First Gem shave = ow!

[Bertilak]

I don't know if there are two types of Gem blades being sold, or what, but the Gem by Persona sold at my local Walgreen's are very different then the blades that came from Ted Pella. They aren't as good of performers, and even a quick look will show you the they have different angles on the edge.

Do the Walgreen's say "SUPER STAINLESS". My understanding is that the SUPERs are PTFE coated. There are GEM stainless that are not PTFE coated. You can even get them from Pella (http://www.tedpella.com/dissect_html/dissect.htm#_121_2).

If the ones you have seen say "SUPER STAINLESS" and are in any way different from the Pella PTFE stainless blades it would be quite interesting to know that. Pictures please!

 

[Robxcarlson]

I already tossed the packaging, but they did say "Super Stainless" and look like just like your pic... I have no Ted Pella's for comparison.

They seem to work much better for me in the Contour than the G-bar. Or perhaps, the Contour is just a better razor for me to use. I got a much better shave, with no irritation, from the Contour. Although I had to make a couple of extra passes on my neck to get everything.

 

[Mycon]

Wow, once again I am the strange one

I went from a 1912 with Treet/Rustbucket blades and only OK shaves, to a Featherweight with the Gem-Personna blades and have been getting the best shaves I have ever had.

I suppose as always, YMMV

How did you start off with your angle? I found that it was best to start with the head flat, then tilt little by little until you get the auditory feedback. If you are going too aggressive, the sound will increase in pitch and the blade usually starts to skip.

 

[MrGuy]

Do the Walgreen's say "SUPER STAINLESS". My understanding is that the SUPERs are PTFE coated. There are GEM stainless that are not PTFE coated. You can even get them from Pella (http://www.tedpella.com/dissect_html/dissect.htm#_121_2).

If the ones you have seen say "SUPER STAINLESS" and are in any way different from the Pella PTFE stainless blades it would be quite interesting to know that. Pictures please!

OK, I tried to get a couple of pics, but my camera doesn't like getting small details of razor edges I hope I can explain whet I'm seeing with this graphic.

I am looking at both the Ted Pella PTFE coated blades and blades from a Gem by Persona Super Stainless 10 pack. Both blades have two grind angles, from the very edge of the blade to "A" in the pic, and from "A" to "B". From "B" down is the side of the blade that goes straight to the spine. The distance from the edge to "B" is the same in the two blades. The Gem by Persona blades look much like the picture, the distance from the edge to "A" is very short and the distance from "A" to "B" is much longer, but the distance from the edge to "A" is twice the length on the Pella.
Yes, this is a small deference, but one none the less. The blades are consistent with both the 100 packs of the Pella blades and several packs of Gem blades I have purchased at Walgreen's. This does not solve the question of if the Walgreen's blades are coated, which seems to be the big question fr some.

 

[Bertilak]

The Gem by Persona blades look much like the picture, the distance from the edge to "A" is very short and the distance from "A" to "B" is much longer, but the distance from the edge to "A" is twice the length on the Pella.

To me that seems to be a significant difference!

 

[MrGuy]

To me that seems to be a significant difference!

I'll keep messing around with the camera and see if I can get anything that looks decent.

 

[richmondesi]

Time to get a Fusion boys.

So cruel

And, yet, so true

Or maybe I should just stick with my str8s

I can get incredibly comfortable BBS shaves with my str8s and DEs. Could be that some es should be a little less hasty to talk :9898: