Everready 1914 razor VS Everready 1924 razor

[Ron R]

As I built up my razor collection I have come across these two razors at reasonable prices, yet they are hardly mentioned on the forums it seems.
Who still uses these two razors?
I have recently purchase a ER 1914 (Little lather catcher) almost like new, I also have a ER1924 (Shovel head) almost like new so that might indicate they were well cared for or not used that much & some other razors at the time became the rave and were forgotten because that is the way guys are with cars.......
I have not used the ER 1914 and will be the first one to enjoy my shave experience of the two, the ER 1924 I have used a few times.
I will use both razors continuous of daily shaving for a week each & give my opinion at the end of a week of use of that particular razor performance and rating IMO.

 

[L.A. Jones]

Very nice.

 

[Flintstone65]

View attachment 1010689
As I built up my razor collection I have come across these two razors at reasonable prices, yet they are hardly mentioned on the forums it seems.
Who still uses these two razors?
I have recently purchase a ER 1914 (Little lather catcher) almost like new, I also have a ER1924 (Shovel head) almost like new so that might indicate they were well cared for or not used that much & some other razors at the time became the rave and were forgotten because that is the way guys are with cars.......
I have not used the ER 1914 and will be the first one to enjoy my shave experience of the two, the ER 1924 I have used a few times.
I will use both razors continuous daily shaving for a week each & give my opinion at the end of a week of use of that particular razor performance and rating IMO.

Great pic and great (IMO) razors!!! I have and use both. I'm curious to see where you come out on these two. I can't say that I noticed stark differences between them in terms of a shave. I will admit that I tend to prefer my Shovel Head with a longer handle, and I use a inset screw in a modern handle to shave with it. I would also say the LLC is a touch more efficient and potentially a little more aggressive (again, IMO) than the Shovel Head. Looking forward to your comparison.

 

[Ron R]

1st shave with this older razor was great and looking forward to a week of use.
Result so far CCS,DFS,BBS and the Alum block indicated no issues of irritation. The blade I'm using is a Gem Personna SS PTFE (3rd use). The razor is smooth, forgiving and indicating a great razor already.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Ron R]

I will admit that I tend to prefer my Shovel Head with a longer handle, and I use a inset screw in a modern handle to shave with it.

Well @Flintstone65 Fred I have to agree on the longer handle, I think my razor was a travel kit one & was to short a handle for me.
I had a Everready Streamline strop handle that was seeing no use so I but it to use and it seems to work ok with my Shovel head.
Have some great shaves!

 

[cryhavoc]

I have both the ER 1914 and the ER 1924 Shovel Head and they are both great razors, of the two the 1914 is my favorite.
The 1914 is neck and neck with my 1912's as my favorite SE.
I hope you enjoy both of those beautiful razors!

 

[santamariasteve]

I prefer the 1924 Ever-Ready "Shovelhead" for my tough course whiskers. It's slightly more aggressive than the 1914, it is easier to open, it has a larger handle, and it is easier to clean. It's also easier to clean than the 1912.

I like the 1912, the 1914, and the 1924, but my favorite is the 1924 Ever-Ready "Shovelhead."

 

[Graydog]

 

[Ron R]

View attachment 1011003

Very nice set up, I know you like the 1914 and you mentioned the razor likes to sing and I thought about that one and even Everready must of thought their razor sang also. The audio is nice and so When I came across this Advertisement I had to make sure it was included.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Ron R]

I always like looking at old advertisements from the day they were razor of choice. The competition was stiff and so they were into blade sales to keep their business models going from what I understand. I did some research into what a 1 US dollar was in 1916 comparing 2019 dollar(103 yrs later) would be the equivalent of $24.39 adjusted for inflation when these were just being introduced to the public & very popular no doubt.
I borrowed this picture from a BB thread.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Old Hippie]

Don't have a Shovelhead, but I've ridden a few. [grin] My wife had a 1980 Sturgis (FXB) that would boot yer bum over the handlebars if you weren't careful where the pistons were when you kicked it over cold.

