Design Life-Cycle

Viktor A. Rodriguez

Professor Christina Cogdell

DES040A – Winter Quarter 2026

March 13, 2026

Raw Material Inputs of the Double Edge Safety Razor

Shaving razors are some of the most widely used grooming tools globally. There are a few different kinds of razors, with the focus of this paper being on the double edge safety razor. This is the steel razor which houses a pure steel, double-edged disposable razor. This differs from other disposable razors because it does not contain any plastic or rubber and is a single large blade instead of multiple. One can argue that this razor is more environmentally friendly because of its lack of plastic with every blade, however even “greener” items have a net impact when produced. This paper will describe the raw material inputs which compose the double-edged safety razor—martensitic steel and its teflon coating—from their primary form out of the ground until their end-of-life disposal, in an effort to assess how environmentally friendly they are.

The primary raw materials which eventually compose the razor parts are like every other primary raw material—they come from the ground. Martensitic stainless steel is mainly composed of three elements: iron, carbon, and chromium (Ulbrich). The purpose of chromium in steel is to increase its corrosion resistance. Alongside these major components, steel also contains manganese and nickel as alloying elements to increase steel’s toughness and hardness. These minerals cannot be extracted from the Earth purely. Iron ore comes from the Earth in two main kinds of ore, hematite and magnetite. Chromium is first chromite ore, extracted from mines in Albania and other countries (Göler 1). Lastly, carbon is first extracted as metallurgical coal which must then be processed and refined (Kentucky Geological Survey). Next, you have the teflon coating which will eventually be applied to the steel blade. Teflon is composed of four main materials: fluorspar, hydrofluoric acid, chloroform, and water (Kintek). Fluorspar can be directly mined for calcium fluoride, whereas chloroform and hydrofluoric acid must be synthesized from other primary materials. We will need methane—natural gas—extracted during oil fracking, halite from mining for sodium chloride, and sulfuric acid from catalyzing sulfur dioxide produced when refining oil. Now that all the materials have been extracted from the Earth, they must be refined further before coming together.

The refining processes convert our primary raw materials into secondary raw materials, which are then ready to begin coming together before being manufactured into shape. First, the metallurgical coal will be turned into coking coal, a more pure form of carbon for the steelmaking process. This is achieved by heating the coal in the absence of oxygen (Kentucky Geological Survey). The chromite ore is also heated with a slightly different configuration, using a submerged arc furnace. It is smelted together with the coked coal in preparation for the steelmaking process (Pates). Iron ore is first reduced into pig iron via blast furnacing to remove some impurities (Beta Steel). The pig iron is too high in carbon content to be useful, so it is further reduced to pure iron via additional heating, such as by electric arc furnaces. This is not the only method used in steelmaking, however it is most commonly used when recycling steel. It is in the electric arc furnace where the iron is purified before alloying elements are thrown in, creating the final stainless steel product, one of the world’s most versatile and commonly used materials (Basson). The refining process for teflon involves a few different processes. First, chlorine gas must be obtained from the mined halite, which is achieved via electrolysis (The Chlorine Institute). Next, this chlorine is mixed with methane under a process known as free radical chlorination, to finally produce chloroform. The mined fluorspar is mixed with the obtained sulfuric acid under high heat, which produces hydrogen fluoride (Kintek). This hydrogen fluoride gas must then be dissolved in water to finally create the desired final “raw” material, hydrofluoric acid. Lastly, the now synthesized hydrofluoric acid and chloroform can be reacted together to create chlorodifluoromethane, which is then heated in a process known as pyrolysis which breaks down organic material. The product of this process is tetrafluoroethylene, or TFE for short, which is the precursor to the final teflon we desire. The ultimate step of converting TFE to PTFE—polytetrafluoroethylene—requires free radical polymerization, where the TFE is submerged in water and heated under high pressure. The newly produced PTFE is kept in a liquid medium to be sprayed onto desired products. Now that we finally have both martensitic stainless steel and teflon, we can manufacture the final products which compose the safety razor: the disposable blade and the handle.

The manufacturing process of the razor handle and blade holder can be considered simple compared to other processes already described. This process involves taking the raw stainless steel and machining it into the desired shape (Harvey Performance Company). Through the usage of CNC machining tools, the process can be largely automated, with the only additional material input being lubricant fluid applied to the tools to reduce friction, however this also depends on which exact process is utilized when producing the razor blade handle (Yanan et al.). If a process such as injection molding is used instead, it would require water or oil as an additional material input for cooling purposes, since it involves the usage of molten steel which would otherwise take too long to cool down. Next, the disposable razor blade must be manufactured. The blades are typically produced from stainless steel coils, which are flattened and rolled prior to arriving at the manufacturing plant (My-Blades). The coils undergo a process known as blanking, where the shape of the blade is stamped onto the sheets, which are then cut to the specified dimensions required. To harden the blades further, they typically undergo heat treatment, which likely requires a fossil fuel input to run the furnace, and water to cool the hot metal at the end. After hardening, the blades must be grinded and polished, finally sharpening the two long ends of the blade. Lastly, a teflon spray is coated onto the now finished razor blades, which is added to reduce friction and skin irritation when shaving. With this, the components of the double edge safety razor are finally ready to be packaged and sent out for consumer use. Since the razor blades are meant to be disposed of after only a couple of uses, it is important to track where they may end up. 

