Jacob Schick
Jacob Schick was an American inventor best known for creating the electric razor, a transformative product in personal grooming. Born in 1877 in Ottumwa, Iowa, he grew up in the southwestern United States, where early responsibilities in his father's coal business and military service shaped his inventive spirit. Schick served in the U.S. Army during the Philippines campaign and later in World War I, where he gained valuable insights that influenced his designs.
After the war, he patented the Magazine Repeating Razor, which featured replaceable blades, laying the groundwork for his future innovations. In 1931, he introduced his first electric razor, which revolutionized shaving by allowing for dry use. Despite facing patent disputes and fierce market competition, Schick's perseverance led to significant financial success and established his brand as a household name.
Moreover, Schick's diverse inventive pursuits included a unique pencil sharpener and improvements to engine design, although these ventures did not achieve the same level of commercial success. He passed away in 1937, but his legacy lives on through the widespread use of electric shavers, which continue to be a staple in grooming routines worldwide.
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Jacob Schick
American businessman
- Born: September 16, 1877
- Birthplace: Ottumwa, Iowa
- Died: July 3, 1937
- Place of death: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Schick spent most of his inventive efforts on developing the first successful electric razor, which could perform its operation dry, without the use of hot water, creams, or lotions.
Primary fields: Household products; manufacturing
Primary inventions: Electric razor; magazine repeating razor
Early Life
Jacob Schick was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1877 and grew up in the southwestern United States. His father was a coal mine operator. By the time Jacob was sixteen, he was entrusted with the operation of a rail line that ran from Los Corrillos, New Mexico, to a coal mine his father had opened. The responsibility for this mechanical system no doubt helped him with his inventive efforts later in life. In 1898, Schick enlisted in the Fourteenth U.S. Infantry, where his close observations of repeating rifles would later be applied to one of his first commercially successful inventions.
Life’s Work
After enlisting in the Army, Schick was shipped to the Philippines with the First Division, Eighth Army Corps, a few months later. He was commissioned second lieutenant and, after stateside service, returned to the Philippines, where he served from 1903 to 1905. Suffering from an attack of dysentery, he returned to the United States, where he was promoted to first lieutenant. He spent the next year recovering from his intestinal ailment.
Schick’s doctor suggested that a colder climate would be good for his health, and he went to Fort Collins in Alaska to join the Twenty-second Infantry. While helping to construct one thousand miles of telegraph lines in the Alaskan interior, Schick invented the General Jacobs Boat, which was said to be well suited for use in shallow water.
Schick retired from this first stint in the Army in 1910 and went prospecting in Alaska and British Columbia. It was during this time that he became inspired to design improved shaving devices. Not realizing any commercial success from his ideas, Schick was drawn back into service during World War I. He returned to active duty as a captain and was placed in charge of the U.S. embassy in London. By the end of the war, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, a title he often used for the remainder of this life.
By 1921, Schick was ready for his first business venture. He patented a shaver of standard design, except that it incorporated a feature whereby the blades could be replaced without touching them. Inspired by the Army’s repeating rifles, Schick’s Magazine Repeating Razor had replacement blades, stored in a clip in the handle, that could be fed in by pivoting the head and pushing a built-in lever. The razors were produced in three models between 1926 and 1935 and were the forerunners to the modern Schick Injector Razor. A drawback of these razors was that their blades required occasional replacement and had to be used with water and lotion. In 1928, Schick sold his interests in the Magazine Repeating Razor and focused on pursuing his real passion—creating an electric razor that could be used dry. Schick introduced his first model in 1931, and as the concept of dry shaving increased in popularity, a multimillion-dollar industry was born.
Success brings competition, and competition brings disagreements and patent arguments. Schick had his share of both: From price wars to distribution rights, his business was always plagued with turmoil. One example was Schick’s involvement in 1933 with promoter Archie Moulton Andrews, chairman of Dictograph Products. Andrews received permission from Schick to sell Schick’s dry shaver at the Chicago World’s Fair. The trouble started after the fair, when Andrews continued to sell the shaver without Schick’s consent. Shortly after, Andrews started to manufacture a rival electric shaver called the Packard Lektro-Shaver, which Schick saw as a direct patent infringement. Schick sued but lost. He continued to patent many improvements to his electric shavers and was able to become a millionaire despite fierce competition from several other manufacturers.
Schick’s career, with a few minor exceptions, centered on shaving devices. One invention not related to shaving was an improved pencil sharpener (he called it a “pencil knife”), which was patented on April 29, 1924. The sharpener was shaped like a tube into which one could insert the pencil. On November 24, 1931, Schick obtained a patent for an improved engine for cars or airplanes, but the device was never commercially produced.
Schick had some unusual ideas regarding shaving and age, believing that a man could extend his life by 120 years by proper everyday shaving. His theory was that a long life involved losing the ordinary mortal awareness of time. Unfortunately for Schick, his theory did not hold true for him: He died in 1937 at the age of fifty-nine from complications after a kidney operation. He was buried in Canada at Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec.
Impact
Every day, millions of men and women use electric shavers. The electric shaver has secured a permanent place in technological history. The name Schick will be long remembered, in part because of brand-name recognition. Like Coca-Cola and Budweiser, Schick became a dominant player in its market.
Schick was very determined to make his electrically powered razor a success. At one point, he had to mortgage his home for $10,000 to continue his efforts. He also was one of the early pioneers in the world market. He took the ideas of capitalism to heart, and he chose to incorporate his patent-holding company, Schick Industries, in Nassau, Bahamas, so as to minimize income taxes and corporate taxes. When the Joint Congressional Committee on Tax Evasion and Avoidance looked into his arrangements, he moved to Montreal and became a Canadian citizen in 1935. For this reason, he is sometimes listed as a Canadian inventor.
Bibliography
Fucini, Joseph, and Suzy Fucini. Entrepreneurs: The Men and Women Behind Famous Brand Names and How They Made It. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1985. Schick is represented in very few biographical anthologies of inventors. This entry provides details of his life as they relate to his inventions.
Stuller, Jay. “It’s a New Battle Every Day in the War on Whiskers.” Smithsonian 25, no. 11 (February, 1995): 44-47. With fifteen color photographs, this eight-page article is a concise and informative overview of the history of shaving. Discusses the Schick Shaving Center, where razors are tested daily.
Time. “Dry-Shave War.” November 16, 1936. Discusses the patent infringement battle between Schick and Andrews.