What Does The Term "Safety Razor" Mean To You?

Communication isn't black and white and by meaning I'm refering to the image that comes to mind. I promise you, a different image came to mind when a man heard the term "safety razor" 100 years ago.

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Sorry for the late reply but I didn't want to 'bias' your question before I read the rest of the thread.

The context is basically if there's a "Conventional Wisdom" definition of the term. I've discovered through this poll and others that no, it really depends on the background of the person being asked. Social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) overwhelmingly define safety razor as a DE. The forums are more split.

 

Which is interesting because I just joined the forums in mid September and I would have answered safety razor=DE before being exposed to more options here. I didn't know GEM/Everready/Autostrop/Rolls were even a thing on September 1st. Plus, one year ago, I wouldn't have understood the question. I discovered wet shaving in January.

 

Language is not wisdom so I think there in lies the rub. More interesting is the marketing label vs language definition and how the breakdown is between social media and forums. Next question on that would be is it an age demographic driven distinction and/or a lack of critical thinking auto response which could go both ways depending how you phrase a follow up question if you really wanted to know. Bottom line both can correct depending the context. By default I personally go to the language based definition first when context is not clear because that should supersede an arbitrary label in this case.

 

I always like to rebuild the acronym when arguing about its meaning.

DE Razor: A razor for a double edged disposable razor blade.
SE: Razor: A razor for a single edged disposable razor blade.

The term "Safety" isn't explicitly used because it is optional. A DE/SE razor isn't inherently a "Safety" razor. (Although it just so happens that most of them are).
There is no such thing as a "safety" razor blade, just blades for "safety" razors.

So, calling a DE or SE razor a safety razor is incorrect. In actual fact, the safety razor is just a sub-set of each.


I think.

 

I suggest those interested in the topic review the Safety Razor Compendium referenced below. A historical definition is provided by the author and predates the above stated invention of Gillette's "hoe type" double edge in 1902.
https://books.google.com/books?id=4...EwAHoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=safety razor&f=false

 

Congrats. You have just won the thread!
Wow, great book. Clearly, a "Safety razor" is one with a guard of some sort.

 

For a long time, I believed the term "safety razor" was first used in 1880 by the first Kampfe Brothers patent:
https://razors.click/patents/US228904/

However, Merriam-Webster claim that the term was first used in print in 1842:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/safety razor

Unfortunately, they don't say who used it where.
Does anyone know?

 

Found it:
Oxford English Dictionary gives a source:

Does anyone have a subscription to newspapers.com?

Edit: I do... now.

P.S.: I even found a mention from 1833

P.P.S.: January 5, 1833 - https://razors.click/TheTermSafetyRazor/

 

very cool..

 

In case anyone is unfamiliar God forbid.

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Here is my definition of a safety razor:

"A razor with a user-replaceable blade that is shielded by a guard of some sort to prevent nicks and cuts. This includes razors in which the replaceable blades are part of a cartridge. It does not include razors that require electric power to shave."

By this definition, the Curley Ideal Safety Razor is not a safety razor, but a bridge between straight and safety razors. A proto-safety razor, if you will. Its blade can be replaced by someone with the skills to do so, but not by the average user. Rolls Razor, Autostrop, J.A. Henckels Rapide, Wilkinson Pall Mall, Star Safety Razor, etc. would be safety razors. Their blades are user-replaceable, even if those blades would seldom, if ever, be replaced. If you want to include the Curley and similar razors in the definition, then omit "replaceable".

"User replaceable blade" can also refer to one or more blades in a cartridge. If you do not want to include cartridge razors in the definition, then simply change "This includes" to "This does not include". I consider cartridge razors to be safety razors because the blades are shielded to some extent to prevent nicks and cuts.

Electric razors require electricity to function, and hence are not safety razors. Cartridge razors with battery powered vibrating heads are safety razors. The vibrating head is used to enhance the razor's functionality, but is not required for the razor to shave. The same goes for cartridge razors with a heated head.

Perhaps the best definition of safety razor is the one used on Wikipedia:

"A safety razor is a shaving implement with a protective device positioned between the edge of the blade and the skin."

 

The Star Safety Razor was referred to as such on its packaging, thus the term predates the Gillette double-edge safety razors by many years. There are probably a lot of people who think that "safety razor" is synonymous with "double-edge razor", though. That would be due to double-edge razors having the lion's share of the market for over 60 years.

 

Silly definition really. A device that is positioned between the edge of the blade and the skin would prevent the blade from doing any work. Blade exposure - zero or less.

 

You are right. Fixed that!

 

You are right about that. Marketing is an amazing thing.