William Emery Nickerson, forgotten genius

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by PLANofMAN, Aug 10, 2015.

  1. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Everyone knows who King Camp Gillette is, but have you ever heard of William Emery Nickerson? Gillette had the idea of a disposable razor blade and spent the next ten years of his life trying to create his "impossible" dream.

    His luck changed in early 1900. Through mutual business associates, Gillette met William Emery Nickerson, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Adams described Nickerson as a "clever inventor but not much of a businessman" but added that he "was known for taking a small idea and making it reality." Nickerson agreed to work on the project. According to Adams, the two men clashed along the way. They disagreed about what to name the company. The Gillette Safety Razor Company was organized in September of 1901, and Gillette was named president.

    By 1903, Nickerson had developed the necessary design and machinery to produce the razor blades, while Gillette had secured the necessary financial backing. The next dilemma was what to name the product. As noted on the "King Camp Gillette" section of the Engines of Our Ingenuity website, Gillette believed "if they called a razor blade a Nickerson, that was too suggestive of nicked skin." In the end, Gillette's name was put on the product. The razor would prove to be a success.
     
  2. Misphit

    Misphit Rest In Peace

    Cool factoid, thanks for the info but I would have enjoyed calling blades a Nickerson. I can see telling my wife to go out and get her nickerson's in a bunch.
     
  3. Boojum1

    Boojum1 Valet Parking Available Here

    More interesting research, keep it coming Ryan. :happy088:
     
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  4. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

  5. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    Gillette had the concept, but Nickerson made it work through his metallurgical skills!

    Well done.
     
  6. Billyfergie

    Billyfergie The Scottish Ninja

    Yeah, Old King Gillette got his books as the Chairman of the Board of Directors after being forced into the amalgamation with Rolls I think it was....He basically sat in his house chair and croaked it a few months after.....:sad024:
     
  7. ObiDon

    ObiDon member in questionable standing

    Thanks for the history. I love looking into the history of our hobby.:eatdrink047:
     
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  8. Misphit

    Misphit Rest In Peace

    I was looking at an article about this and found the inner dynamics interesting especially the price point and initial sales that first year.

     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2015
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  9. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
    zinteresting.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2015
  10. macaronus

    macaronus Sir Nice-a-Lot

    Very interesting, Ryan! Thanks for the research and posting!
     
  11. 178-bplatoon

    178-bplatoon Well-Known Member

    Interesting article. Thank you Ryan.:)
    Articles like this really help keep things in perspective. King Gillette was NOT a great inventor, spending his life, striving to improve shaving for man & woman kind. He was just a normal business man trying to make as much money as easily, quickly and cheaply as possible.
    However, to his credit, in the process he did manage to popularize and promote individual shaving and make a product that is still relevant to this day and most likely(hopefully) for the foreseeable future as well.:happy088:
     
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  12. hippiebrian

    hippiebrian Well-Known Member

    Very cool info.
     
  13. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Here's another forgotten fellow.

    Henry J. Gaisman
    Henry J. Gaisman was born in 1869 in Memphis, Tennessee the youngest of four children. Unable to afford the lengthy schooling required to study mechanical engineering and chemistry (his first interests), he left school at age 13 to work various odd jobs. He is credited as the inventor of the safety razor, an invention which would allow him to develop into a wealthy businessman despite never completing his formal education.
    His safety razor was patented in May and July 1904, and was initially sold by the Auto Strop Safety Razor Company, a competitor to razor and blade manufacturer Gillette Razor Corporation, run by competitor Mr. King C. Gillette. When Mr. Gaisman found similar technologies in the Gillette razors, his company sued the Gillette Razor Corporation for patent infringement, which Mr. Gillette resolved by merging with Auto Strop. When Mr. Gillette eventually died at age 77, Mr. Gaisman went on to become the leader of the Gillette Razor Corporation.
     
  14. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    A the point of the merger entire Gillette senior staff was basically corrupt, Nickerson was no longer involved, while King Gillette was out of the company, and going broke due to bad personal investments. The patent infringment and merger proceeding bore all these things out including deliberate falsification of overseas sales levels to manipulate Gillette stock value. In addition Auto Strop stayed up to date with blade manufacturing. Auto Strop had much more efficient equipment and processes. The Gillette staff did not use their profits to reinvest in the company. So when Gaisman took over, he cleaned house of the Gillette managment and basically saved Gillette from going under. The funny thing was Gaisman wanted to sell his company to Gillette, before Gillette committed patent infringment, and the corporate staff blew him off. Gaisman had the last laugh. Gillette corporation lived on and the Gillette TTO was developed during his tenure.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2015
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  15. JeffMarks

    JeffMarks New Member

    I know this is an old post but thought I would add to the discussion. You see my grandmother was King's niece. If the man had anything it was persistence and although being told by several institutions that his idea was impossible, he knew better. He may not have had the business stamina to hold the throne but he was an intelligent entrepreneur and some of his business models are still used today. Finding Nickerson was lucky for the both of them. Even though the name Nickerson might have been taboo, the idea was all King's and nothing without him. Natural his picture and name graced the packages. His passion was travel, which is how he came to invent the safety razor in the first place, after a bumpy train ride caused him to cut himself. The more a business swells so does all the legal bull and he wasn't much into that kind of dog and pony. His products had made him rich for quite some time but as mentioned above investments in bad oil fields were quite a blow. Grammy said he still had the best of everything and she enjoyed the seasons at his home on the lake. In a nutshell the men did what most of us have even come close to. Gillette razors are to this day still the best a man can get, no sh**. We all want to change the world for the better. These men could say they did just that.
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2019
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