Safety razor
A safety razor is a razor for wet shaving . When shaving with a plane, a razor blade is used that protrudes only a little from the plane in order to avoid major cuts. That is why the safety razor is also referred to as a safety razor, in contrast to the razor . The plane shave was the predominant shaving method in the major industrialized countries from the First World War until the 1970s. Subsequently, the principle was further developed to the currently common system razor . Few people in Europe and North America shave with safety razors today. In countries like Japan , India , Pakistan and Egypt , however, safety razors are still in everyday use.
history
Before the invention of the safety razor, knife shaving was the most common shaving method. This was associated with relatively much effort, so it preferring many men to the barber or barber to shave. Inventors therefore worked early on a simple, safe and inexpensive alternative. The first safety razors hit the UK market in 1874 and were soon sold in other European and North American countries. The design was based on the carpenter's plane . Initially, wedge blades were used, which were obtained from fragments of knife blades. Wedge planers such as Mulcuto, Henckels Rapide, Kampfe Star or Wilkinson Empire therefore had to be handled and cared for almost like razors and were manufactured until the 1940s.
In 1901, King Camp Gillette and William Nickerson developed the safety razor with a thin, double-sided blade made of strip steel. Unlike razor or wedge planer blades, these no longer had to be stripped and sharpened, but was replaced by a new, inexpensive blade after a few shaves. Almost at the same time, the Solingen ROMI plant under its owner Robert Middeldorf brought a very similar system onto the German market, which, however, was unable to establish itself. As early as 1904, the Boston- based Gillette Company was able to sell 90,000 planes and 10,000 packs of replacement blades. The introduction of the interchangeable blade created a large market for the sale of razor blades. As a result, other manufacturers soon launched razors on the market that met the Gillette standard.
Gillette made a big leap in sales when, in 1917, shortly before the United States entered World War I , his company signed a contract with the army that stipulated that every soldier should be equipped with a gill razor as standard. At this point in time, the importance of the gas mask for fighting in the trenches was already apparent. This circumstance required the soldiers to shave every day, which up until then was rather unusual. Thus 3.5 million planes made it into the male population, establishing the daily plane shave in the United States.
After the end of the Second World War , the safety razor faced increasing competition from the invention of the dry razor . In 1962, however, the convenience of a plane shave was further improved after Wilkinson Sword first brought stainless steel blades onto the market. The traditional London company was able to gain large market shares as a result. The machines and expertise were provided by the company Rudi Osberghaus from Solingen, in which the German Wilkinson Sword GmbH ultimately participated directly.
Asymmetrical and cassette systems
A large number of manufacturers tried at an early stage to stand out from the Gillette standard and implement their own blade and plane variants. The two most successful systems of this type are the single-edge and the injector planer. Autostrop brought single-edge blades onto the market around 1908 and was supported above all by manufacturers such as Star, GEM and Ever-Ready, i.e. companies that had grown up with wedge-blade devices in America and became ASR (American Safety Razor Company) merged. In 1921, Jacob Schick , a retired American officer, invented the so-called Magazine Repeating Razor. With this razor, which is also known as an interjector plane, blade replacement is made easier by sliding a new blade from a blade magazine into the plane head without touching it, thereby removing the old one. Interjector blades also only have one sharp side and are not interchangeable with normal razor blades. In 1928, Schick sold this division to Eversharp, Inc., believing after the invention of the dry razor that this would mean the end of the razor and blade. Eversharp gave the new subsidiary the established name Schick Safety Razor Company, which merged with Wilkinson Sword in 1993 and has since been their American and Australian division.
Multi-blade systems
First a two-ply blade for conventional safety razors was offered with a correspondingly higher unit price. The classic safety razor was finally replaced as a mass product in the 1970s. Large manufacturers such as Gillette and Wilkinson started to produce system razors that only fit their own blade systems and contained more than one cutting edge per blade. Consumers increasingly favored the convenience of the system razor, which offered the major manufacturers higher profit margins. This has resulted in a major thinning of the market for conventional razors.
