GEM SS uncoated compared to PTFE coated

[JWK1]

So just as I really learned how to use my GEM blades properly in my micromatics, I ran out. So here's the thing. I thought of getting some from tryablade, but I don't really need anything else from there. My local RiteAid has GEM SS uncoated for $5 (10 blade dispenser).

How much difference will it make to have them uncoated? I've never tried them. I've only tried the carbon steel and blue carbon steel from tryablade. I would like to go back and forth between my micromatics and my ATT SE razors just for entertainment comparison. You know, fun hobby stuff. If there is a significant difference between the two SS blades, there will be no point. I will just find a way of getting some PTFE coated blades.

 

[Twelvefret]

The uncoAted I bought from Try a blade were unusable.

 

[rabidus]

My rite aid had carbon blades, are you sure they're stainless steel?

Walgreen's usually has SS, everywhere else usually has carbon.

 

[JWK1]

The uncoAted I bought from Try a blade were unusable.

How so? Did they seem incredibly dull? That's how the carbon blades from tryablade seemed to me.

 

[JWK1]

My rite aid had carbon blades, are you sure they're stainless steel?

Walgreen's usually has SS, everywhere else usually has carbon.

Yeah, I'm positive they are SS. I too was surprised. "made by AccuTec" printed on the grey plastic dispenser.

 

[rabidus]

I still have a pack, I'll check when I get home.

 

[Twelvefret]

How so? Did they seem incredibly dull? That's how the carbon blades from tryablade seemed to me.

How so? Did they seem incredibly dull? That's how the carbon blades from tryablade seemed to me.

Very sharp but no glide; felt rough and raw. I am referring to the Blue Carbon.

 

[JWK1]

Oh, OK. I thought you were talking about uncoated SS. I just again tried (after many months) a blue carbon from tryablade. It could not cut my whiskers. Total garbage. I didn't get more than halfway through the first pass. Binned it and got my Karve with an every day, ho hum personna lab blue.

The thing I don't get is that I've shaved with Blue Stars that were great. I thought they were supposed to be the same blade.

 

[Pierce13]

So just as I really learned how to use my GEM blades properly in my micromatics, I ran out. So here's the thing. I thought of getting some from tryablade, but I don't really need anything else from there. My local RiteAid has GEM SS uncoated for $5 (10 blade dispenser).

How much difference will it make to have them uncoated? I've never tried them. I've only tried the carbon steel and blue carbon steel from tryablade. I would like to go back and forth between my micromatics and my ATT SE razors just for entertainment comparison. You know, fun hobby stuff. If there is a significant difference between the two SS blades, there will be no point. I will just find a way of getting some PTFE coated blades.

The uncoated were ok, every face is different. Given the choice though, the coated blades are smoother.

 

[Twelvefret]

Oh, OK. I thought you were talking about uncoated SS. I just again tried (after many months) a blue carbon from tryablade. It could not cut my whiskers. Total garbage. I didn't get more than halfway through the first pass. Binned it and got my Karve with an every day, ho hum personna lab blue.

The thing I don't get is that I've shaved with Blue Stars that were great. I thought they were supposed to be the same blade.

I turned mine into a paint scraper. Now, if I remember the other trial blade pack came with an uncoated SS. I could use it, but it did not perform like the PTFE. Just so you know, I use a straight razor which is not coated. All I know is the PTFE are the ones to get. Etsy is where I bought 30.

 

[gwsmallwood]

I've tried every model TryABlade sells in my MMOC, and all of them felt tuggy except the PTFE. The MMOC with the PTFE could easily be my only razor if needed, so I was surprised that I didn't like ANY of the other blades.

 

[Twelvefret]

I've tried every model TryABlade sells in my MMOC, and all of them felt tuggy except the PTFE. The MMOC with the PTFE could easily be my only razor if needed, so I was surprised that I didn't like ANY of the other blades.

I think your experience is the consensus.

