A razor is a device used to cut hair from the face or other areas of the body. Men have been shaving off their beards with sharp implements since ancient times. In fact, cave paintings show shells, shark's teeth, and sharpened flint were used as razors. Bronze was the favored substance for razors during the Bronze Age while gold and copper razors were found in ancient Egyptian tombs. The steel straightedge razor was created in the 1700s in Sheffield, England.

However, shaving with this sharp, unprotected blade, was a dangerous procedure. The French cutler Jean-Jacques Perret, therefore, invented a safety razor in the 1760s that guarded all but the edge of the blade. Another edge-guard razor was made in Sheffield in 1828, and a similar design was produced in the United States. The modern T-shape of the safety razor was invented by William Henson, an Englishman. Nevertheless, the old...