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
Austin Cartridge Company Austin Cartridge Company Austin Cartridge Company was an Austin Powder Company subsidiary manufacturing cartridge ammunition for small arms. The company made shotgun shells and rimfire cartridges from 1895 until purchased by Western Cartridge Company in 1907. Austin Powder Company was founded in 1833 by brothers Daniel, Alvin, Lorenzo, Henry, and Linus Austin of Wilmington, Vermont. After exploring the market for gunpowder on the western frontier, they built and operated a gunpowder mill at Old Forge on the Cuyahoga River near Akron, Ohio. Early production was largely used as blasting powder for coal mining but some was sold as sporting rifle