But the razor? Not yet, anyway.

I do love my LLC! I find it to be better for me than the Gem 1912, but the final decision ain't in on that yet. It's almost as good as the MMOC in terms of closeness, and way better than the MMOC in terms of post-shave irritation. Like others I prefer it with a longer and heavier handle on it.

O.H.

 

[Ron R]

I should mention that the 1914 had some changes to the blade keepers also over it's evolution of production.

The 1st generation type had small blade keepers that are on my razor and they work very well, at least no issues with mine and they did the job they were intended to do.

Generation type 2 blade keeper are better in some ways because they do not allow the blade to wander when closing the lid and when opening to remove blade as some claim. All Everready 1914 models eventually went to this blade keeper style and the 1924 models all have them it seems.
So if you have the small blade keepers your razor is one of the earlier 1914 models.
The hooks along the inside of base plate were there to hold the earlier generation blades down and towards the blade keepers as the cap was being closed under spring tension but were from a earlier blade design that did not have the side blade cut outs. The side base plate keepers are almost useless with the newer GEM blades we use today.

The blade side cut outs were brought into being during 1930's for the first ever TTO(twist to open) made in the USA for the GEM Micromatics that blew out a lot of the competition and gave Gillette a run for existence during the dirty thirties.
Gem & A.S.R were first in a lot of engineering shaving innovations in the shaving world like the first TTO, they were like 3 to 5 yrs ahead of Gillette.
Have some great shaves!

 

[Dave Deluxe]

I have both the 1914 (later version) & the 1924. I don't use either very much but prefer the 1914. The 1924 is my least favorite of the GEM/EveryReady line.

 

[Ron R]

Everready 1914 (Little lather catcher, LLC ) mfg 1914-17

Weight: 1.8 oz (52 grams)

Blade Gap: .017 thousands of a inch (.432 mm)

Blade Exposure: Positive

Blade used: GEM Personna SS PTFE

Material: Brass head coated with Nickel alloy + steel handle with Nickel alloy coating.

Handling: One of the easiest razors to use possibly that uses a GEM blade IMO.
Results were stellar and smooth with very little irritation and that is a bonus for most of us. I never really felt threatened at all while into the 1st shave.

Shave #2 , I liked this razor right from Shave #1 and decided to put it right a way into the E.R slide maneuver 3 or 4 times, tried some buffing with no problems and “J” hooking maneuver was pleasant. Results CCS,DFS,BBS + Alum block indicated no irritation.

Shave #3, I decided to try adding a little more pressure to razor while stroking my face (A NO,NO for some) and it still gave enough protection also to give me a CCS,DFS,BBSwith buffing the troubled areas with no issues. Alum block indicated no irritation and after a few minutes of skin rest looked like my normal complexion.

Shave #4, Good all a round shave with nothing dramatic. I find this razor excellent for buffing. Results CCS,DFS,BBS & Alum block indicating minimal irritation.

Shave #5 was a easy going shave, I find the razor will take a little pressure with out biting and smoothness is excellent.
Results CCS,DFS,BBS & alum block indicated minimal irritation. Razor is indicating a excellent daily driver potential.

Shave #6, this razor for it time period must of been a hot seller in sales because it performs well with a modern Gem blade with the thinner spline, Everready were promoting their blades like Corrux & Radio blades with much thicker splines for the time period. Just great Audio feed back as if cuts whiskers and can be used to make slight adjustments as the shave proceeds making another positive for the razor.
Results CCS,DFS,BBS & Alum block indicates minimal irritation.

