Did you know ?

King Camp Gillette became an travelling salesman in order to support himself and his family when their family home was destroyed in Chicago fire of 1871. This work as salesman lead him to meet William Painter, inventor of disposable Crown Cork bottle cap, who assured Gillette that a successful invention was the one which people bought again and again, which meant it satisfied the customer.

 In 1895, one morning while shaving Gillette suddenly had an idea i.e. a complete new razor and blade! A razor with safe, inexpensive and disposable blade!

It took almost six years for Gillette's idea to come into reality. Technical experts informed Gillette that it was impossible to produce steel that was hard, thin and inexpensive for commercial purpose. Finally in 1901, William Nickerson an MIT graduate agreed to try.

By 1903 the production began under the company name "Gillette Safety Razor Company" in South Boston. During World War 1, U.S Government issued Gillette safety razors to the entire armed forces. By the end of the War, around 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades were put into military hands.

Thus, Gillette razor blades became one of the successful commercial products of the world and continue to do so.

Compiled By: Veera D'Souza