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
Razor shell the straight razor gives it its name. The razor shell has been known to reach in length. The dorsal margin is straight while the ventral margin is curved. It can easily be confused with the slightly shorter and more curved "E. ensis" (in which both front and back are curved in parallel). Razor shells have a fragile shell, with open ends. The shell is smooth on the outside and whitish in color, with vertical and horizontal reddish-brown or purplish-brown markings separated by a diagonal line. The periostracum is olive-green. The inner surface is white with a purple tinge and the