucking and exfoliation to get any kind...

historycooperative.org

When in Rome: The Ancient History of Traditional Shaving

It may surprise you to find out how old traditional shaving is & how the razor originated. No matter how you shave your face, there’s a history to it that makes it all the more interesting.

uk.bulldogskincare.com

Thank you very much for the links!
It's very useful and easy to find and read.

 

[BigJ]

Great subject!

And you have an A already!

 

[lentojkl]

Soooo what we have... The advice above gives me the idea to look for more information on Gillette as an example of a shaving company, and that would go very well for historical research facts.
They also sent me links to articles from sites history cooperative and bulldog skincare, in addition, in private messages, they gave me links to nerdy seal and almanac.
If you combine all this into one, it turns out very well!
If you have something else to add to everything above - write, I will be happy to look at more options.

 

[lentojkl]

Great subject!

And you have an A already!

Ahahahah, thank you very much! I'm sure that I'm the only one who choosed a subject about shaving

 

[ctr]

Ahahahah, thank you very much! I'm sure that I'm the only one who choosed chose a subject about shaving

Grammar counts too.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Don’t forget to mention how Gillette (whose business is to manufacture and sell razor blades) ruined shaving for most people by replacing their traditional razors with cartridge razors so that they could force customers to buy five blades when they would get the same shave with one. Gillette is one of the great case studies in how capitalism, taken to its extreme, incentivises companies to provide poorer products and services.

Earlier examples of this centre around razor manufacturers making their razors so that they would only fit their own proprietary blades - so if you bought a razor you were forced to buy their blades forever. Often they sold the razors extremely cheaply because they didn’t care about that, they just wanted to sell you the blades. Eventually all the different razor blades became standardised because this was obviously silly - and that’s why standard razor blades are such a ridiculous shape, so they would fit in every razor.

You might also note that more recent Gillette razors also incorporate batteries to make the blade vibrate. That does nothing to improve the shave, of course, it only increases sales of batteries. But guess which company owns Duracell.

The promotion of plastic cartridge razors to replace single razor blades, and pushing customers to buy unnecessary batteries obviously destroys the environment. Put that in - teachers are really into that sort of stuff.

Samsonite is another superb example, to better illustrate the concept. They used to make very high quality luggage, and anybody who had a Samsonite suitcase in the 1980s will still be using it today and it will still be perfect. Venture capitalists realised that they could buy out the company and make a fortune by slashing costs and dramatically reducing the quality of the products, knowing that people would still buy them because of the brand name - in fact they bought many more because the suitcases break easily and have to be replaced every few years. This is why everything you see in stores is garbage.

Good luck.

 

[ctr]

Don’t forget to mention how Gillette (whose business is to manufacture and sell razor blades) ruined shaving for most people by replacing their traditional razors with cartridge razors so that they could force customers to buy five blades when they would get the same shave with one. Gillette is one of the great case studies in how capitalism, taken to its extreme, incentivises companies to provide poorer products and services.

Earlier examples of this centre around razor manufacturers making their razors so that they would only fit their own proprietary blades - so if you bought a razor you were forced to buy their blades forever. Often they sold the razors extremely cheaply because they didn’t care about that, they just wanted to sell you the blades. Eventually all the different razor blades became standardised because this was obviously silly - and that’s why standard razor blades are such a ridiculous shape, so they would fit in every razor.

You might also note that more recent Gillette razors also incorporate batteries to make the blade vibrate. That does nothing to improve the shave, of course, it only increases sales of batteries. But guess which company owns Duracell.

The promotion of plastic cartridge razors to replace single razor blades, and pushing customers to buy unnecessary batteries obviously destroys the environment. Put that in - teachers are really into that sort of stuff.

Samsonite is another superb example, to better illustrate the concept. They used to make very high quality luggage, and anybody who had a Samsonite suitcase in the 1980s will still be using it today and it will still be perfect. Venture capitalists realised that they could buy out the company and make a fortune by slashing costs and dramatically reducing the quality of the products, knowing that people would still buy them because of the brand name - in fact they bought many more because the suitcases break easily and have to be replaced every few years. This is why everything you see in stores is garbage.

Good luck.

Quite a revisinionist opinion sailing close to the political line. Many would not agree with these conclusions.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Quite a revisinionist opinion sailing close to the political line. Many would not agree with these conclusions.

Well, technically it was Wilkinson Sword who invented the multi-blade razor, but Gillette now owns them. I personally know the man who invented it and he was crystal clear with me about why it was invented and whether it improved the shave in any way. Those things are factual, directly from the source.

