So, I have been getting more interested in the innovations in razor blade manufacturing technology and why and how those innovations were implemented. I came across news articles when researching Meyer Shnitzler (1912 - 2007), the VP of R&D at Gillette from 1933 till 1967. He, among other things, invented the DE razor blade dispenser with used blade slot, the plastic razor case, the Toggle and Bottom Dial Adjustable razors and he also invented the Silicon coating on Blue Blades which caused them to be renamed Super Blue Blades.
Apparently, on reading the patent application (US2937976) for the silicon coating and news interviews of Mr Shnitzler, men were not adequately prepping their faces prior to shaving and this was causing pain and irritation while using Gillette's product. Mr Shnitzler, in his research lab, started experimenting with various steel blade configuration that would allow for sharper blades to be produced. But guess what? He determined blade sharpness could not readily be detected by the shaver and sharper blades did not alleviate the pain and irritation from poor prep. It turns out that, according to Mr. Shnitzler, the improperly moistened whisker is harder to cut and the hair itself will adhere to the steel, as it it being cut, causing the hair follicle to be pulled with the consequent pain/tugging feeling. A chemical engineer by training at MIT prior to coming to Gillette, Mr Shnitzler's solution to the problem was an organic silicon coating to the steel so that the protein in the hair would not adhere to the steel; yielding a better cutting action with less pulling at the follicle. The Super Blue was born (1959).
Later, Gillette patented a process for manufacturing stainless steel blades but sat on the development. Wilkinson beat Gillette to the market with the first stainless steel blade, which had the benefit that is could last longer without corroding. However, Gillette was not in a rush to bring stainless steel blades to market in that there was no improvement to the shave inherent in a less corrodable base metal. Also, Wilkinson had to pay royalties (after a law suit) to Gillette to use their patented technology to manufacture the stainless steel blades. Within a couple of years the competitor's stainless steel blades were substantially cutting into Gillette's dominant market position and their market share went from 70+% to 60+%. Gillette then introduced their stainless blades (1962). Gillette's next innovation was the Super Stainless Blade (1965). This blade dubbed "The Spoiler" had a "miracle plastic coating baked onto the edge" - this was a PTFE coating with similar properties as the silicon coated Super Blue blades from 1959. However, the heat necessary to apply the PTFE coating, necessary for better cutting action, caused the underlying metal to weaken and lose its anti-corrosive properties. It was discovered that adding a corrosive resistant noble metal such as platinum, gold or rhodium solved this problem. However, these metals are soft and needed to be alloyed with chromium, titanium or tungsten. Next came platinum-chromium alloys and PTFE coating for stainless steel (US3682795) from Gillette as the Platinum Plus (1970). Well, long story short, Gillette abandoned the Double Edge razor blade market selling off their manufacturing equipment to whoever would buy it (read India, Russia, etc) in pursuit of proprietary (read expensive/profitable) multi-blade cartridges.
It is my belief that by 1970 Gillette had mastered razor blade technology, the technology was readily available to competitors and profits would soon go away to lower cost competitors. But, as far as the technology goes, today there is nothing new or better in what gets delivered to the double edge blade customer.
Thank you for reading this history. Now for my rant! I have contacted weeks ago various current razor blade manufacturer's customer support departments and my question was simple: Please tell me the specific differences between your various branded products other than just price. That is, please explain why I should pay more for your "Super Platinum" than your "Platinum Plus"? Basically, give me more info about your products so I can do a features / benefits /costs comparison. I am still waiting. Why is there such a dearth of information about double edge razor blades? It kind of pisses me off and we as consumers tolerate this crap too. It's all just brand name and price and YMMV and experiment for yourself to find out what blindly works. I think it sux!! I want more information...
Comments sincerely appreciated!
Apparently, on reading the patent application (US2937976) for the silicon coating and news interviews of Mr Shnitzler, men were not adequately prepping their faces prior to shaving and this was causing pain and irritation while using Gillette's product. Mr Shnitzler, in his research lab, started experimenting with various steel blade configuration that would allow for sharper blades to be produced. But guess what? He determined blade sharpness could not readily be detected by the shaver and sharper blades did not alleviate the pain and irritation from poor prep. It turns out that, according to Mr. Shnitzler, the improperly moistened whisker is harder to cut and the hair itself will adhere to the steel, as it it being cut, causing the hair follicle to be pulled with the consequent pain/tugging feeling. A chemical engineer by training at MIT prior to coming to Gillette, Mr Shnitzler's solution to the problem was an organic silicon coating to the steel so that the protein in the hair would not adhere to the steel; yielding a better cutting action with less pulling at the follicle. The Super Blue was born (1959).
Later, Gillette patented a process for manufacturing stainless steel blades but sat on the development. Wilkinson beat Gillette to the market with the first stainless steel blade, which had the benefit that is could last longer without corroding. However, Gillette was not in a rush to bring stainless steel blades to market in that there was no improvement to the shave inherent in a less corrodable base metal. Also, Wilkinson had to pay royalties (after a law suit) to Gillette to use their patented technology to manufacture the stainless steel blades. Within a couple of years the competitor's stainless steel blades were substantially cutting into Gillette's dominant market position and their market share went from 70+% to 60+%. Gillette then introduced their stainless blades (1962). Gillette's next innovation was the Super Stainless Blade (1965). This blade dubbed "The Spoiler" had a "miracle plastic coating baked onto the edge" - this was a PTFE coating with similar properties as the silicon coated Super Blue blades from 1959. However, the heat necessary to apply the PTFE coating, necessary for better cutting action, caused the underlying metal to weaken and lose its anti-corrosive properties. It was discovered that adding a corrosive resistant noble metal such as platinum, gold or rhodium solved this problem. However, these metals are soft and needed to be alloyed with chromium, titanium or tungsten. Next came platinum-chromium alloys and PTFE coating for stainless steel (US3682795) from Gillette as the Platinum Plus (1970). Well, long story short, Gillette abandoned the Double Edge razor blade market selling off their manufacturing equipment to whoever would buy it (read India, Russia, etc) in pursuit of proprietary (read expensive/profitable) multi-blade cartridges.
It is my belief that by 1970 Gillette had mastered razor blade technology, the technology was readily available to competitors and profits would soon go away to lower cost competitors. But, as far as the technology goes, today there is nothing new or better in what gets delivered to the double edge blade customer.
Thank you for reading this history. Now for my rant! I have contacted weeks ago various current razor blade manufacturer's customer support departments and my question was simple: Please tell me the specific differences between your various branded products other than just price. That is, please explain why I should pay more for your "Super Platinum" than your "Platinum Plus"? Basically, give me more info about your products so I can do a features / benefits /costs comparison. I am still waiting. Why is there such a dearth of information about double edge razor blades? It kind of pisses me off and we as consumers tolerate this crap too. It's all just brand name and price and YMMV and experiment for yourself to find out what blindly works. I think it sux!! I want more information...
Comments sincerely appreciated!
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