While the razor blade handle is perfectly reusable unless somehow damaged, the blades are machined to be cheap and disposable. Luckily, steel recycling is a reliable and prevalent process (Bjorkmann 1). The disposed razor blades are considered steel scrap, which is taken by steel plants to be recycled. As previously mentioned, the scrap steel is typically melted down using electric arc furnacing to create new steel products. Stainless steel is a favorable material for a disposable product to be made of because it is infinitely recyclable (Ternium). Unfortunately, the teflon coating applied to the disposable blades has no way of being recycled, and will simply burn off when the steel scrap is melted down. Thus, when making a new razor blade, another coat of teflon must be applied every time. 

In summary, the double edge safety razor as a whole is on the more environmentally friendly side, since it is nearly completely composed of a recyclable material, stainless steel. However, just because a product is recyclable does not mean that it is carbon-negative. It still takes energy and resources to recycle stainless steel, and the process of steelmaking has waste byproducts which must be taken into account. Furthermore, just because steel can be recycled does not mean it is, and we still produce more steel every year. Nevertheless, while the production process of steelmaking is an environmentally damaging process, namely the mining practices required to extract minerals from the Earth, stainless steel products such as razor blades have the capability to reduce overall waste by being recycled at the end of their life. Whether or not the steel is adequately recycled becomes a question of policy rather than of feasibility. Additionally, while teflon is not yet recyclable, there are exciting breakthroughs which may be able to change that. Published research suggests that PTFE can be successfully defluorinated, which would allow teflon to become environmentally benign (Lowe 1). Though this is still novel research and will probably take years to be applied, if it is applied at all. It must also be noted that while this paper highlighted the raw materials involved in the production of razors, it does not touch upon packaging materials such as cardboard, glue, plastic, or tape which are nearly guaranteed to be involved in the overall lifecycle of this product. Transportation inputs, such as shipping container boats and transportation vehicles are also not referenced, and the materials involved in these processes can be a paper of their own. To conclude, this disposable product has a variety of raw material inputs which all have environmental impacts attached to their extraction and synthesis. It should be a goal of civilization to try not only to manufacture products that are easily recyclable, but also to enforce policies encouraging their recycling as opposed to disposal. 

Bibliography

Beta Steel. “Where does steel come from?” betasteel, 1 March 2025, https://www.betasteel.com/blog/where-does-steel-come-from-_ae16.html. Accessed 10 March 2026.

Bjorkmann, Bo, and Caisa Samuelsson. “Recycling of Steel.” Handbook of Recycling: State-of-the-art for Practitioners, Analysts, and Scientists, edited by Ernst Worrell and Markus A. Reuter, Elsevier Science, 2014, pp. 65-83. Accessed 3 February 2026.

Chatterjee, Saikat, and Bapin Kumar Rout. “A Comprehensive Review of Nitrogen Control in the Current and Future Green Steelmaking Operations.” Metallurgical and Materials Transactions, vol. 56, 2025, pp. 6093-6117. Spring Nature Link, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11663-025-03716-3. Accessed 3 Feb 2026.

“Chlorine Manufacture.” The Chlorine Institute, https://www.chlorineinstitute.org/chlorine-manufacture. Accessed 10 March 2026.

Göler, Daniel, et al. “Kromi çan bllokadën – Albanian chromium mining revisited.” Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin, vol. 146, no. 4, 2015. Die Erde, https://www.die-erde.org/index.php/die-erde/article/view/232. Accessed 3 Feb 2026.

Harvey Performance Company. “Slaying Stainless Steel: Machining Guide.” In the Loupe, 19 June 2018, https://www.harveyperformance.com/in-the-loupe/stainless-steel-machining/. Accessed 10 March 2026.

How Products are Made. “How teflon is made - material, manufacture, making, history, used, processing, parts, steps, product.” How Products Are Made, https://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Teflon.html. Accessed 10 March 2026.

Kentucky Geological Survey. “Coal to Make Coke and Steel, Kentucky Geological Survey.” University of Kentucky, 17 November 2025, https://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coal-for-cokesteel.php. Accessed 10 March 2026.