 

[‘Bout Time]

I've tried every model TryABlade sells in my MMOC, and all of them felt tuggy except the PTFE. The MMOC with the PTFE could easily be my only razor if needed, so I was surprised that I didn't like ANY of the other blades.

+2


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[Flintstone65]

I'm happy to see this thread, as it keeps me from having to create one. When I started on my SE journey, I foolishly ignored comments from folks saying that the Gem PTFE blades were the only real choice in a limited number of options. Coming from the DE world I figured why not sample the lot, given there are so few. I used Tryablade and got 2 blades of Gem PTFEs, Gem Carbons, and Pal Blue Carbons.

I started with the Gem PTFE -- it gave me 10 outstanding shaves with my MMOC and MMCP. The 11th shave seemed like I had to work a little harder for my usual results, and the 12th shave felt like I needed a 4th pass. None of the shaves were tuggy or produced irritation, even the last 2 weren't bad shaves, I could just tell the blade had lost the level of sharpness that I like.

I moved on to what was identified by the vendor as a Gem Carbon. Some people had commented that they found these blades to be initially smoother than the PTFEs and that their main downsides were they would readily rust if left to air dry, and didn't last as long as the PTFEs. I loaded a fresh one up into my MMCP and found it to be tuggy right at the start of the shave. I thought it was a "first shave roughness" phenomenon, and powered through....I was left with a really bad case of post-shave irritation, and my face was far from my usual BBS. I did some further research, and found my experience wasn't unique with this particular blade from this particular vendor. It may totally be a case of YMMV, but while I've never shaved with a carpet-cutter blade, my experience with this blade is what I would imagine it to be like.

Despite my experience above, I'm going to try the Pal Blue Carbon blade -- because I'm not a terribly bright guy -- but I'm ditching it at the first sign of trouble. My strong advice, especially for newbies, is listen to the veterans (@rabidus , @Twelvefret , et al) and just get the Gem PTFEs. I can't recall anyone not liking them or having an awful experience, and definitely skip the Tryablade's Gem Carbons....seriously, that blade is a try-at-your-own-risk. I'm going to try the Pal Blue since I have it -- and I've never been a one-trial learner -- and I'll come back here to report my experience with it.

I firmly believe that YMMV, and some folks can shave with a piece of broken glass and be happy about it, and I've tried lots of stuff where a vocal minority loves it and it's just not for me....the Gem Carbon from Tryablade was less of a "not for me" and more of a "this thing is a menace". By the way, I keep identifying the blade specifically by the vendor because the spine marking is different on the Tryablade Gem Carbon than on ones folks have talked about from drugstores and other vendors. I find the SE blade market to be infuriatingly confusing with the private-label branding, and this blade from company ABC is really produced by XYZ. For a limited product space, it feels harder to navigate to me than just picking up a pack of DE Feathers or Gillette Silver Blues. Another reason I'm going to finish my test of the Pal Blues and then stick with Gem PTFEs.

 

[Twelvefret]

I'm happy to see this thread, as it keeps me from having to create one. When I started on my SE journey, I foolishly ignored comments from folks saying that the Gem PTFE blades were the only real choice in a limited number of options. Coming from the DE world I figured why not sample the lot, given there are so few. I used Tryablade and got the 2 blades of Gem PTFEs, Gem Carbons, and Pal Blue Carbons.

I started with the Gem PTFE -- it gave me 10 outstanding shaves with my MMOC and MMCP. The 11th shave seemed like I had to work a little harder for my usual results, and the 12th shave felt like I needed a 4th pass. None of the shaves were tuggy or produced irritation, even the last 2 weren't bad shaves, I could just tell the blade had lost the level of sharpness that I like.

