Safety razor steel blades remain in limited production for lower income markets. Because Gillette held a patent on stainless blades but had not acted on it, the company was accused of exploiting customers by forcing them to buy the rust-prone blade. The risk of injury from handling razor blades was further reduced in 1970 when Wilkinson released its "Bonded Shaving System", which embedded a single blade in a disposable polymer plastic cartridge. A flurry of competing models soon followed with everything from one to six blades, with many cartridge blade razors also having disposable handles. Cartridge blade razors are sometimes considered to
Segal Lock and Hardware Company stock was placed privately with no public offering made. The company acquired a controlling interest in the Norwalk Lock Company and the Universal Razor Blade Corporation in 1929. Stockholders approved an increase in the authorized stock of the company to 400,000 shares, of which 300,000 shares were outstanding. The corporation introduced a single-unit safety razor in late 1930, a low-priced product designed to use only Segal double-edged blades. The following year Segal placed on the market the Unimatic Segal Razor, a one-piece razor which accepted a double-edged blade. The firm entered a contracted with United Cigar Stores in June 1931.