Safety razor become locked into buying their proprietary cartridges, for as long as the manufacturer continues to make them. Subsequent to introducing the higher-priced Mach3 in 1998, Gillette's blade sales realized a 50% increase, and profits increased in an otherwise mature market. The marketing of increasing numbers of blades in a cartridge has been parodied since the 1970s. The debut episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975 included a parody advertisement for the Triple Trac Razor, shortly after the first two-blade cartridge for men's razors was advertised. "Mad" magazine announced the "Trac 76", arranged as a chain of cartridges with a handle
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.