I found a nice looking featherweight in the case and was excited to try it. I have a number of GEM and EverReady razors that I have enjoyed and executed excellent shaves with. Something about this one just escapes me. Cheeks and neck areas are acceptable and I think I need to improve on reducing pressure there. Chin and lip are another story. I have created a half dozen nicks and scratches and have decided to give up for a while. I am not sure I like the lightness in combination with the handle shape. I think I am trying to maneuver the razor rather than make a smooth pass and let it do the work. All of the other SE razors that I won have been pretty much pick them up and use them. I think this is my first real disappointment in 3 years of shaving. Hoping to prevail after a break. Maybe someone in this forum has some hints.
Featherweight kicked this heavyweight's butt.
- Thread starter Chesty
- Start date
Brother Chesty,
I had a similar experience. My beard is heavy weight, and generally I find heavy weight razors are better for me to shave with. How heavy is your beard?
A close relative to the Gem Feather Weight is the Gem G Bar razor. It's heavier and does a better job.
FYI your Feather Weight razor dates from 1953-1958.
I had a similar experience. My beard is heavy weight, and generally I find heavy weight razors are better for me to shave with. How heavy is your beard?
A close relative to the Gem Feather Weight is the Gem G Bar razor. It's heavier and does a better job.
FYI your Feather Weight razor dates from 1953-1958.
The Pushbutton has the same head but is heavier with different handle ergonomics. It's one of my favorite SEs and might do the trick for your heavier beard.
- Thread starter
- #4
Maybe a micromatic???
So have you tried it again yet ?
I never cared for the Featherweight. It felt cheap and the handle was too small for me to hold comfortably. It is a mild razor that for me borderlined with ineffective, so I am surprised you managed to cut yourself with it,it could be defective.
Honestly, I'd invest my time and shaves in better razors
Honestly, I'd invest my time and shaves in better razors
Yea the Feather Weight is one cheap
Looking razor , I never liked it for that
Reason alone , however top notch shavers
Are getting great shaves with that quasi
Toy and writing about it on the B&B all
The time.. No wonder the shavers of the
1950s lost faith in Gem Razors they
released the Feather Weight just in
Time to compete with the Gillette fatboy.
I don't view anything that is said here as a contest and I feel I have nothing to prove.
If a razor works for me and it using it brings me satisfaction, that is my only concern.
If someone is getting a great shave with a razor I think is a poor choice for me - what do I care? Am I going to discover an unknown shave-nirvana if I just applied myself to it? No.... not really... there is a lot of hype here. Some intentional and some with the best intentions in heart.
The Feather Weight was released in 1950. But point taken, they were flimsy compared to Gillette offerings of the time. I'm sure there were plenty who thought the light weight was a feature not a problem, though it's hard to imagine that now.
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I didn't mean for it to sound like a
Contest. But you and I can agree that
The Fether Weight is a cheap looking
Razor , however in the market place
Of the 1950s a new customer walks
Up to the counter to buy a razor and
There sits a Gem Fether Weight next
To a Gillette Fatboy at that point it is
Indeed a competition of the Gem Co.
Vs the Gillette Co.
Thats all I was trying to say.
The fatboy was over 60$ in today's money if i am not mistaken. Cheaper options would be a tech, a star de, schick injector, some other off brand or store brand and the Gem.
Gillette with the tech had a winning ace because it was mild enough such that novices would be able to get a good shave even with poor technique.
The gem and ever ready razors were not as forgiving to user errors.
ASR later models gradually became milder until the last gem model which was borderline ineffective.
Gillette with the tech had a winning ace because it was mild enough such that novices would be able to get a good shave even with poor technique.
The gem and ever ready razors were not as forgiving to user errors.
ASR later models gradually became milder until the last gem model which was borderline ineffective.
I believe you are mistaken. The Gillette 195 sold for, well, $1.95. This is more like around $30 in today's money.
According to the Inflation Calculator, $1.95 in 1960 was equal to about $17 dollars in 2018.
Please keep in mind that they were
Looking at the money of the 1950s
The customer at the counter is looking
At a $1.49 Fether Weight and a $1.95
Fatboy and the side by side visual
Impact is undeniable. The reason I use
The Fatboy in my scenario is because
When the Fatboy was the latest Gillette
Model and on the shelves in all the Rexall
Stores throughout the Midwest , the
Fether Weight and maybe the Push Button
Were the only Gem models on display in
The retail stores being sold as the latest
Models.
Your thoughts please.
I am not a huge GEM guy, but I have most of them collected over the years. When I do go to shave with a GEM I often will grab a Featherweight. I get really good shaves from it, and it’s quite agile and maneuverable for me. A light touch and the proper angle will provide results. I also really enjoy the Clog Pruf as well. The others not as much as those two.
As I pointed out above the Feather Weight was introduced ten years before the Fatboy . It generally sold for 98 cents including blades , often including shaving cream as well. The Push Button would have appeared along side the Fatboy, generally priced about like the Feather Weight
The featherweight never got along with my face. The pushbutton, on the other hand, allows me to fly through my shave get nearly BBS without any irritation day after day.
Yes you are right, however when the
Fatboy was released and on the shelves in
All the Rexall stores, the latest models
For Gem was the Fether Weight and
The Push Button , Now maybe you can tell
Us what else would Gem have on display
In the retail stores as their latest model
At the time when the Fatboy was on
Display not only in The Rexall stores but
Also in Marshall Fields.
Your Thoughts Please.
Don't get me wrong now, the Push Button
Is a fine smooth razor and efficient and
The Fether Weight may be as well to
Some shavers but in the 1950s on display
In a retail store when customers are looking to
Buy a razor appearances are important
Especially when the customer has not yet
Committed to any particular format as of
Yet. Your thoughts please
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