Shaving razor was essentially a small piece of a straight razor attached to a handle using a clamp mechanism. Before each shave the blade had to be attached to a special holder, stropped with a leather belt, and placed back into the razor. After a time, the blade needed to be honed by a cutler. In 1895, King Camp Gillette invented the double-edged safety razor, which utilised inexpensive, disposable blades sharpened from two sides. It took him until 1901 to build a working, patentable model, and commercial production began in 1903. The razor gained popularity during World War I when the
Safety razor and inaccurate". Safety razors originally had an edge protected by a comb patterned on various types of protective guards that had been affixed to open-blade straight razors during the preceding decades. To maintain their cutting action, razors can be stropped using an old piece of jeans. Safety razors are usually made of razor steel which is a low chromium stainless steel which can be made extremely sharp, but corrodes relatively easily. Safety razor life may be extended by drying the blades after use. Salts from human skin also tend to corrode the blades, but washing and carefully drying them can