Nickerson has been called "the mechanical genius behind the safety razor,"[3] and received patents for hardening and sharpening the blades.

[8] In 1889, Nickerson joined a company creating light bulbs—he worked on a vacuum pump, necessary to remove air from inside the bulb.

[11] While the technology was successful, Nickerson's firm was put out of business in 1895 due to price cuts by the Edison Company.

[17] This time, after longer review, he "envisioned machinery that would harden and sharpen the thin steel blades to a keen cutting edge.

[23] After Gillette secured additional investors (and funding) for the company, Nickerson was creating sample blades in April.

[25] In his later years, Nickerson was a trustee of Boston University (BU), and he donated funds for the school's college football field in Weston, Massachusetts, which was named in his honor.