Clemak SE - A Great British Surprise!

[mjclark]

To be honest I wasn't expecting much from the Edwardian Clemak.
A good shaving friend of mine whose opinion on SEs I greatly respect described this razor as "a cheap piece of trash."
He's an ER 1912 man so I can understand why this razor was not for him, and perhaps he had a different model.
There were a few different sets between about 1908 and WW2, some with an automatic stropper as well.
Mine has a stropping attachment in the handle.

And I was very surprised to find that this is an EXCELLENT razor.
Well made, well balanced and a smooth yet extremely aggressive shaver.
It takes the standard GEM blades and the blade holder pivots out.
The blade is held against the stops by a sprung clip.

 

[mjclark]

Really this is everything I want in a GEM type SE - lots of blade feel yet smooth with a very intuitive angle and absolutely no tendency to bite.
It felt impossible to cut myself yet it was an incredibly efficient shave.
Very clever....
...the Clemak advertising claims that this razor is suitable for shaving in low lighting conditions and even in the dark. I can well believe it and this lovely razor has renewed my interest in vintage SEs.
Off to work now with a Clemak shave off a NOS Star blade and feeling like a million $$s [emoji3]

 

[Highspeedlane]

Great review and a pics. The stropping attachment is very ingenious.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Feather-man]

I like it. Wish modern SEs had its aesthetics.

 

[gvw755]

Just when I FINALLY acquire a Kampfe Star with wedge blades and stropping attachment, you show this. Okay, not like I got better things to do than to search around for a Clemak now. mjclark, you are just evil!

 

[BSAGuy]

That's a cool razor. Enjoy.

 

[TobyC]

Is there nothing to push the blade forward into the stops? Looks like it just clamps down,... like a miniature clip board.

Looks cool!

 

[TobyC]

Nevermind, I see now!

 

[TobyC]

 

[Highspeedlane]

Very cool Toby! Love those vintage ads.

 

[TobyC]

Very cool Toby! Love those vintage ads.

Want more?

 

[Highspeedlane]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[TobyC]

https://books.google.com/books?id=4...B1gQ6AEIPDAE#v=onepage&q=Clemak razor&f=false

 

[xxvaleria]

Fascinating razor.

 

[mjclark]

Thanks [MENTION=89729]TobyC[/MENTION]

It looks like the same design in all those ads.
What a great razor this is!

 

[malocchio]

Great find !...love these antique ads !

 

[Minniegoon]

Thanks for the info, there was one of these in my junk shop find. I didn't have a clue what it was!

 

[creekwalker]

Just when I FINALLY acquire a Kampfe Star with wedge blades and stropping attachment, you show this. Okay, not like I got better things to do than to search around for a Clemak now. mjclark, you are just evil!

This is really late, but I want to second this

 

[mjclark]

This is really late, but I want to second this

“Et in Arcadia ego”

 

[creekwalker]

“Et in Arcadia ego”

What the hell, I wasn't in paradise anyway...