Love the look of the valet. I believe everything is still all original inside and may have never been used.
I can answer that. I'm a frequent Gem shaver (name the model and chances are I've shaved with it) and I was blown away by both the combination of mildness and efficiency of the Autostrops (A1, B1, B2). Now I need to clarify that I've only used earlier models which can take a de-spined Gem blade....I cannot speak to the shave the Valet models deliver using a Feather valet blade. I honestly thought that the Autostrop was just a quick pit-stop on my try-every-vintage-razor tour (i.e., RAD); but it has become one of my favorites -- definitely a "Top 5" razor, and that's from someone who has dozens of razors (I don't count them anymore because I scare myself).Do they shave good? They're quite common round these parts. How do they compare to Gems?
...just in case you want to poke your head into the "rabbit hole"
Very nice! I wonder what that razor would cost in today's US money? Not quite a million, but who knows what the Dow Jones will do tomorrow, lol!Love the look of the valet. I believe everything is still all original inside and may have never been used.
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I find the Autostrops to be more efficient and less aggressive than the Gem 1912. I would say it's comparable to my Open Comb Gem Damaskeene and my Gem Junior Bar in aggression. My definition of "aggression" is the attention to technique a razor requires before it bites and/or causes irritation. Low aggression razors are tolerant of less than perfect technique....high aggression razors will punish you quickly if you're not paying attention to your technique.So how does the shave compare to a Gem? Say a 1912? More/less aggressive etc?