An apparent race has broken out between the major manufacturers for the number of blades per shaving system. The number of cutting edges for the latest products (2012) is six. Embossing and coatings were also introduced. The goal of cutting all the resilient whiskers in one go is not achieved with any of the systems.
The corresponding patents secure the manufacturers a good market position.
Design and variations
The original Gillette design consists of a razor head and a handle that is relatively short compared to a system razor. The blade clamped in the planer head protrudes approx. 1 mm on each side into the so-called blade gap, which extends between the top and bottom edge of the planer head. The Gillette plane from 1904 ("Old Type") consists of three parts (handle, top and bottom part of the head) and the blade is clamped in the planer head by screwing it using the handle.
There are also a large number of variations, which mostly differ in terms of modifications to the locking mechanism, planer head, handle length and handle shape, as well as the material composition. Some manufacturers soon switched to producing two-piece models in which the lower part of the planer head is firmly connected to the handle. With this principle, the blade is clamped to the handle by a rotating mechanism. The planes of the Merkur brand from Solingen , which are widely used in Europe and North America, are based on this design . In the 1930s, Gillette set about equipping its planing heads with a TTO ("Twist To Open") mechanism. In this one-piece variant, for which the name "Butterfly" quickly became popular, two adjustable wings enclose the blade on its upper side. Butterfly planes are widespread in Gillette's North American home market and are described by experienced plane razors as being particularly gentle. After the Second World War, manufacturers increasingly used plastics to make planes, such as the Wilkinson Classic, which is still available.
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Over time, planer manufacturers have tried to make their razors more effective by making changes to the planer head. The most common variations can be described with the terms bevel cut, torsion, tooth comb and adjustable. With bevel planers, the head is beveled a little compared to the handle, with the purpose of cutting the beard hair more than planing it. The torsion head represents a similar principle, in which the bevel of the blade is achieved by twisting it. Another variation is the planer with a toothed comb, in which the lower edge of the planer head is toothed. This allows users with heavy beards to shave more easily. Finally, there are adjustable planes in which the blade gap and thus the aggressiveness of the plane can be individually adapted to your own needs.
The user has a multitude of customization options through the combination of planer and blade variations. He can thus adapt the plane shave to his individual needs, which is difficult with a shaving system. In addition, unlike the system razor, cleaning and drying the safety razor is extremely quick and easy, and the shaving costs are considerably lower in comparison.
A hybrid of razors and -hobel, the Shavette represents. Shavetten are shaped like a razor, but they need interchangeable blades like a razor.
distribution
Initially, the concept was able to prevail, especially in the western industrialized countries. The great success of Gillette initially consolidated the American market, as the competition was often forced to join forces to form larger companies such as the American Safety Razor Company (ASR). In the period that followed, Gillette increasingly pushed its way onto the European market, with lively competition with local companies developing. In Great Britain, Wilkinson Sword brought a wedge planer onto the market in 1898 with the “Pall Mall” and there were also a number of other manufacturers such as Rolls Razor, Wardonia, Darwin, Myatt, Souplex, Durham Duplex, Eclipse and Ronson. In France, too, there were soon planes and blades manufacturers such as Gibbs, Le Coque, Leresche and Apollo.
In Germany, a large number of small manufacturers set out to meet the need for safety razors with Gillette copies or simple and unmarked planes. After the First World War, the Berlin-based Roth Büchner GmbH rose to become the largest German manufacturer with its Rotbart brand and was taken over by Gillette until 1931. In addition, companies from the blade and knife city of Solingen , such as Merkur , Apollo (Germany), Golf, Fasan and Mulcuto , served the German market . Among these there was a large number of collaborations, license production and mutual supplies. In the 1960s and 1970s, dry and system razors finally overtook planes, resulting in a crisis that threatened the very existence of the industry. Merkur has only existed as a brand since 1996, because the company was taken over by the DOVO Group that year .
