American Safety Razor Company American Safety Razor Company "For the company of the same name that was founded in 1901 and renamed as the Gillette Safety Razor Company, see Gillette (brand)" American Safety Razor Company is a personal care brand founded in the early 20th century (1906) by a merging of the Gem Cutlery Company & Ever-Ready and has been a principal competitor to Gillette for a century and more. Unrelated to the Gillette company which also used the name " 'American Safety Razor Company' " in 1901 until 1904 before it was renamed for its founder, King C. Gillette. The company produces a
Safety razor barber use, some of which have been re-adopted for shaving by modern designs. Until the 1960s, razor blades were made of carbon steel. These were extremely prone to rusting and forced users to change blades frequently. In 1965, the British company Wilkinson Sword began to sell blades made of stainless steel, which did not corrode nearly so quickly and could be used far longer. Wilkinson quickly captured U.S., British and European markets. As a result, American Safety Razor, Gillette and Schick were driven to produce stainless steel blades to compete. Today, almost all razor blades are stainless steel although carbon