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 & Tie year. Williams toured with labelmate Baez, who covered one of Williams' songs. In a 1995 interview with "Billboard", Williams noted the similarities in their careers. "There were parallels in choosing a less flashy label over a more flashy label," she said. "Vanguard (Baez' first label) chose to do things more pared down and acoustic, which is what the label I chose is allowing me to do." Each of Williams' first five Razor & Tie releases sold more than 100,000 albums. Razor & Tie also had significant success with Cledus T. Judd, the "Weird Al Yankovic of Country Music." He released