GEMs vs AC

[spidey9]

From Ted Pella you want the "Single Edge, PTFE-Coated, Stainless Steel Blades," product #121-3. These are great blades, very sharp, although they can be a little harsh for the first couple of shaves.

House brand blades are available from CVS and Rite-Aid drugstores. Just be aware that these are carbon steel and must be removed from the razor and dried immediately after shaving, otherwise they will rust in an amazingly short time.

--Bob

 

[jmudrick]

Blackland is coming out with a 3 piece in the next month or two.
ATT also has one coming out soon.

Both, if I am not mistaken, should be around $200.


This is a great thread ... thank you for the insight ... I had no idea GEM razors were a thing until this week. Now, I'm very curious.

Does anyone think these would be a safer and/or easier way to shave the ol' head bone? I've tried DE's on my head, but I don't have the knack for doing it without lots of nicks. DE's on my face; no problem.

I shave my head will all available blade types, in my experience what works best is a sharp and stable blade. Injectors and Gem are more inherently stable than DE blades, with Injectors having some advantage in that regard over Gems. Personally I can't get more than a couple good BBS head shaves from a Gem blade which frustrates me but not everyone needs a BBS on the dome.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Smooth Steve]

Steve, I've purchased two boxes of the Ted Pella PTFE coated blades, product no. 121-3. Note that they "cut through epoxies nicely." That language on their website is new, I'm fairly certain, or I wouldn't have bought them. Twice. Anyway, they are the smoothest of all my blades, whether DE, AC, FHS-10 or Gem. And the price is right.

I will have to try them. Thank you for the wonderful tip.
Steve

 

[Trenchdigger]

I shave my head will all available blade types, in my experience what works best is a sharp and stable blade. Injectors and Gem are more inherently stable than DE blades, with Injectors having some advantage in that regard over Gems. Personally I can't get more than a couple good BBS head shaves from a Gem blade which frustrates me but not everyone needs a BBS on the dome.

Hmmm. Thank you.

I'm thinking I should pull out my mildest de and practice some more on my head. I'd like to get as far from carts as I can.

As for GEM razors, I'll be paying attention... They are interesting and I think I will have to try them out.

 

[shave/brush]

Hmmm. Thank you.

I'm thinking I should pull out my mildest de and practice some more on my head. I'd like to get as far from carts as I can.
As for GEM razors, I'll be paying attention... They are interesting and I think I will have to try them out.

Start with a GEM Featherweight or a GEM G-bar. These are mild razors.

 

[rabidus]

I shave my head will all available blade types, in my experience what works best is a sharp and stable blade. Injectors and Gem are more inherently stable than DE blades, with Injectors having some advantage in that regard over Gems. Personally I can't get more than a couple good BBS head shaves from a Gem blade which frustrates me but not everyone needs a BBS on the dome.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

On average, I get 20 face and head smooth BBS shaves from several of my DE blades. In the February Challenge, I got 28 face and head shaves from a Polsilver SI, 29 is my record with the Polsilver SI. I get about 3 times more for face shaves only. Head shaves only, I get 30-40 depending on the blade.

I haven't Excalibured SE blades yet but longevity so far is not measuring up to the DE blades.

 

[jmudrick]

On average, I get 20 face and head smooth BBS shaves from several of my DE blades. In the February Challenge, I got 28 face and head shaves from a Polsilver SI, 29 is my record with the Polsilver SI. I get about 3 times more for face shaves only. Head shaves only, I get 30-40 depending on the blade.

I haven't Excalibured SE blades yet but longevity so far is not measuring up to the DE blades.

That is also my experience though I don't push DE blades past a handful of shaves .

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Trenchdigger]

On average, I get 20 face and head smooth BBS shaves from several of my DE blades. In the February Challenge, I got 28 face and head shaves from a Polsilver SI, 29 is my record with the Polsilver SI. I get about 3 times more for face shaves only. Head shaves only, I get 30-40 depending on the blade.

I haven't Excalibured SE blades yet but longevity so far is not measuring up to the DE blades.

Wow! 20 shaves??? I'm lucky to get 5 face shaves from my Feather blades. Are the Polsilvers just as sharp as Feather blades?

And to keep it on topic ... how sharp are the GEM type blades relative to Feather DE? I have some Persona Blue DE blades, and they are too "dull" and tug rather than slice my beard. Besides a straight razor, I have not found anything as sharp and as comfortable on my beard as the Feathers...but there have got to be other alternatives.

 

[shave/brush]

Wow! 20 shaves??? I'm lucky to get 5 face shaves from my Feather blades. Are the Polsilvers just as sharp as Feather blades?
And to keep it on topic ... how sharp are the GEM type blades relative to Feather DE? I have some Persona Blue DE blades, and they are too "dull" and tug rather than slice my beard. Besides a straight razor, I have not found anything as sharp and as comfortable on my beard as the Feathers...but there have got to be other alternatives.

