First SE Shave.

[Esox]

Along with a Gillette NEW SC, which is still my favorite razor and a Post War Tech rabidus also sent me a GEM Bullet Tip and some carbon steel blades. I just finished my shave with it and one of those blades.

This may be a long post so bear with me and I have a few questions.

I was honestly a little intimidated by this razor. The shape of the head, the size of the head and how to maintain the proper angle over my chin and upper lip. None of that was as big an issue as I had imagined, but I did have a difficult time under my nose and over the points of my chin and along the edge of my jawline.

GEM Bullet Tip - Carbon steel blade
Stirling Sunflower Fields
Omega boar

52 hours since last shave.

Lather up as usual for my first WTG/XTG pass and I nearly stopped when I got onto my neck, the base of my neck especially. I found this blade extremely tuggy, painfully so. I stopped that stroke and relathered that spot and shaved faster. Still very tuggy and painful but I finished the entire pass with no other issues.

Wipe and check with a wet hand and was quite surprised at having so much stubble left, but lathered again and started XTG for a 3 pass shave. This pass went better and was about as tuggy as my first pass with the NEW SC with a mid pack blade so nothing new to me there.

Wipe and check with a wet hand again, stubble left as I had imagined. Lather again for my third ATG pass. Less tuggy again but it was still there.

After that pass I noticed that thus far through the entire shave I wasnt feeling the blade and I had no irritation at all. Smooth cool and comfortable skin, interesting. I still didnt have the BBS finish I strive for so I painted more lather over my neck and jawline and attacked again paying very close attention to the angle as I had the entire shave keeping the flat of the cap against my skin, firmly but gently, and started buffing.

The process of buffing and checking took me through another 4 passes as the razor gently whittled the stubble down over my chin, neck and jawline. As I got use to how this razor behaves, I would just give it a quick rinse and use the cap to spread water over my skin instead of lathering again, and the little remaining lather gave me more than enough slickness.

I finished with a very close BBS shave over all areas of my face and neck except along the edge of my jawline and points of my chin. The only irritation I had, which was gone by the time my face dried completely, was from the blade tugging the hairs over the two trouble spots on my neck, even on those final buffing strokes.

Obviously I need to use this razor more and learn it better but for a first shave it is a very nice and capable, if mild and gentle, tool. The blade I'm not so sure of...


Questions:

Is the sharpness of this blade typical of all SE blades, or would this be considered the "Derby Extra" of SE blades?

Are there sharper blades and if so, which would be considered the sharpest of them all, the "Feather" of the SE world?

I understand this to be the mildest of the GEM razors. If so, would that have been a part of the blade being so tuggy for me?

Someone has graciously mailed me an MMOC so I'll be able to compare the two soon, and I'm quite anxious now to try it because I understand it to be a beast by comparison to this Bullet Tip. Would an MMOC solve the tugging issue or is that solely a blade issue?

On the blade itself its stamped "009" and "RD". I'll assume the 009 means its .009" thick? Do SE blades vary by thickness? Does anyone know what the RD stands for? "Really Dull" comes to mind haha.

 

[Pepin]

I ordered a batch of PFTE blades for my GEM's; from Connaught Shaving in England.
I find that they are smoother for me.

Derby's are great DE blades, after all the motto here is YMMV.

 

[Esox]

I ordered a batch of PFTE blades for my GEM's; from Connaught Shaving in England.
I find that they are smoother for me.

Derby's are great DE blades, after all the motto here is YMMV.

I've read about the Ted Pella PTFE blades and I assume the blades at Connaught Shaving are the same blades.

I agree about Derby blades, I have 200 of them and use them regularly.

 

[rabidus]

GEM SS PTFE blades are much better.

Slap that blade on a sharpening stone and strop it, it might help.

These razors cut closer to the root of the stubble, which is tougher, so even a sharper blade may feel a little tuggy.

I can't use the carbon blades on my head shave, they can mow it down but BBS isn't happening, I can only use GEM SS PTFE.

The MMOC is going to get even closer to the root of the stubble.

 

[Esox]

Slap that blade on s sharpening stone and strop it, it might help.

I was just sitting here looking at my 6000 grit whetstone and thinking the very same thing. I know I can get those blades sharper and likely much sharper.

 

[Esox]

Well I just tested that on my stone. I left the pics at their full resolution.

These blades are surprisingly hard with a dual bevel. I'm not so surprised they were a tuggy now.

First pic is the blade edge after I shaved with it, then on the stone, and then after. I started with 30 strokes on the stone per side, dropping by one stroke each time the blade was flipped and finished with one stroke each side for ten strokes to keep the edge even, drawing it towards me to eliminate any wire edge forming.



You can see in the third pic, left side of the blade, how the edge is just starting to polish. I'll keep working on this blade just to satisfy my own possibly twisted curiosity lol, but I wont be doing this with each blade! Hopefully I'll have it honed to perfection in 48 hours for my next shave! lol

 

[rabidus]

Looking forward to how it performs after you sharpen it!

 

[kingfisher]

The stainless blades are much better. They are sharp and smooth. I don't feel tugging at all, and my stubble is coarse.

 

[imatabor]

I never had tugging from the blades. I do find the the first shave can be a little harsh but they mellow very quickly after that.

 

[Esox]

Second shave with the same blade after about 20 minutes on my whetstone.

First WTG pass, first stroke I thought to myself "ah yes, this is better". Still slightly tuggy below my jawline but finished the first pass with the only issue being the vacuum lock of the cap to my skin lol. This cap needs flutes so that doesnt happen.

