His biggest dream became a reality

In a hurry, Gillette went to a hardware store and "purchased steel ribbon, some pieces of brass, files, and a small vise, and began creating a model of his idea" that very day. The following letter from Gillette to his wife, who was in Ohio visiting her relatives, began, "I have got it; our money is made."

Gillette had big expectations of himself. He had the intention of "first building a better world, then a better razor blade." Over the next few years, he had trouble achieving both of his objectives. He applied for the first patent on the invention he had created four summers earlier on August 11, 1899, describing it as "novel in the art of razor manufacture and use." Technical experts informed Gillette that it was not possible to produce steel that was hard, thin, and affordable enough to be used to make disposable blades in the interim. Gillette did not back down.

Early in 1900, his luck changed. Gillette met Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus William Emery Nickerson through shared business contacts. Nickerson was recognized for taking a little idea and turning it into a reality. He was a skilled inventor but not much of a businessman. Nickerson consented to participate in the endeavor. An interesting detail about King Gillette is that it took them around five years and a significant amount of their capital to find someone who would give them a machine that will sharpen thin metal sheets. When that happened, he was 45 years old.