The electric razors for men and women are wonderful invention which is a time saver and adds untold convenience to the necessity of shaving. It is an alternative to the razor or blade which does the same job or better while giving the user several advantages that conventional shaving methods don’t provide.
History of Electric Razor
Colonel Jacob Schick obtained the patent on this product on 23 April, 1928 (Publication number: US1757978 A), as well as started the new era of shaving with the history of electric razor. The idea for this invention was born out of necessity as is every other invention. In this case, Col Schick needed to be able to shave with one hand because of an injury to his arm. His initial plan was not accepted because the new electric razor would have been a very bulky appliance which limited its practicality. When Schick recovered from his injury and returned to duty he had to put his original plans on hold.
He then received the inspiration for a new design called the Magazine Repeating Razor. This razor operated on the same principle as many of the weapons in the war used, which was the concept of a constant supply of blades which did not have to be loaded individually.
His vision of the new electric razor remained strong and he continued to work with the plan until he was able to redesign it into a more marketable product. In 1928 he sold his current razor company in order to be able to devote his full attention to the first electric razor. He incorporated the first electric razor company in 1930 under the name of Schick Dry Shaver Inc. Fifteen years later he later changed the name of the company to Schick Inc.
The Beginning of Electrics
The first electric razor was a radical new product when it was introduced which may explain why it seemed to take off slowly.
The advent of the use of electricity brought many different ways to apply its power to the creation of new inventions. The development of the new electric razor was just one of the many different appliances which electricity caused to be developed.
The new electric razor was instrumental because of the many advantages that it could provide to the consumer by harnessing the use of electricity.
Also Read: Remington, the Brand Which Played the Lead Role!
First Was the Worst
Colonel Schick, who started the history of electric razor, was certainly a visionary because he foresaw the use of this product and the potential that it provided as far as convenience was concerned. His first new electric razor was an excellent idea but was impractical because of its bulkiness.
It offered convenience in use but was an inconvenient design. It caught on very slowly partially because it was a different product. It was gradually accepted after many changes were made to its practicality. The sales of this new product only picked up after many new designs were instituted but I believe that the radical new concept of using this type of razor was the major reason.
Meet the Foil
The design concept of the foil shaver is a thin sheet of foil with holes in it. The blades operate under the foil and catches and chops off the hairs as they poke through. This type of new electric razor can give a close dry shave without causing much damage to the skin because the foil protects the skin from the blades underneath.
The foil is thin and flexible and can be used to give an extremely close shave but it generally does not give as close a shave as the rotary shaver. The reason being is because the foil of the new electric razor consists of one solid sheet which is not quite as flexible as it is moved around the contours of the face.
The foil shaver was the first new electric razor introduced by Colonel Schick and is a simple and brilliant concept. The blades underneath the foil can be designed to move at a very high rate of speed because of the simplicity of the design. This insures a better quality and closer shave. Nowadays Braun and Panasonic are quite well-known brands for foil shavers.
Foil Electric Razor Head
There are also some variations of the holes or openings that are contained on the head of the foil shaver. Most times they will be small holes but can also be designed as long thin slots which allow more facial hair to poke through the head to be chopped off by the blades underneath.
A series of short slits in the head is another option. The continuous design of the foil head makes it possible to use the blade to create sharp lines in the hairline as opposed to the rotary blade. This does have a disadvantage in that the foil head is not as efficient in most cases in shaving certain parts of the face or body because of the change of the facial and/or bodily contours. The foil razor head is also more suitable for shaving in a straight motion rather than a circular movement simply because of the way that it is designed.
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Rotary Blades Introduced
Another leap in the history of electric razor, the rotary shaver was introduced in the 1939‘s as an alternative because it offered some advantages over the foil which proved advantageous to some consumers. The basic design of the rotary shaver is that it will have three round heads which rotate separately. The heads of the rotary shaver generally have thinner foil coverings so they are known for giving extremely close shaves. The blades under each head of this shaver rotate independently from those under the other two which actually gives the user more flexibility and will attack facial hairs from many different angles.
The rotary shaver will normally have a slower operating rate than the new foil shaver simply because of the complexity of its design.
The disadvantage to using this shaver is that it will not trim straight even lines as efficiently as the foil shaver because each head moves in a circular motion. Now a days Philips Norelco shavers are the best known brand for rotary shavers.
Cutting the Cord
The introduction of the first cordless shaver brought even more innovation, flexibility, and convenience to the practice of shaving. The cordless shaver does not need to be plugged into an outlet at the time of this operation. This meant that they can be packed away and taken on trips where electricity may not be available. The cordless may contain a battery that has to be recharged or it may be totally battery operated.
Remington Rand
E. Remington was initially a firearms maker who founded his company in 1816. During the next one hundred years the company branched off into the development and manufacturing of many other products such as the sewing machine and the typewriter with great success. They sold their typewriter company in 1886 whose name was subsequently named the Remington typewriter company.
That same company merged with the Rand Kardex Cooperation in 1927 and was changed into Remington Rand. After the merger production branched off into other areas to include the manufacture of adding machines and many other types of office equipment. They designed their first electric shaver in 1937 which was known as the Remington Model E.
Remington Rand subsequently acquired the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company and merged with the Sperry Corporation in 1955. The name adopted after this merger is the Sperry Rand Corporation which sold off a number of its divisions separately in 1979. The electric shaver division was purchased by Victor Kiam.
Kiam subsequently sold controlling interest to Ike Perlmutter and they both sold off their interests to Vestar Capital Partners in 1996.
The new electric shaver was developed as a convenient alternative to other forms of hair removal. The first new electric shaver design was crude and bulky and was refused as far as development is concerned because it was impractical to use.
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Eventually consumers’ realized the inherent value of the product and its use caught on. The new electric shaver has evolved over the years which has increased its function and practicality. After the invention of electric shaver we have got a a lot of variants like beard trimmer, body groomers, head shavers, nose hair trimmers etc. Actually renowned brands like Philips, Panasonic and specially the Remington are working on their best to deliver the best experience of shaving to their customers by introducing new to newer models. For all these new tech shaver models we should really be thankful to the old grandpa Colonel Jacob Schick. Salute to you sir.