Shave #7 is the last shave before I start using the ER 1924 shovel head model for another 7 consecutive shaves of daily shaving. I will install a new blade to see how it behaves for 1st shave. Gem blades are one of the sharpest blades on the planet and 1st have can be a little rough sometimes.
The shave went well and no big surprizes and I felt I knew the chartristics of this razor well and just did a routine great shave with a new blade installed.
Results: CCS,DFS,BBS + Alum block indicating a minor irritation around the chin area today =

Conclusion : The Everready 1914 LLC is a great razor and will give the operator a smooth and close shave with reasonable hand technique. ER 1914 razor is also a excellent daily driver that is a important characteristic to some of us. The quality of the razor is very high and coatings are excellent and thick to stand the test of time.(over 100 yr old razor)
This razor has no blade overhang that is another plus and for trapping water inside the head when rinsing was not a issue for myself or tens of thousands of others. Installing and removing blades was not a issue, just hold it flat and level and slowly raise the cap to release spring pressure on the blade. Audio feed back is good and some like that- myself included because it signals possible clean up areas or missed areas. Expect shaves to be CCS,DFS,BBS range with reasonable hand technique with minimal irritation to make your shaving a great experience. I’m very happy to add this ER 1914 to my razor rotation and look forward to using it when I pick the ER 1914 up for another shave in the future.

Some information for folks who have no Everready owner manuals and a little extra information on the Gem blade grind .......



Have some great shaves!

 

[Ron R]

Started my second part of the ER1914 LLC vs ER 1924 Shovel head,shave comparisons. This 1st shave will be the start of 7 consecutive days of daily shaving. The blade is on it's 2nd use and should be in prime condition for it's testing.
The ER 1924 gave me a reasonable shave and had one blemish weeper on the chin area and had some irritation indicated from the Alum block test.
Results: CCS,DFS,BBS + Alum block indicated some irritation around one side of the neck=

I found the ER1924 handle a little to small & swapped for a ER Streamline strop handle and like that arrangement better. (This ER 1924 could of been the travel variant because of the small handle!?)
Have some great shaves!

 

[Ron R]

The Everready 1924 was more than likely conceived before the 1914 model, in their Everready factory in Great Britain or UK by a engineer by the name of J Bueno De Mesquita who designed a model called the THE NEW 1909. They did Mfg in a limited quantity or a balloon trials for this interesting modern razor for it's time period.
As you will notice not a whole lot of difference between the 1909 and later model 1924. They are great razors and have a unique appearance IMO.

You can see the Pat # date on the above photo!

That is a great looking razor called THE NEW 1909 and shaves good .
Have some great shaves!

 

[shave/brush]

I prefer the ER-1914 over the ER-1924. I didn't find the 1924 to be as smooth as the 1914.
I like the small handle on the 1914. They all came with a small handle. Some were round and some were hexagon. I prefer the hex handle. I think they were on the newer version.

 

[Ron R]

I prefer the ER-1914 over the ER-1924. I didn't find the 1924 to be as smooth as the 1914.
I like the small handle on the 1914. They all came with a small handle. Some were round and some were hexagon. I prefer the hex handle. I think they were on the newer version.

I like my 1914 handle that is round and knurled with a nickel coating but the hexagon nickel coated handle on my 1924 shovel head seemed out of proportion to the head so I changed it out. According to Everready the angle of approach to face is a little more steeper than my Gem razors and maybe that is why folks find the shaves different. Audio feed back is important with this 1924 razor performance IMO. I like the shave it presents and I'm taking a liking to it already.
I'm still dialing in my 1924 in so I get a CCS,DFS,BBS range that is my sweet spot that I enjoy the most, to days shave was a BBs that was very close shave sometimes you get a little irritation with that good a shave.

Compared to the GEM owners instruction pamphlet.

Have some great shaves!

 

[shave/brush]

The 1914 had a smooth hex handle different from what you have.

 

[Ron R]

Like I mentioned earlier that I like looking at advertisements from the days when the razors were very popular. Some companys had large budgets for this activity to bring in possible customers to their brand.
Everready had a tiny budget IMO for this razor and I looked all over the place for something and it was the roaring 1920's when there was a lot of prosperity and electricity was revolutionizing the world with new gadgets.(oh forgot it's manual shaving) Our shaving brother @jmudrick was able to find some information on one advertisement so I'm grateful, it indicates their business model was to get a person buying blades no doubt.

1924 advertisement.
Have some great shaves!