The History of the Straight Razor: From Ancient Egypt to the Return of Traditional Shaving

Traditional shaving · Ippos Beard

The straight razor has looked the same for more than two centuries, and its ancestors go back thousands of years. Here is its history in 7 steps: from the first bronze blades to Sheffield steel, through the safety razor, right up to the comeback of traditional shaving in today's barbershops.

Call it a straight razor, a cut throat razor or a barber's razor. It is the same object: a blade that folds into a handle, that you hone and keep for years. Before you use one, or give one as a gift, it is worth knowing where it comes from. Its story explains why it almost disappeared, and why it is back in a big way. Here it is, told simply, with no boring history lesson.

01Before the folding blade: shaving in ancient times

Wanting a clean face is nothing new. In ancient Egypt, more than 4,000 years ago, men shaved with copper and then bronze blades. Being clean shaven was a sign of hygiene and social rank, and priests even shaved their whole bodies. These razors looked like small hatchets or half moons, with no hinged handle, held directly in the hand.

For the Romans, shaving became a citizen's habit. Barbers set up shop and a visit to the barber turned into a social moment, a bit like today. The blades were made of iron, not very sharp, and shaving was often done with water alone, no soap. It explains why beards came back into fashion at certain periods: shaving hurt.

02The Middle Ages: the barber also pulled teeth

In the Middle Ages, the razor was a professional tool. The barber shaved and cut hair, but he also performed bloodletting, treated wounds and pulled teeth. These were the barber surgeons. The razor was a fixed blade, often in forged iron, which the barber sharpened himself on a stone.

Shaving at home was rare. You needed a well kept blade, a steady hand and a decent mirror, three things that cost money. Shaving stayed a service you went into town for, and a short beard or a moustache was often more practical for ordinary people.

03The 18th century: steel changes everything

The real turning point came in the 18th century. In Sheffield, England, around 1740, makers developed crucible steel, far more uniform than earlier steels. The result: thinner, harder blades that held their edge. This is when the razor took the shape we still know: a blade that pivots and folds into a handle to protect both the edge and your fingers.

Other towns became blade capitals: Solingen in Germany, and Thiers in the Auvergne region of France, which had been making knives and razors since the Middle Ages. Handles were made of horn, bone, ivory or wood. The razor became a personal object you kept, sometimes passed on, and started to decorate.

04The 19th century: the golden age of the straight razor

The 19th century belonged to the straight razor. Cutlers perfected the hollow grind: the sides of the blade are ground thinner, which makes it lighter, more flexible and much easier to hone. Barbers lined up their razors from Monday to Sunday to let the steel rest between shaves, a habit that gave us the famous seven day razor sets.

It was also the century of shaving at home. Well off men owned their own razor, brush and strop, and the technique was passed from father to son. In France the razor earned its nickname coupe choux at this time, after a short infantry sabre of the same name. In England, people simply called it the cut throat, which says a lot about how much respect the blade commanded.

05The 20th century: the safety razor and the disposable blade

At the very start of the 20th century, a new razor arrived: the safety razor, with a small double edge blade you throw away once it is dull. It was patented in 1904 and became hugely popular during the First World War, when millions of soldiers received one in their kit. No more honing, no more risk of a deep cut: the straight razor lost its monopoly in a few years.

Then everything sped up. The electric razor appeared in the 1930s, multi blade cartridges and fully disposable razors in the 1970s. The straight razor became a thing for barbers and enthusiasts, and many cutlers closed down. Yet the object never vanished: too beautiful, too durable, and above all too pleasant for those who know how to use it. If you want the comfort of a single blade without the learning curve of a straight razor, an engraved olive wood safety razor (89.99 €) is a good middle ground.

06The return of traditional shaving

For about fifteen years now, traditional shaving has been coming back. Barbershops are reopening in every town, and a hot towel straight razor shave is once again a ritual men treat themselves to. At home, more and more men are returning to the brush, shaving soap and a single blade, for three simple reasons.

First, comfort: a well honed blade irritates less than a five blade cartridge that tugs at the hair. Second, budget and waste: a straight razor is bought once, and a safety razor costs a few cents per blade. Third, the pleasure of the ritual: taking ten minutes in the morning, away from screens, to do something with your hands. To put your kit together, read our article on the traditional shaving kit.

07The straight razor today: an object you keep and engrave

A modern straight razor has not changed much since the 19th century, and that is a good thing. At Ippos Beard, our engraved straight razor (49.99 €) keeps that classic shape, with a wooden handle we engrave by hand in our workshop in Burgundy, France. A first name, a date, a single word: the blade becomes a one of a kind object that joins the long line of razors passed down through families. It is the ideal gift for a man who loves beautiful things that last, and it sits naturally among our personalized beard accessories. For more ideas in the same spirit, our selection of engraved gifts for men will point you in the right direction.