New (to me) GEM and blades... huh, neat.

So, about a week or so ago(this is a late post ), I got in a vintage GEM from Ebay for $5, it sadly, cost me to more to ship it than to buy 

Anyway!

I had already got 4 blades in from Tryablade, so I was ready, and went ahead and started with the stainless steel blade and well, I was far less than impressed : It was tuggy and pully, and I ended up only doing part of my face with it before switching back to my Parker 22R, with a new Persona Med-Prep blade(more on that in another post, but, for now, liking that blade a lot!).  It's been a week and the Persona hasn't let me down yet, and I haven't had the want to try the GEM again, yet it stays sitting on my counter staring at me.  So, I caved just now and tried it again, this time I removed the Stainless blade and put in the PTFE one.

WOW!  What a difference!  Much smoother, no irritation beyond my trouble spot on the right hand side of my throat, and I was much happier with the overall shave! : So, I'll keep using it, backed up by my 22R or whatever DE I'm using with the new blades currently and hope things keep on the up and up!




As you can see by the date codes I took these a few days ago.  Was going to post then but wanted to wait until I tried it again before putting up my opinion.  Thankfully I did!

It looks to be in excellent condition, Shawn. Enjoy!

Dittos.

I don't think I've vere seen a g-Bar or even a Featherweight in bad condition after they got cleaned up.

There's a reason most of us prefer the SS ptfe blades. :-) If you ever get a more aggressive SE razor and find the ptfe blades too coarse, use them a few times in the g-bar then put them in the more aggressive razor.

^ Yep, that about sums it up.

Glad you discovered the quality shaves you can get with these razors with the right blades.

I have a Gem Micromatic OC and a Gem Pushbutton and the PTFE coated Gem blades give me a very close very comfortable shave. I love finding these razors at the local flea market and picking them up for next to nothing. Taking them home and cleaning them up as nice as the day they were made and using them. You really cannot beat the shaves these razors deliver. A few weeks ago I picked up a 1912 that I need to clean and sanitize. More like sanitize as it is so clean and shiny I wonder if its ever been used. I think I paid $5 for it. No better deal in shavedom.

Thanks, guys

Yay, I'm loving this razor, so I think I'll be keeping an eye out now for some SE razors to balance my DE razor collection

I do have the other two kinds of blades to try out, after that I'll put out an order for a small stock of them

It's cool to see someone newly discover these older, and IMO better, shaving instruments. Enjoy your journey and please keep us in the loop so that we can live vicariously through you. We've all been there.

Bear in mind that when you acquire SE razors that they begin in aggressiveness somewhere mid aggressive as compared to DE. You have one of those with the G-Bar. I know of only one SE razor that is milder. That would be the GEM Jr. Bar lather catcher. From the G-bar they just increase in aggression. Should you get one that doesn't agree with you, just hold onto it for a time. You may decide later that you actually like it. They don't cost much and you can always sell it later. You won't have much invested and just to have it "sitting there" doesn't tie up much money.

Earlier I mentioned aging a new GEM SS ptfe. I was not 100% accurate. The OCMM SEvette that I'm using loves fresh blades! Its the only aggressive SE razor that I have that gets along with my face using a fresh blade. One other gent from the UK agrees with that, and basically we discovered that independently but at much the same time. As far as aggressive razors go, the SEvette is off the scale since the comb is removed. The razor just holds the blade and all of what makes the OCMM a safety razor is removed. How odd that aging a blade would benefit an aggressive SE safety razor, but when the comb is removed the fresh blade is at it's best. I still haven't figured that one out. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

I just purchased a Gem 1912 myself and thought the exact same about the stainless blade, quite tuggy and not smooth. I'll swap it out for a PTFE blade and see how it goes!

I just picked us a Gem, gold tone with black Bakelite handle. Beautiful condition. I ordered Gem blades from Try a Blade (great service) and was surprised how aggressive the razor was.Lots of blade exposure. I wish I could figure out how to attach a photo on this forum. Anyway, since I shave for work every day I will save the Gem for when I skip a day on weekends.

I just picked us a Gem, gold tone with black Bakelite handle. Beautiful condition. I ordered Gem blades from Try a Blade (great service) and was surprised how aggressive the razor was.Lots of blade exposure. I wish I could figure out how to attach a photo on this forum. Anyway, since I shave for work every day I will save the Gem for when I skip a day on weekends.

Figaro, when posting and you want to add a photo, you will see three blue buttons just below the "Quick Reply." Click on the one that says "Open full editor" and a tool box will open at the top of the page.  Click on the black box with the "i" in it (for Imgur), choose the photo you want to upload and double click on it.  That's it.  One note, though; if you believe your photo is too big and want to shrink it, you must do that before loading it onto Imgur.  I hope this helps.