Straight razor King C. Gillette: a double-edged safety razor with replaceable blades. These new safety razors did not require any serious tutelage to use. The blades were extremely hard to sharpen, and were meant to be thrown away after one use, and rusted quickly if not discarded. They also required a smaller initial investment, although they cost more over time. Despite its long-term advantages, the straight razor lost significant market share. As shaving became less intimidating and men began to shave themselves more, the demand for barbers providing straight razor shaves decreased. Since 2012, production of straight razors has increased multifold. Straight
Razor 18th and 19th centuries, the wealthy had servants to shave them or could frequent barbershops. Daily shaving was not a widespread practice in the 19th century so some people never shaved. The custom of shaving every day among American men is a 20th-century innovation which was started after World War I. Men were required to shave daily so their gas masks would fit properly and this became much easier with the advent of the safety razor, which was standard issue during the war. In the 19th century, cutlers in Sheffield, England and Solingen, Germany produced a variety of razors. Straight