I received several old brushes (a black/clear Ever Ready 200T, Kleenzo, Fullers and a couple misc others) and a minty Featherweight GEM for Christmas from a relative. I finally pulled the Featherweight out as I recently received more Pella blades and used it a couple times this week. There don't seem to be many pics of the Featherweight out there - mine has the white plastic handle with gold top and a gold trim piece on the tail. My 1912 is the one-piece style with the ornate handle.
The Featherweight feels "cheaper" in the hand than a 1912. It is much lighter and the mechanism that holds the blade is not as solid or strong of a spring. This is expected, but I was surprised at the feel of the blade locking mechanism difference. The audio feedback is still quite good but not as loud as a 1912. I would estimate the Featherweight to be a fair bit more aggressive than a 1912. More blade is exposed and it shaves quite a bit differently than a 1912. The shaves were quite good, but not as good as a 1912. I started out a shave this morning with the Featherweight and a Pella blade on shave 4 (Tabac, Savile Row 3118, Witch Hazel and Musgo Real Balm if you are keeping track). I did the first pass and half of the next pass using the Featherweight then switched the blade to the 1912 to finish. I noticed a big difference. The 1912 was easier shaving, glided better due to the curly and rounded safety bar, and shaved much closer even though it felt less aggressive.
To date, I have had my best shaves ever with a 1912 GEM. It consistently throws out awesome, effortless shaves that are really close with no irritation. I'm glad to finally have some more blades in so I can use it again. I get similar but not quite as close shaves with my Injectors, and I get great shaves as well with DEs, so they are all in my rotation. I still want to try a few other GEMs, but I think it is going to tough to top the 1912 in my shave den so far.
The Featherweight feels "cheaper" in the hand than a 1912. It is much lighter and the mechanism that holds the blade is not as solid or strong of a spring. This is expected, but I was surprised at the feel of the blade locking mechanism difference. The audio feedback is still quite good but not as loud as a 1912. I would estimate the Featherweight to be a fair bit more aggressive than a 1912. More blade is exposed and it shaves quite a bit differently than a 1912. The shaves were quite good, but not as good as a 1912. I started out a shave this morning with the Featherweight and a Pella blade on shave 4 (Tabac, Savile Row 3118, Witch Hazel and Musgo Real Balm if you are keeping track). I did the first pass and half of the next pass using the Featherweight then switched the blade to the 1912 to finish. I noticed a big difference. The 1912 was easier shaving, glided better due to the curly and rounded safety bar, and shaved much closer even though it felt less aggressive.
To date, I have had my best shaves ever with a 1912 GEM. It consistently throws out awesome, effortless shaves that are really close with no irritation. I'm glad to finally have some more blades in so I can use it again. I get similar but not quite as close shaves with my Injectors, and I get great shaves as well with DEs, so they are all in my rotation. I still want to try a few other GEMs, but I think it is going to tough to top the 1912 in my shave den so far.