However, manufacturers in the upper price segment were able to re-establish themselves in Germany in the last two decades of the 20th century. Examples of this are Pils GmbH, founded in Stuttgart in 1980, and Hans-Jürgen Müller GmbH & Co. KG from Stützengrün in the Ore Mountains , which was reprivatised after reunification and is known for the Mühle brand (formerly Mühle-Brush). In addition to Merkur, there is now another manufacturer from Solingen, the company Giesen & Forsthoff.
There are also manufacturers of shaving accessories in Great Britain who have razors in their range again. An example of this is Edwin Jagger from Sheffield .
In certain countries and regions, the plane shave has been able to assert itself in everyday life to this day. Producers like Treet from Pakistan, Lord from Egypt and Kai, Shogun and Feather from Japan continue to produce planes and blades in large quantities. Eastern European companies such as Rapira, Astra and Sputnik from Russia and Wizamet from Poland largely cover the demand in their home markets. Western groups such as Gillette, Wilkinson Sword and the American Safety Razor Company continue to supply these markets from their own production or through license production. In recent years, new manufacturers such as Weishi from China and Parker (Jagdish) from India have even been added.
Planer manufacturers cover and thus covered a wide range of prices. Quality and price largely depend on the manufacturing quality and the material used. While plastic planes are usually available for a few euros, the cost of a plane in the luxury price segment can amount to over 100 euros. However, the majority of planes made of chrome-plated metal still available today are in a price segment of 20 to 40 euros. The variety of different versions also makes the safety razor a popular collector's item.
application
Users of the plane shave usually prepare their shaving foam in the traditional way, i.e. H. using shaving soap or cream and a shaving brush . This combination is described by users as being gentler than using canned foam and a system razor. Accordingly, problems such as razor burn and ingrown hairs can be reduced by using a safety razor and traditional foam. Since the razor head is immobile, unlike modern system razors, the shaving angle on the safety razor has to be found individually.
literature
- Frank Gnegel, Michael Kriegeskorte, Westphalian Museum Office, Münster (ed.): Beard off . On the history of self-shaving. DuMont, Ostfildern 1998, ISBN 978-3-7701-3596-7 (book accompanying the traveling exhibition of the same name by the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe, Westfälisches Museumamt Münster).
- Wallace G. Pinfold: The Golden Ratio . The beard and shave area for the gentleman (original title: A Closer Shave, translated by Wolfgang Beuchelt). Könemann Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-8290-3615-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Frank Gnegel: Bart from: the history of self-shaving. DuMont, Cologne 1995, p. 42.
- ^ A b English-language Wikipedia King Champ Gillette , accessed February 13, 2016.
- ^ Karen Sewell: Patent for Safety Razor Issued November 15, 1904 . United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
- ↑ U.S. Patent No. 775,134
- ↑ a b c Ewald Helmut Beermann: Solingen, a journey through five centuries of knives and blades. Martor, Solingen 1993.
- ↑ a b c J. Duwe: Small picture story about the development of the Gillette Safety Razor . Mr. Razor. Retrieved April 10, 2009.
- ↑ a b Our story . Wilkinson Sword GmbH Solingen. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ The Blade Battle . Time magazine. January 29, 1965. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
- ↑ a b Schick’s History of Shaving . Fancy. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ A b Company History . Personna American Safety Razor Company. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ↑ Allen Appelby: The Schick Injector Razor: History, Development, and Identification Guide . safetyrazors.net. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ↑ http://ebn24.de/fileadmin/images/Standorte/00_Deutschland/NRW/135_Bergisches_Staedtedreieck/135CP09_Wilkinson/Wilkinson.pdf ( Memento from November 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ William C. Symonds: Gillette's Five-Blade Wonder . BusinessWeek. September 15, 2005. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
- ↑ Berlin . Procter & Gamble Germany. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
- ↑ The fight for the beard . In: Die Zeit , No. 11/1966
- ↑ 'Merkur' range . DOVO Solingen . Archived from the original on May 3, 2009. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
- ↑ Company . Pils GmbH. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- ↑ history . Hans-Jürgen Müller GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ↑ Product overview . Giesen & Forsthoff. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ↑ About . Edwin Jagger. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
- ↑ a b Erik Kormann: Wet shave . Aromatic blog. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
