King Gillette Patents Safety Razor
On this day in 1904, Boston-based inventor King Camp Gillette received a patent for an improved safety razor with a disposable blade. After almost 10 years of work, Gillette succeeded in mass-producing a sharp blade stamped from inexpensive sheet steel. He realized that profits lay in selling the razor for less than it cost to make and the disposable blades for more. His revolutionary idea has come to be known as the "Razor and Blades," or "loss leader," business model. Gillette was a marketing genius as well as a clever inventor. He introduced the practice of having professional athletes endorse a product and made sure that every American soldier went off to the First World War and returned home with a Gillette safety razor set.
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