The Idea
A rectangular box of walnut phenolic (bakelite) with hinged lid, with a Gillette safety razor and blade container containing two packets of razor blades. King Camp Gillette (1855-1932) developed the disposable blade safety razor during the 1890s with engineer William Emery Nickerson. Gillette produced the first safety razors and disposable blades in 1903 and, by the end of 1904, had produced 40,000 razors and over 12 million blades. In 1999, Gillette made nearly $10 billion in sales in over 200 countries. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
Gillette later went to work in a cork company, and it was there that the idea for his iconic safety razor was born. His boss, who knew that Gillette liked to try inventing things, encouraged him to make something that would be used and then discarded, resulting in repeat purchases and low production costs. Gillette thought a lot about what his employer had told him and this simple bit of advice turned out to have a significant impact on his life. While shaving one day, he was frustrated by the dull blade on his razor and quickly came up with the idea of a razor that didn’t need to be sharpened, but could have its blades replaced.