A month now with a pair of 1912s

[Galhatz]

Hi all.

A month ago I moved to a new apartment. Packing was haphazard and without too much time in my hands I put all my shaving gear in one large box: a couple of dozen of SE, DE, brushes etc.
Whatever was on the previous counter got into the travel bag:
Two Ever Ready 1912s, a Vie Long horse hair brush and a tin of Mike's.

Since the move I looked into the box once: to grab an Omega boar brush and a tube of Ingram's (nothing beats Ingram in the hot Israeli summer).

That's it.

I have a non trivial collection: vintage and new DEs, most of the SE vintage range, Feather Artist Clubs... I miss none.

The humble 1912 is just so perfect: once the angle and direction are dialed in it is an irritation-free DFS++ every morning or BBS every 36 hours.

What a remarkable design. My first SE was a Damaskeene, the first 1912, but the Ever Ready models that followed are practically the same except for being slightly more efficient, or less mild if you like.

It has been a while when I went through a vintage hoarding phase. These were very cheap on the bay then. Prices went up a bit but it calmed down.

Every one should have one, IMO.

Cheers,

Erez

 

[jar_]

Or more.

 

[rabidus]

I have a non trivial collection: vintage and new DEs, most of the SE vintage range, Feather Artist Clubs... I miss none.

If you can wield a GEM, it will not disappoint!

The GEM blade is an excellent blade, I'm enjoying the later GEM razors and they are outstanding.

GEM's are leading the pack for me, with DE and Schick following close behind and AC razors pulling up the rear.

 

[BSAGuy]

I could not get the Gems to work as well as DE's, but glad it is working so well for you. Enjoy the shaves.

 

[cryhavoc]

I couldn't agree more, the 1912 is my favorite SE and it gets called upon the most!

 

[troy]

1912s are my favorite Gem style SE, and the Ever Readys are the best of the bunch.

 

[santamariasteve]

1912s are my favorite Gem style SE, and the Ever Readys are the best of the bunch.

Why do you say the Ever-Ready's are the best of the 1912's? I'm inclined to agree, but I'm not sure why I feel that way.

 

[troy]

Why do you say the Ever-Ready's are the best of the 1912's? I'm inclined to agree, but I'm not sure why I feel that way.

I'm not entirely sure why. I do like the chain link that most ERs seem to have, especially the shorter travel version, but I have Gems with the same handle. The ERs just seem to be a little more efficient and just as smooth to me. I don't know if I could actually tell in a blind test though. Maybe it's just because my first 1912 was an ER, something about them just seems a little better.

 

[jmudrick]

I'm not entirely sure why. I do like the chain link that most ERs seem to have, especially the shorter travel version, but I have Gems with the same handle. The ERs just seem to be a little more efficient and just as smooth to me. I don't know if I could actually tell in a blind test though. Maybe it's just because my first 1912 was an ER, something about them just seems a little better.

They seem exactly the same to me.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Dave Deluxe]

Maybe it's because the ER version of the "1912" was put into production later and by then it had been perfected. Take a look at this chart I snagged from another site. You can see the ER version of the "1912" wasn't introduced till 1930.

 

[Dave Deluxe]

I find in most cases I prefer the ER version of the 1912, to the Damaskeene 1912.

 

[jmudrick]

Maybe it's because the ER version of the "1912" was put into production later and by then it had been perfected. Take a look at this chart I snagged from another site. You can see the ER version of the "1912" wasn't introduced till 1930.

View attachment 801764

Setting aside the Damaskeene, a completely different razor, what's the difference then? I sold the Ever Ready and kept the GEM as the original. I think folks imagine differences where the are none, or where there are things like spring tension, or bent springs are more likely to make a difference than any miniscule difference in design.

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[Galhatz]

I have a few ER and GEMs.
They are from different periods and you can see slight differences. The older models have the corners of the comb flaring out a bit.
Even if the variations are not intentional by design, at the end they are there. How many factories made these? How strict was checking for tolerances?

In general, I find the ER slightly milder and smoother.
I also have a "Made in England" ER and these are more aggressive.