Razor
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A razor is an edge tool primarily used in shaving.
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[edit] Early razors
Razors have been identified from Bronze Age Britain. These were made of bronze and were generally oval in shape, with a small tang protruding from one of the short ends. There is no certain truth about this, but there might be a possible simple form of the razor that originated from some parts of former Europe.
Straight razors (also called cut-throat razors because of their potential lethality) with open steel blades were the most commonly used razors before the 20th century. However, they are now chiefly used by barbers.
[edit] Safety razor
The first 'safety' razor, a razor where the skin is protected from all but the very edge of the blade, was invented in the late 18th Century by a Frenchman, Jean-Jacques Perret, who was inspired by the joiner's plane. Marketed as "the best available shaving method on the market that won’t cut a user, like straight steel razors." the first American safety razor was released in 1875 by the Kampfe Brothers. In 1901, the American inventor King Camp Gillette, with the assistance of William Nickerson, invented a safety razor with disposable blades. Gillette realized that a profit could be made by selling a razor with inexpensive disposable blades. This has been called the Razor and blades business model, or a "loss leader", and has become a very common practice for a wide variety of products.
[edit] Straight razors
Straight razors consist of a semi or full hollow-ground blade sharpened on one edge. The blade can be made of either stainless steel, which is slow to hone and strop but dulls more slowly, or high-carbon steel, which hones and strops quickly but requires it more often, and will rust if neglected. At present, stainless-steel razors are easy to find but expensive; carbon-steel razors are nearly as expensive but quite difficult to find (Cutlery shops will often tell a customer that carbon-steel razors are no longer made, when they are actually available for sale on the Internet).
The blade rotates on a pin through its tang between two protective pieces called scales: when folded into the scales, the blade is protected from accidental damage, and the user is protected from accidental injury. Handle scales are made of various materials, including mother-of-pearl, celluloid, bone, plastic and wood. They were once made of ivory, but this has been discontinued, though fossil ivory is still used occasionally, and antique razors with ivory scales are occasionally found.
Advantages are the excellent quality of the shave that one can obtain from them, reduced razor burn, acne, and other skin blemishes due to the exfoliating effect, and many enjoy the challenge of mastering a skill that yields these results. Now with the advent of the less capable safety razor and far less capable cartridge razor, this is no longer an art passed down from generation to generation. Disadvantages include possible cuts due to slips, and the constant maintenance by honing and stropping the razor.
The electric razor (also known as the electric dry shaver) is a common electrical shaving device with a rotating or oscillating blade. The electric razor does not require the use of shaving cream, soap, or water. The razor is powered by a small DC motor, and usually has rechargeable batteries, though early ones were powered directly by house current. Some very early mechanical shavers had no electric motor and had to be powered by hand, for example by pulling a cord to drive a flywheel.
It was patented in 1928 by the American manufacturer Col. Jacob Schick. The Remington Rand Corporation developed the electric razor further, first producing the Remington brand of razor in 1937. Another important inventor was Prof. Alexandre Horowitz, from Philips Laboratories in the Netherlands, who invented the very successful concept of the revolving electric razor. It has a shaving head consisting of cutters that cut off the hair entering the head of the razor at skin level.
Early versions of electric razors were meant to be used on dry skin only. More recent electric razors have been designed which allow for shaving cream and moisture.
Some of the modern styles of electric hair clippers include the bulk hair clippers which are used to remove a bulk of the hair being shaved, the main hair clippers on which guards are attached to achieve a perfect length all over the head and the mini clippers which are used to trim the edges of the hair cut.
[edit] Other razors
A single-edge razor blade is manufactured to emulate double-edge disposable shaving blades, for various applications where the blade is required to be hand-held. Unlike double-edge blades, single-edge blades have only one sharp edge, usually having a reinforced back edge with no sharpness at all. In addition, they are often a more rigid steel and much thicker, as well as being less sharp (but with much sharper non-rounded corners). They are used in carpentry for detailed work, sanding, and scraping (in a specialized holder), in mechanical drawing for paper cutting, in plumbing and finish work for grouting and cleaning, for removing paint from flat surfaces such as panes of glass, and in many other applications. Razors are also sometimes used in bread production to slash the surface of an unbaked loaf; in this usage, they are referred to using the French word lamé.
A utility knife is a common tool used in grocery stores and other places. Such a knife generally consists of a simple and cheap holder, typically flat, approximately one inch wide and three to four inches long, and typically made of either metal or plastic. Some use standard razor blades, others specialized double ended blades or snap-off blades. An X-Acto brand knife, a type of utility knife, is smaller and more precise and usually used for arts and crafts.
A potato peeler is a metal blade attached to a metal, plastic or wooden handle that is used for peeling vegetables, usually potatoes.
Razor wire is a mesh of metal strips with sharp edges whose purpose it is to prevent passage by human beings. Razor wire is sharper than the barbs of barbed wire, though not as sharp as a true razor.
[edit] See also
- Main : Shaving, Beard, Facial hair, Barber, Haircut, Leg shaving, King C. Gillette, Timeline of invention
- Companies : Braun, DOVO, The Gillette Company, Wilkinson Sword, BIC Corporation, Philips, Remington Rand, Headblade
- Miscellaneous: Aegean civilization, Occam's razor, East Cambridgeshire
Comprehensive guide to shaving with a safety razor
Beginning safety-razor shaving kit
[edit] Figurative uses
A boat or ship made of metal is sometimes said to be "made into razor blades" after it has been scrapped.