I moved on to what was identified by the vendor as a Gem Carbon. Some people had commented that they found these blades to be initially smoother than the PTFEs and that their main downsides were they would readily rust if left to air dry, and didn't last as long as the PTFEs. I loaded a fresh one up into my MMCP and found it to be tuggy right at the start of the shave. I thought it was a "first shave roughness" phenomenon, and powered through....I was left with a really bad case of post-shave irritation, and my face was far from my usual BBS. I did some further research, and found my experience wasn't unique with this particular blade from this particular vendor. It may totally be a case of YMMV, but while I've never shaved with a carpet-cutter blade, my experience with this blade is what I would imagine it to be like.

Despite my experience above, I'm going to try the Pal Blue Carbon blade -- because I'm not a terribly bright guy -- but I'm ditching it at the first sign of trouble. My strong advice, especially for newbies, is listen to the veterans (@rabidus , @Twelvefret , et al) and just get the Gem PTFEs. I can't recall anyone not liking them or having an awful experience, and definitely skip the Tryablade's Gem Carbons....seriously, that blade is a try-at-your-own-risk. I'm going to try the Pal Blue since I have it -- and I've never been a one-trial learner -- and I'll come back here to report my experience with it.

I firmly believe that YMMV, and some folks can shave with a piece of broken glass and be happy about it, and I've tried lots of stuff where a vocal minority loves it and it's just not for me....the Gem Carbon from Tryablade was less of a "not for me" and more of a "this thing is a menace". By the way, I keep identifying the blade specifically by the vendor because the spine marking is different on the Tryablade Gem Carbon than on ones folks have talked about from drugstores and other vendors. I find the SE blade market to be infuriatingly confusing with the private-label branding, and this blade from company ABC is really produced by XYZ. For a limited space, it feels harder to navigate to me than just picking up a pack of DE Feathers or Gillette Silver Blues. Another reason I'm going to finish my test of the Pal Blues and then stick with Gem PTFEs.

I had to laugh. I remember the blue carbon in the Try A Blade sample pack. I have never had such an uncomfortable first and last stroke from a blade....and I use a self honed 130 year old straight at times.

 

[Flintstone65]

I had to laugh. I remember the blue carbon in the Try A Blade sample pack. I have never had such an uncomfortable first and last stroke from a blade....and I use a self honed 130 year old straight at times.

Oh man, your comment is weakening my resolve to at least try it. I'm think I'm going to load it up today into my MMOC, and if the very first pass isn't perfection, it's joining the other Carbon's in my toolbox. I need to get some therapy, I tell people they should absolutely listen to you, and then I stubbornly ignore my advice and reach for the cheese grater .

 

[Twelvefret]

Oh man, your comment is weakening my resolve to at least try it. I'm think I'm going to load it up today into my MMOC, and if the very first pass isn't perfection, it's joining the other Carbon's in my toolbox. I need to get some therapy, I tell people they should absolutely listen to you, and then I stubbornly ignore my advice and reach for the cheese grater .

No, you need to try it. That's the only way. I'm the same way. I called it the coach/teacher spirit.

 

[‘Bout Time]

Coming from the DE world I figured why not sample the lot, given there are so few. I used Tryablade and got 2 blades of Gem PTFEs, Gem Carbons, and Pal Blue Carbons.

I did exactly the same. All but the PTFEs were harsh, tuggy, and some were painful. But I’m glad I tried ‘cause now I know!

 

[Flintstone65]

So it's official -- the PTFE is the clear winner for me. I just finished a shave with the Pal Blue Carbon blade in my MMOC using Haslinger Schafmilch, and it was only slightly less awful than the Gem Carbons. It was tuggy, the shave wasn't terribly close after 3 passes, and I ended up with fair amount of post-shave irritation.

 

[Twelvefret]

So it's official -- the PTFE is the clear winner for me. I just finished a shave with the Pal Blue Carbon blade in my MMOC using Haslinger Schafmilch, and it was only slightly less awful than the Gem Carbons. It was tuggy, the shave wasn't terribly close after 3 passes, and I ended up with fair amount of post-shave irritation.

Now you have that out of your system. Check that off your bucket list.