I would characterize my post as mischievous, certainly, but I’m not sure I’d call it revisionist.

 

[ctr]

Well, technically it was Wilkinson Sword who invented the multi-blade razor, but Gillette now owns them. I personally know the man who invented it and he was crystal clear with me about why it was invented and whether it improved the shave in any way. Those things are simply historic fact, directly from the source.

I would characterize my post as mischievous, certainly, but I’m not sure I’d call it revisionist.

Men paid barbers for a shave and personal mugs were kept at the barber shop prior to disposable blades. Many men chose this option. Straight razor shaving was not without risks. Antibiotics and sterile dressings were as yet unknown. Many men opted for facial hair as well.

The interpretation is where things get fouled up. The cartridge razor in the form of Trac II and Atra offered a comfortable, convenient, and safe shave that many men happily adopted over DE. Many men of the time found that shave to be better overall for their needs. I was one of them.

B&B has many threads on the why of it. Lots of opinions as well. Some factual, some not so much. The Gillette model was always about subscription service. From the very beginning with disposable blades. No question why Gillette moved to cartridges - to sell more product.

 

[rbscebu]

.... The Gillette model was always about subscription service. From the very beginning with disposable blades. No question why Gillette moved to cartridges - to sell more product.

@lentojkl's research may prove you wrong and show that it was Gillette's alturistic business model that brought on their move into cartridge shaving .

 

[Lane101]

Hello!
I'm new to this forum (but I feel like I'm at home, hehe). I'm writing a mini-term paper on various historical facts and decided to add some info about shaving and blades (simply because it will EXACTLY be different from other term papers and I will get a good score).
Do you have any resources or articles right away about what can help me?? I'lll be very glad to your answers.
Have a nice day or night!

Hi Lentojkl, Welcome to B&B.

You may find the research document on the evolution of Norelco Electric shavers (link below) of interest. Some parallels to multi-blade wet shaving razors where the desire to drive selling prices and margins higher first drive material/worthwhile improvements such as moving from a double to triple head, battery operation and and lift and cut. Later, starting in the 1990's this gave way to more marginal improvements (e.g. slightly more flexible head, additional cutters in each rotary head, etc.) that were used to justify significant price increases in the typical shaver. Norelco really came close to perfecting their razors with the HQ 9000 series in the mid-90's with lithium batteries ( I own one of these). Subsequently they came out with the much larger flex and pivot head to justify doubling prices from $50-$75 to $100-$150 for some minor benefits in reducing the time to shave the chin area by a few seconds. The rotary heads and blades were the same. Similar to moving from Gillette Mach 3 to the Fusion at equivalent percentage price increases.

Very similar to ongoing addition of blades to cartridges from two to three and now five to seven for minuscule improvements, if any, in shave quality for wet shavers. Note that this pattern is not exclusive to shaving, in wealthy societies we see this across many product lines. Think of how the differences between functionality of a $1,000 and $500 dollar smart phone continue to narrow (no surprise, they use the same software) or how most automobiles now have reliable engineering so differentiation is based on added creature comforts or the electronics provided versus how well the engine is designed or efficiency (electric cars are the exception). Often times the core chassis and drive train between the basic and premium car models are identical.

Good luck in with your report. Where do you go to school and what course is this for?

PRICE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRIC SHAVERS - Bas Snippert ...

PRICE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRIC SHAVERS - Bas Snippert ...

www.yumpu.com

 

[Jopo]

You might try the book "Cutting Edge: Gillette's Journey to Global Leadership"

 

[Jopo]

Well, technically it was Wilkinson Sword who invented the multi-blade razor, but Gillette now owns them. I personally know the man who invented it and he was crystal clear with me about why it was invented and whether it improved the shave in any way. Those things are factual, directly from the source.

I would characterize my post as mischievous, certainly, but I’m not sure I’d call it revisionist.

Gillette does not own Wilkinson, but they do own the rights to the brand name in some regions. Wilkinson is owned by Edgewell Personal Care.

 

[lentojkl]

Thank you very much! It's so much helpful info!!

 

[lentojkl]

Good luck in with your report. Where do you go to school and what course is this for?

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, bachelor of course - 3, specialistic "History".

 

[Legion]

People have been shaving long before Gillette came along, but I think the most interesting thing about that business model is that it is an early example of a "Loss Leader". (Extra credit points, compare and contrast to, say, Polaroid).

Loss leader - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org