First shave with a Gem

[Oldguy]

I got in my $4 Micromatic today and decided to give it a try. I picked up a 10 pack of Gem stainless steel blades from Walgreen's and went to it.

View attachment 64129
View attachment 64128

I used AOS Sandlewood cream which gives me wonderful lather. All I can say is WoW. That puppy is really aggressive. I did two passes, with and across the grain. That's all I dared for the time being. I decided to finish off with a long comb New and a new IP. It felt like there was nothing there to cut. Is the Gem that close a shaver? In any case I got a nice close shave and only one little weeper.

That's enough for now. I got a 1912 coming in from Country Joe's and I'll give that a try.

Len

 

[Darjeeling Express]

Great report Len. Keep us posted on the 1912.

 

[DonOhio]

Have the same one, picked up recently, have shaved 2x with it. Don't know what it is but while I wasn't cut like I was with disposables, the skin on my neck was noticeably more sore for a day or two afterwards. Not sore constantly, but tender enough to keep me from shaving more regularly like I did before. Never had that problem with a Mach 3. Very strange.

 

[Oldguy]

Have the same one, picked up recently, have shaved 2x with it. Don't know what it is but while I wasn't cut like I was with disposables, the skin on my neck was noticeably more sore for a day or two afterwards. Not sore constantly, but tender enough to keep me from shaving more regularly like I did before. Never had that problem with a Mach 3. Very strange.

You got a little taste of irritation. The razor is a little on the heavy side so you have to go very lightly. And with very short strokes. I never get irritation on my neck but I think with old age the skin gets pretty leathery. The next time you try the Gem go lightly and no more then two passes.

Len

 

[pmast]

I also found that two passes are enough with the open comb Micromatic. Also, for me, the Walgreens Gem blades are less irritating, but less sharp and more expensive than Ted Pellas. They are still sharp enough, but you feel a little more resistance. Hope that helps.

 

[BroJohn]

Is the Gem that close a shaver?

Yes.

I got a 1912 coming in from Country Joe's and I'll give that a try.

The 1912 gives a smoother, nicer shave than the Micromatic. Enjoy.

-- John Gehman

 

[mdunn]

yes, its that good

 

[DS/B MCS]

Yes.



The 1912 gives a smoother, nicer shave than the Micromatic. Enjoy.

-- John Gehman

I Agree

The Micromatic is used to shave my head. The 1912 is used as my preshave, and I finish with the Bull Mastiff/New head/Feather

 

[DonOhio]

I guess I was pressing, even though I thought I was letting the weight of the razor do the work.

I can't really say why but of my two antiques, the Ever Ready felt as if it were doing, and did, a better job than the Micromatic, with same blade in both. I dislike the really short handle on it, like with the Gillette Tech I just bought (I think it's a Tech...ball on the end but no diamond mark on the face). But hey, better results is better results. Next step is to see how the ER compares with the G.

 

[michiganlover]

I have a Gem 1912, a Featherweight, and 3 Micromatics: Open Comb, Bullet Tip, and ClogPruf.

The Open Comb Micromatic is clearly the most aggressive out of all of these.

I also have a Gem G Bar that just came in the mail today, anxious to see how it will compare to the others.

 

[pal]

I am glad I read this post, I have two micromatics coming in the mail any day. I know now to take it easy. Thanks

 

[Pirate-M.Lifnen]

I had my first shave with an open comb micromatic today.
When I put the blade in and saw the blade sticking out from the razor TTO head it scared me. But I took my time, and I received a great shave.
It wasn't super close, but I was definitely presentable, so I took it--didn't want to push it.

I'm off to read up on the razor though..

 

[dwnwrdishvnwrd]

I love my Gem when it's loaded with a Pella. If I know I won't have time to shave when I wake up I'll shave with my Micromatic before I go to sleep. When I wake up I'm still BBS. Once the right angle is found these thing are perfect shavers as opposed to manglers of mugs.

 

[82R100]

I've done several shaves on my 1912 and Micromatic open comb and gotten to the point that I'm comfortable with each. A couple of days ago I started with a push button Gem Contour (in brushed stainless steel!) that I'd bought earlier. By appearances I expected it to be mild, as it has a conventional safety bar. Yesterday's inaugural shave was disappointing. I managed somehow to get itchy neck irritation at the same time as a less close shave than usual.

Thinking it through, I'd made the same mistake with my injector razor, which was to be conservative with the blade angle (rotating to just the point of audible whisker shearing) and then compensating for the lack of cutting with some pressure and repeated passes. Today I rotated the razor head more (handle closer to the face) and concentrated on keeping the pressure light. Much more whisker noise and 100% better shave. Right up there with my other SE razors.

I continue to rotate through a very diverse collection of razors. In a way I'm a newbie over and over again. I hope that by doing so I can eventually adapt to just about anything. If not, it's still enormously entertaining and gives me something to look forward to every morning.

- Chris

 

[michiganlover]

I continue to rotate through a very diverse collection of razors. In a way I'm a newbie over and over again. I hope that by doing so I can eventually adapt to just about anything. If not, it's still enormously entertaining and gives me something to look forward to every morning.

I am doing the same thing, once I purchase a Gillette Knack I have been wanting, I will have 16 razors, 6 of them Gem SE. They are all uniquely different, and as they say variety is the spice of life.

There are three razors I have not even tried yet: a Gem G Bar, Gillette Old, and Gillette New.