Kintek. “What raw materials are used to create Teflon? From Simple Minerals to High-Performance PTFE.” KINTEK, Kintek Solutions, https://kintek-solution.com/faqs/what-raw-materials-are-used-to-create-teflon. Accessed 10 March 2026.

Lowe, Mathew E. “A Reductive Mechanochemical Approach Enabling Direct Upcycling of Fluoride from Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into Fine Chemicals.” Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 147, no. 44, 2025, pp. 40895–40899. pubs, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.5c14052. Accessed 10 March 2026.

My-Blades. “How Double Edge Safety Razors Are Made.” My-Blades, https://myblades.com/blogs/blades-beyond/how-double-edge-safety-razor-blades-are-made. Accessed 3 Feb 2026.

Pates, Mick J. “The Story of Chromium: Part 1.” CWB Group, https://www.cwbgroup.org/resources/articles/the-story-of-chromium-part-1. Accessed 10 March 2026.

“Steel Production.” American Iron and Steel Institute, https://www.steel.org/steel-technology/steel-production/. Accessed 3 February 2026.

Ternium. “Steel and the Circular Economy: The Perfect Example of Infinite Recycling.” ternium, 6 November 2025, https://us.ternium.com/en/media/news/steel-and-the-circular-economy--26063688025#:~:text=Steel%20is%20a%20durable%2C%20infinitely%20recyclable%20material,same%20mechanical%20characteristics%20as%20freshly%20made%20material. Accessed 10 March 2026.

Ulbrich. “What is Martensitic Stainless Steel and What Can It Do for Your Business?” Ulbrich Blog, https://www.ulbrich.com/blog/what-is-martensitic-stainless-steel-and-what-can-it-do-for-your-business/. Accessed 10 March 2026.

Yanan, Meng, et al. “Recycling prospect and sustainable lubrication mechanism of water-based MoS2 nano-lubricant for steel cold rolling process.” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 277, 2020. Science Direct, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652620340361. Accessed 3 Feb 2026.

Tori Creaves

Christina Cogdell

DES 40A

13 March 2026

Metal Safety Razor LCA: Waste and Emissions

The life cycle of a razor is an important process because it is a tool that is used on a daily basis by a majority of adults. Metal safety razors are designed for long-term use, making them one of the most environmentally friendly options for an extremely commonly used product. Their environmental benefits stem from their durable construction, presence of infinitely recyclable materials, and reduced plastic waste, however, these factors also depend on effective blade recycling and length of handle use. Although these razors are significantly more sustainable and better for the environment than their plastic counterparts, every step of their entire life cycle still contributes emissions and negative impacts that must be examined.

As opposed to the typical plastic disposable razor, the metal safety razor is designed to be a long-term tool with replaceable blades that is significantly more sustainable and durable. The majority of metal safety razors are made primarily of stainless steel, and because steel is an infinitely recyclable material, metal safety razors have the potential to produce much less waste than a disposable razor. While multiple phases of the metal razor’s production, manufacturing, and overall life cycle still produce significant waste, it is still one of the relatively sustainable options. 

The majority of metal safety razors are made entirely of stainless steel, including both the reusable handle and replaceable blades. The other additional material used in their production is Teflon, a type of PTFE lubricant solution. Coating the blade with this solution reduces friction between the blade and the skin, providing a smoother and more comfortable shave with less effort. Stainless steel is very durable, and it also provides a sharp edge as well as resistance to water corrosion, all of which make up the ideal razor. It can also be infinitely recycled, making it a highly sustainable material. PTFEs are much less so, as they are biodegradable and exist in the environment for an extended period of time. (He)

Stainless steel is made from iron, carbon, and chromium, all of which must be mined and extracted from the Earth. Mining creates a significant amount of waste, much of which can be hazardous. The extraction and blasting processes produce what is known as “mining waste”, a mix of soil, debris, and other material, as well as significant amounts of waste rock, sand, petrified materials, and a variety of materials that have undergone different levels of processing. (Das et al.) All of this waste can include additives that can be chemical, inorganic, or organic, and if the materials are not deemed useful or usable, are considered garbage. Metals are extracted from mined ores, often using extremely caustic and toxic substances like sodium cyanide and arsenic, and when the used ores are disposed of, these materials remain. (Das et al.) This waste can result in the contamination of groundwater and release of these hazardous substances into the environment. Coal mining in specific also results in an even wider variety of hazardous wastes, including acid mine drainage, coal waste impoundment, and ash ponds, all of which present a slew of environmental and public health challenges. (Carter)

Stainless steel is manufactured using an electric arc furnace, which melts down the iron, carbon, and chromium, as well as steel scrap, to combine them and remove impurities. The molten material is then placed into a tool called an AOD vessel, which reduces its carbon levels, a necessary step for the final product to be considered stainless steel rather than mild steel. (Specialty Steel Industry of North America) The steel is then further manufactured into the handle and blade of the razor. Handles are typically made through injection molding, die-casting, or CNC machining. They are often threaded for better grip and then polished. Blades are first punched out using a specialized high-speed die stamp, which forms the basic shape and cutting edge of the blade. The blades are then tempered and go through a process of grinding and polishing that shapes and sharpens the edges of the blade and removes imperfections to make the blade as safe as possible. (Xirui Manufacturing) After polishing, they are coated in Teflon, or PTFE, that reduces friction between the blade and skin, prevents corrosion, and enhances hardness. Wastes that result from stainless steel manufacturing include slag, a variety of lead and mineral dust, and metal scraps.

