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GEM Style Razor Collection

I received my first GEM razor, a Featherweight, on October 2nd of this year. In the past few months, I have amassed a decent small collection of razors. I wanted to share and get some feedback on which razors that I don't have that you would consider essential "must-have" GEM style razors.

Out of all the razors I currently have, I think my favorite is either the MMOC (effortless BBS) or the G-Bar (beautiful and a smooth shaver). I've had a number of shaves with the Featherweight and it's just not as good as the others. I'll put the Ever-Ready Shovelhead in the same boat. The 1912 seems like a good shaver and I think I owe it some more shaves to see how I do with more experience. The Pushbuttons aren't bad but they lack the weight of the MMOC and G-Bar which I prefer.

So that would make my order of preference:
  1. MMOC
  2. G-Bar
  3. 1912
  4. Pushbuttons
  5. Shovelhead
  6. Featherweight
So I put the question to you, which GEM style razor(s) should I try next?

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thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
I hear nothing but great things about the Blackland Razors Sabre, but my only one of their razors is a Blackbird as my favorite SE razors are the GEM Micromatic Open Comb, RazoRock Hawk V3OC, and Mythus barber razor.
 
I can't tell if I like the clog pruf or mmoc more but those two are definitely my favorites and quite similar though mmcp is more forgiving. A lot of people seem to quite enjoy the 1914 but I didn't find it so very different than the 1912.

I'm also really a fan of the Gem Jr. Bar lather catcher, did not expect how mild it is, it's up there with the L1 Sabre for me for most pleasant to use on a fresh blade. And you hear it cut each hair.

One I'm still exploring is the Wilkinson Pall Mall / Dunhill. It's pretty fascinating with a rolling guard, angle setting, and a screw to adjust blade exposure. I found it easy enough to use and interesting but still prefer my micromatics so far, at least with a gem blade. Turns out I appreciate the top cap more than I realised. But if I could only have three I'd keep it along with one of the micromatics and the lather catcher.

Have not tried a streamline yet but they're certainly the best looking...
 

Flintstone65

Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
My top 2 are the MMOC and Featherweight (yep, I'm weird). If you like the MMOC and G-Bar, I might recommend the Micromatic Flying Wing (aka the Micromatic Bullet Tip). I was going to recommend going back in time to the lather catchers, but if you prefer weighty razors, than I'm not sure the LatCats would be your thing.
 
One minor little point to nitpick, but for the sake of accuracy the correct names are Feather Weight and Push-Button, two separate words. With that out of the way you’ve pretty much covered each era of GEM razors, the only other options would be a 1914 ER or some variations of each model you already own. Sticking with the single edge theme have you considered injectors?
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Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
You have some nice ASR razors there and there are few that I enjoy and you do not have yet if your into collecting them.
The Gem Clog Pruf(Peerless model,17 nib safety bar) and the Everready 1914 are excellent mid range razors. The 1914 has nice nice audio feedback when shaving and was very popular for its time.
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Have some great shaves!
 
One minor little point to nitpick, but for the sake of accuracy the correct names are Feather Weight and Push-Button, two separate words. With that out of the way you’ve pretty much covered each era of GEM razors, the only other options would be a 1914 ER or some variations of each model you already own. Sticking with the single edge theme have you considered injectors?
View attachment 1368607View attachment 1368608
Nitpick away! I appreciate you letting me know. As for injectors, I have discovered them and have a small collection going.

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You have some nice ASR razors there and there are few that I enjoy and you do not have yet if your into collecting them.
The Gem Clog Pruf(Peerless model,17 nib safety bar) and the Everready 1914 are excellent mid range razors. The 1914 has nice nice audio feedback when shaving and was very popular for its time.
View attachment 1368612 View attachment 1368613
Have some great shaves!
Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Nitpick away! I appreciate you letting me know. As for injectors, I have discovered them and have a small collection going.

View attachment 1368628


Thanks for the suggestions!
You do have quite a nice collection of various injectors there! I am a long time 1912 fanatic, in particular the early Damaskeene version, so if you want to fall down that rabbit hole there are numerous variations available. The one you have is a military model from the 40’s.
 
