Several years ago, I purchased a box (100?) of Ted Pella PTFE-coated GEM SE blades. I don't use SE blades every day, and since I was getting at least 5 or 6 good shaves from them, it's taken me a long time to use up the box. I was down to my last blade a couple of months ago, so I went online (eBay) and purchased 25 GEM SE blades. What I didn't check was whether they were coated or not. I tried the first one last week in a GEM 1912 razor that I've always enjoyed and it was terrible; very rough and dull. After the first pass, I set the razor aside and finished my shave with a Fatboy that was already loaded with a blade. I tossed the blade and figured it was just defective and would try another one later. Later came this morning when I loaded up a Gem G-Bar razor with one of the blades and tried again. It was barely adequate. I was able to finish the shave, but it required multiple passes and blade buffing to get the quality I normally get with a basic two-pass shave.
The bottom line is I'm going to relegate these uncoated blades to the toolbox for paint scraping and other non-shaving tasks. I just ordered some Ted Pella PTFE coated blades that should be here in a few days. Based on prior experience, I expect I'm going to get much better results.
The bottom line is I'm going to relegate these uncoated blades to the toolbox for paint scraping and other non-shaving tasks. I just ordered some Ted Pella PTFE coated blades that should be here in a few days. Based on prior experience, I expect I'm going to get much better results.