PTFE is made of four ingredients: fluorspar, hydrofluoric acid, chloroform, and water, which are combined and heated to temperatures over 1000°F in a process called pyrolysis. The resulting TFE is polymerized into PTFE by radical polymerization, and Teflon is born. (Martucci) This process is very hazardous as the material is highly flammable during its production, and produces byproducts of hydrogen fluoride, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. It also released toxic PFAs, also known as forever chemicals, which do not biodegrade and can leak into soil, water, and air. (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

There’s a wide variety of potential materials and, consequently, potential wastes to be associated with razor packaging depending on the choice of the manufacturer. Possible wastes include plastic wrappings, cardboard backings, and adhesives. However, many modern safety razor blades come in minimal packaging that is typically paper, cardboard, or some other type of compostable or recyclable material so as to stay as eco-friendly as possible. Because blades are incredibly compact, transport emissions and wastes are relatively minimal. Stainless steel is manufactured all over the world, so transportation wastes can be wide and varied. A large majority of stainless steel production takes place in China, so distribution to the U.S. would involve oceanic shipping lines, likely followed by land transport, both of which utilize fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases. (Pilcher)

Metal razor handles can last a lifetime as stainless steel is highly durable. It’s a waterproof material, and especially with the addition of a Teflon coating is particularly resistant to corrosion or rust. A 10-year minimum is standard, and can extend to 20+ when well-maintained. It can be brought to scrap metal recyclers to be reused at the end of its lifespan. Keeping both the handle and blade of the razor dry in between uses and storing it in an open space helps to prevent damage and unnecessary waste. Both the handle and blade should be regularly rinsed and periodically cleaned using warm water and soap or white vinegar in order to extend the lifespan as much as possible. They should also be regularly disassembled to prevent the blade from fusing to the handle, which would result in needless and premature disposal of a handle. The razor blade itself typically lasts approximately 1-2 weeks with regular use or 2-7 uses and can be recycled when dull. 

When it comes to razor blades, the method of recycling is incredibly important. Stainless steel blades can be recycled, but proper recycling can only be done with safety precautions taken. They must be placed in a blade bank to protect waste workers, taken to a scrap metal facility, or recycled through a specialized program. (“How To: Recycle My Razor Blades”) Because of these extra logistical challenges, many razors end up in landfills, which is incredibly dangerous for workers and results in 100% recyclable material not being utilized to its full potential. Recycling stainless steel does not cause degradation, meaning the quality of the metal is not reduced when it is recycled, and using recycled steel consumes significantly less energy than creating new steel, so these blades are valuable scrap. (Unified Alloys) They are simply sorted and can be melted down to create new products, beginning our life cycle all over again. The downside to this recycling process is the Teflon coating on the blades. When the stainless steel is melted down, so is the Teflon coating. The issue with this is that Teflon does not incinerate, so when the metal is melted, the Teflon is released as a highly corrosive and toxic vapor, which contributes to the presence of microplastics in the environment and general air pollution. Because of this major issue, Environmental Protection Agencies are working on significantly safer solutions and ways to recycle PTFEs, including irradiating the material and pulverizing it so that it may be reused. (Lakshmanan and Chakraborty)

Metal safety razors are designed for long-term use, making them one of the most environmentally friendly options for an extremely commonly used tool. They are made from 100% recyclable stainless steel, and while the blades must be regularly replaced, the handles are built to last a lifetime. The widespread and daily use of this item makes it even more important for it to be as sustainable and waste-free as possible. Unfortunately, despite a metal razor being one of the most ideal options on the market, the entire life cycle still produces significant wastes. It is difficult if not impossible to calculate the total emissions and wastes produced by all metal safety razors, but it is clear that there are significant amounts of each involved in every step of the life cycle. It will take continued investment in sustainable practices and options for production and recycling, such as new ways to prevent emissions from PTFE incineration, and an individual commitment to make the effort to recycle blades in order to make this a more environmentally friendly product with as little waste as possible. While there is lots to be said about the durability and materials used in a safety razor, there is still more work to be done to make the future of this product more sustainable.

Bibliography

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