Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945) installing driven conveyor belts that could produce a Model T in ninety-three minutes. 1901 Safety razor (disposable) A safety razor protects the skin from all but the edge of the blade while shaving skin. King Camp Gillette, a traveling hardware salesman of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin invented the double-edged, disposable safety razor attached to a re-usable razor handle. Beforehand, dull razors were taken to barbers for sharpening. With Gillette's double-edged and disposable blades, a uniform shave on a man's face could be achieved with a fresh blade and disposed after it was used. Gillette applied for a patent in 1901.
Razor early description of a safety razor similar in form to the ones used today is found on William Samuel Henson's 1847 patent application for a comb tooth guard. This guard could be attached to a straight razor or to a razor "the cutting blade which is at right angles with the handle, and resembles somewhat the form of a common hoe." Around 1875 a new design with a smaller blade placed on top of a handle was marketed by the Kampfe Brothers as "the best available shaving method on the market that won’t cut a user, like straight steel razors."