Here's The Nifty Gadget Men Used To Sharpen Razors 70 Years Ago

When 21-year-old Erik Fritz Unneland opened an old box in his parents' living room, he had no idea what was inside.

"It was in a glass table in our living room in Norway, I just never bothered to open the box," Unneland told Business Insider. "I did not know it was a shaving kit."

Courtesy of Erik Fritz Unneland

The wooden box contained his Norwegian grandfather's old shaving kit from the 1940s, complete with backup blades, antique Gillette razors, a shaving brush, compact mirror, and more.

But the coolest part of the discovery was a mechanism that sharpened razor blades so you didn't have to buy new ones. Unneland and his father opened it up to see how it worked:

Pulling the string makes the gears move.

Courtesy of Erik Fritz Unneland

Here's how it looks from the back.

Courtesy of Erik Fritz Unneland

When a razor blade is placed on the device, the metal rubs against the interior, sharpening the blade.

Courtesy of Erik Fritz Unneland

It could then be popped back into the razor.

Courtesy of Erik Fritz Unneland

It should make us all feel fortunate that cheap packs of fresh razors are at every supermarket instead of having to reuse the same blade over and over again.

Check out more pictures of the shaving kit at Unneland's Imgur page.

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