Feather DE blades are the sharpest DE blades you can buy. In fact all Feather blades are the sharpest blades made.

 

[garyg]

And to keep it on topic ... how sharp are the GEM type blades relative to Feather DE? I have some Persona Blue DE blades, and they are too "dull" and tug rather than slice my beard. Besides a straight razor, I have not found anything as sharp and as comfortable on my beard as the Feathers...but there have got to be other alternatives.

Feather DE blades are the sharpest DE blades you can buy. In fact all Feather blades are the sharpest blades made.

Their very sharpness is probably the rub - the sharper the edge the more fragile it will tend to be. I use Feathers mostly when reaching for the DEs, and while seemingly sharper have less longevity than other, less sharp baldes like the Personnas. To the OP, the non-stainless GEMs are in my opinion almost as sharp as Feathers, the trouble is the carbon edge tends to degrade quickly. A duller edge will last longer given the exact same beard, number of passes, and post shave maintenance.

 

[Haggises]

Connaught is also a good source for GEM PTFE SS
Especially with current exchange rate and if you only want 100. shipping is fast and relatively cheap.

 

[kingfisher]

Wow! 20 shaves??? I'm lucky to get 5 face shaves from my Feather blades. Are the Polsilvers just as sharp as Feather blades?

And to keep it on topic ... how sharp are the GEM type blades relative to Feather DE? I have some Persona Blue DE blades, and they are too "dull" and tug rather than slice my beard. Besides a straight razor, I have not found anything as sharp and as comfortable on my beard as the Feathers...but there have got to be other alternatives.

IME, Polsilvers are almost as sharp as a Feather, and they last a lot longer. I don't get 20 shaves from them, but I can get about 10, which is about double what I ever got with a Feather.
Polsilvers are the best DE blade I have ever used, and the only one I use now.

 

[imbored2deth]

I was just trying to understand the appeal of the GEM blade form factor.

IMO, GEM blades are cheaper or are inline with prices of DE blades. They are also cheaper than AC styles. From Connaught you can get 100 GEM blades for like 20 bucks. Most AC blades are $1/each (I have seen cheaper prices with a good deal) but not as good as GEM prices/blade. You will get more shaves than a DE blade but maybe less than an AC. Instead of being in the either/or camp, it is just a variation on a theme. Whatever it takes to get a good enough shave for you is what matters. Plus, GEM razors are pretty cheap. With RR Hawk being $20 or so it is the outlier but I can buy 2-3 GEMs for $25 and be set. Unless we start talking about handles...

 

[Dave Deluxe]

"Connaught is also a good source for GEM PTFE SS
Especially with current exchange rate and if you only want 100. shipping is fast and relatively cheap."

You can get about a weeks' (7 days) worth of shaves from a GEM-SE blade (or at least I can). So 100 blades roughly equals 2 years worth of shaving, if you only used vintage SE razors. The last time I bought GEM blades (stateside), which was a while ago, I paid about $40.00 per 100 shipped.

If I'm lucky and want to push it some, I can get about 7 days worth of shaving from a DE blade. The shaves aren't as good as with 7 days on a GEM-SE blade but I can make it work.

With the AC-SE blade I can get without issue at least 15 shaves, so that is two blades a month. I've been paying .65 cents per blade shipped for the Feather Pros. So that comes down to about .07 cents per shave, which puts it at right around the same price as a DE shave with a medium cost blade.

It looks like to me that all the formats are roughly equal in the cost per shave.

 

[shave/brush]

I don't think cost of blades is the real issue here. They are all pretty cheap when you consider what most of us will spend for a good brush or razor. The real issue here is what kind of shave can you get with a GEM blade compared to an AC blade or DE blade. The OP wanted to know what is the draw of a GEM type razor?

 

[Trenchdigger]

Thanks everyone ... I appreciate the info.

Good stuff about the blades, and why GEM vs traditional DE, et cetera.

 

[Haggises]

The OP wanted to know what is the draw of a GEM type razor?

It's different. The shave approach is different, the cutting of the hair is different, the stiffness of the blade is different.
It's the same. You're still dragging sharp blades across your face to get rid of stubble.

I enjoy my DE, my GEM SE, my Schicks and PAL injectors and my Feather AC. I get a great shave from all of them without having to worry about which one is best.

 

[rabidus]

It's different. The shave approach is different, the cutting of the hair is different, the stiffness of the blade is different.
It's the same. You're still dragging sharp blades across your face to get rid of stubble.

I enjoy my DE, my GEM SE, my Schicks and PAL injectors and my Feather AC. I get a great shave from all of them without having to worry about which one is best.

+1

 

[albsat]

I enjoyed this thread. It made me think to get a gem in the future.

 

[Peter's coin]

Thank you for resuscitating it, lots of good info. I have a variety of vintage GEM-format razors and one AC, the Black Hawk V2.