Second pass XTG, tuggy again but I shaved through it. I did stop after that pass to flip the blade. Wipe and check and had considerable stubble still left. Lather up for directly ATG and very tuggy. I did finish that pass but wasnt where I had hoped to be and I didnt want to do another 3-4 passes with that blade so I switched to the SC with a Derby that had one shave on it.

Even shaving WTG the SC found uncut stubble which surprised me because I couldnt feel it with my hand. Another ATG pass and a single touch up and that was that.

For those of you that can shave with these blades, all the power to you but I sure cant. I really hope the PTFE are sharper.

I'm wondering if maybe this razor is just too mild? If I used a steeper angle it became even more tuggy and unusable to me. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, if anything. I really think these particular blades just cant do it for me.

 

[rabidus]

The GEM SS PTFE blades are definitely better and the MMOC is definitely more efficient than the Bullet tip.

From you reviews, your beard is more coarse than mine.


The carbon blades are a no go on my head shave. They will mow it down but BBS isn't happening, stainless steel all the way.

Get some SS PTFE blades!

 

[Esox]

Wooooo more shopping! LOL

I need to make a soap order soon so I'll add some blades to it.

On a side note, the pre 48 Aristocrat I bought still hasnt arrived from Greece so one of those will likely be on my list by the end of the month as well.

 

[polishaver]

I have course facial hair and the carbon blades are about worthless for me, but the ptfe one's are very sharp and smooth. I find the 2nd and 3rd shaves to be smoother than the 1st. Get some ptfe blades and a 1914 and call it a day!
I found all the micromatics, even the mmoc inefficient. Ymmv

 

[rabidus]

I found all the micromatic mmoc inefficient.

What angle did you use with the MMOC? Do you use the 1914 and MMOC at the same angle? Flat to fairly flat on the face and it's hard to beat.

I'm really not sure how you can like one without liking the other! Unless you use the MMOC too steep.

 

[rudyt]

I'm really not sure how you can like one without liking the other! Unless you use the MMOC too steep.

I think that's the reason. I always shave at the steepest angle the razor will support and i much prefer the 1914; it's my favorite and most efficient SE razor.

Yesterday, as an experiment, I tried to shave with a 1912 at a shallow angle. Nope. Switched to my more natural feeling steeper angle to finish the shave.

 

[polishaver]

I should clarify that while the mmoc did work the best of the micromatics, it just doesn't work as well as my 1914s and 1912s. I only used it a handful of times and then gave it to a friend, so I didn't really spend a lot of time withe the razor.

 

[Esox]

I tried a steeper angle in hopes it may scrape more smoothly than it cut lol, but nope. Much more uncomfortable shave when I tried that.

I get the idea of how they're meant to work and I really have no doubt that with a sharper blade it will work very well. Its sort of like a NEW SC on steroids. Extremely rigid and robust razor. Using the cap as a guide to the proper angle in my mind it should be highly effective. It just needs a sharp enough blade. Hopefully the PTFE will be sharp enough for me.

 

[Carlos Da Noob]

I use a regular SS blade I get in Walgreens. Sometimes the first shave is a bit awkward, but the second and third are very smooth. Some people report having used carbon steel blades successfully, but that has NOT been my experience. I strongly suggest sourcing stainless blades.

The MM is a substantial razor, so sometimes I just let it glide (NO pressure), both WTG and XTG. Stretching the skin for ATG passes in trouble spots (akin to straight razor shaving) has been a great help for me as well. Do mind that I take my time doing more than one WTG pass, and do various XTG passes from different angles before going XTG.

My start with the MM was also a rocky one. Patience was key for me getting to enjoy these babies. Learning the angle, learning the strokes, learning the technique... Be persistent - they're stubborn little buggers. However, once you start dialing it in, you'll see phenomenal results.

 

[Esox]

I use a regular SS blade I get in Walgreens. Sometimes the first shave is a bit awkward, but the second and third are very smooth. Some people report having used carbon steel blades successfully, but that has NOT been my experience. I strongly suggest sourcing stainless blades.

The MM is a substantial razor, so sometimes I just let it glide (NO pressure), both WTG and XTG. Stretching the skin for ATG passes in trouble spots (akin to straight razor shaving) has been a great help for me as well. Do mind that I take my time doing more than one WTG pass, and do various XTG passes from different angles before going XTG.

My start with the MM was also a rocky one. Patience was key for me getting to enjoy these babies. Learning the angle, learning the strokes, learning the technique... Be persistent - they're stubborn little buggers. However, once you start dialing it in, you'll see phenomenal results.

The only SE blades I've seen locally are utility blades in hardware stores. I dont think they'd work any better than the carbon blades I have lol.

It is more difficult to me holding the proper angle over my chin and jawline. That will take some practice. I look forward to it with a nice blade.

 

[Johnnynroy]

Interesting to see you started up with SE shaving @Esox! I just got in some GEM style razors, tried the heavy flat top/G bar yesterday but my angle was way too steep and I'm sure I was using too much pressure. The burn from my aftershave was very intense, I'll fix the angle/pressure issues and see how it goes. I also had issues with having lots of stubble left over after my WTG and 1st XTG pass. Second XTG got it mostly gone, then minimal ATG on a few areas got me DFS, maybe even BBS. Had far more irritation and weepers than I'm used to, but improved over an hour or so. These razors definitely punish poor technique. I shouldn't have tried my first shave when I was rushing to get to work...

I did use a SS PTFE blade that the seller was kind enough to put in for me. Hoping better technique will allow me to bring the best out of these razors. I really liked how close it got, and I probably could have gotten away with not shaving today.