Brother srqshaver,

You should get a 1914, and then you'll pretty much have it covered. The 1914 is probably the most sophisticated shaver of the Gem/Ever-Ready SE types (which I believe to a large degree may have come out of the same factory at certain times). However, the 1914 also is the most difficult to open. A trade off.

I agree with most of your assessment, except for the 1924 "Shovelhead." It's my fav of all of 'em. Therefore, memorize this time-honored saying in the world of shaving: YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)

BTW my listing of descending preference would go something like this:

1924
MMOC
1912
G-Bar
MMCP
1914
Feather Weight
Pushbuttons

I'm 85 years old. My whiskers are very tough. My skin is somewhat thin. That diametrical challenge is a big determinant of which razor one prefers!
 
Brother srqshaver,

You should get a 1914, and then you'll pretty much have it covered. The 1914 is probably the most sophisticated shaver of the Gem/Ever-Ready SE types (which I believe to a large degree may have come out of the same factory at certain times). However, the 1914 also is the most difficult to open. A trade off.

I agree with most of your assessment, except for the 1924 "Shovelhead." It's my fav of all of 'em. Therefore, memorize this time-honored saying in the world of shaving: YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)

BTW my listing of descending preference would go something like this:

1924
MMOC
1912
G-Bar
MMCP
1914
Feather Weight
Pushbuttons

I'm 85 years old. My whiskers are very tough. My skin is somewhat thin. That diametrical challenge is a big determinant of which razor one prefers!
Thanks for replying. I'll add yours to the list.

While I'm replying, what do people think of the Contour? I don't see them for sale nearly as often and I'm wondering if that's because people like them and don't want to sell them. Or maybe they just didn't make all that many?
 
Thanks for replying. I'll add yours to the list.

While I'm replying, what do people think of the Contour? I don't see them for sale nearly as often and I'm wondering if that's because people like them and don't want to sell them. Or maybe they just didn't make all that many?
The Contour is probably my favorite of the post Micromatic Clog-pruf razors. The frames are basically the same on all of them, ASR just kept changing the handles every few years and for some reason I really like the feel of the Contours handle.

My guess, and this is only a guess, and a WAG at that, is that ASR just didn’t produce a huge number of them. It was their last model and they could probably see the writing on the wall that they were losing the battle with Gillette and Schick so they didn’t see a need to produce a lot of them.
 
Which Contour?

The Gem Contour push button was made 1958-1970. It was attractive, innovative, and a comfortable shaver. But it's mild, milder than the Feather Weight. I do like the nicely contoured handle.

The later Gem Contour II was a cheaper version, circa 1970 to circa 1980, not as attractive. The Contour II was the inglorious last of the great Gem genre of razors.
 
My guess, and this is only a guess, and a WAG at that, is that ASR just didn’t produce a huge number of them. It was their last model and they could probably see the writing on the wall that they were losing the battle with Gillette and Schick so they didn’t see a need to produce a lot of them.
That would make sense. I'm guessing that people probably didn't consider the Contour worthy of saving and just tossed them.

Which Contour?

The Gem Contour push button was made 1958-1970. It was attractive, innovative, and a comfortable shaver. But it's mild, milder than the Feather Weight. I do like the nicely contoured handle.

The later Gem Contour II was a cheaper version, circa 1970 to circa 1980, not as attractive. The Contour II was the inglorious last of the great Gem genre of razors.
To be honest, I wasn't aware that there were different models. I just took another look and see both kinds. I think I'm more inclined to try the Push Button but would be happy to try any of them.
 
I like the first Contour. While the Feather Weight is often touted as being the mildest, I found it quite harsh for a GEM. Not horrible, but just not worth it to me. The Contour was perfect, and led me to try and discover the classics. Now I'm hooked on the GEM design!
 
Which Contour?

The Gem Contour push button was made 1958-1970. It was attractive, innovative, and a comfortable shaver. But it's mild, milder than the Feather Weight. I do like the nicely contoured handle.

The later Gem Contour II was a cheaper version, circa 1970 to circa 1980, not as attractive. The Contour II was the inglorious last of the great Gem genre of razors.
The timeline you provided is a good indicator of the demise of the Contours, the Trac II went live in 1971 and took the shaving world by storm. Also, I believe around that time ASR was starting to concentrate on blade sales.
 
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