Going to try SE - 2 purchased

[Etoyoc_Rebmos]

I picked these up at an antique store this afternoon. They cleaned up better than the pictures show. However, looking at the pictures, I suspect that the safety bar on the Gem is bent. Hopefully it is just a trick of light...

The Gem is marked Pat 1912 so I am assuming it is a 1912 series GEM.. but what year? The Ever-Ready says Pat applied for. Hinges from the opposite direction. From what little I know of these, it is just a guess that it is a 1924?

The Gem came with a case; however, it doesn't fit in their correctly and it needs more work than the razors. I will get to it eventually.

In the pictures with both, the Gem is on the left.
View attachment 32863
View attachment 32864

Inside the gem...
View attachment 32865

under the gem head (pat 1912) See the crooked safety bar? Now that it is out of the barbicide, I can see that it is a mangled mess. Oh well...
View attachment 32866

inside the ever-ready
View attachment 32867

 

[Etoyoc_Rebmos]

I guess I never asked a question.

1) Is the ever ready a 1924? I only guessed this based on the reverse hinged top. I really don't know much of anything about SE models yet.

2) With the banged up safety bar on the gem, I would assume the ever-ready would be better to shave with. Is the gem likely a lost cause? (good thing I have another coming from eBay)

 

[tom myers]

Yes, the Ever Ready is a 1924. These dates are just the patent dates, by the way. They doesn't necessarly reflect an actual manufacturing date.

Normally, I would suggest that a 1912 would likely give a better shave than the 1924, but with that bent comb bar, I don't suggest trying that one as it is.

If it were me, I would attempt to straighten the comb and then very gingerly giving it a trial run at shaving myself. My best thoughts on straightening the comb might be to use a wide smooth jawed plier type tool. If you know a tin smith, he has a hand seamer that would possibly do it.

The alternative is to just get another 1912. As you may already have gleaned, they are rather commonly available for rather low prices.

Regards,
Tom

 

[BroJohn]

I guess I never asked a question.

1) Is the ever ready a 1924? I only guessed this based on the reverse hinged top. I really don't know much of anything about SE models yet.

I'm not sure of model, but the razor looks good. I like these EverReadys.

2) With the banged up safety bar on the gem, I would assume the ever-ready would be better to shave with. Is the gem likely a lost cause? (good thing I have another coming from eBay)

IMO, yes, it is a lost cause. I wouldn't shave with it due to the damage to the safety bar. That model is a nice shaver, just use the one you have en route.

-- John Gehman

 

[wchnu]

Have not tried to fix a 1912 like that.... but as easy as they are to get I would consign it to a fishing weight and get another. But YMMV. You will love the shave though.


Fuzzy

 

[D.Irving79]

needle nose pliers over some paper towel should fix the comb.

is the GEM on the left a damaskeene?

 

[Etoyoc_Rebmos]

A wha? damaskeene?.. I will have to look that one up...The only thing I find here is a mention to a gem with a curved head. Curved from front to back? Curved from left to right?

Yes, there was a bend, but when I went back to fix it, it isn't as bad as the pictures show. There must have been some kind of random light bending nuance to the way I held the camera and gem so that I warped part of the image. I probably shifted the camera or the gem just enough to really distort the bend.

So here is closer to what it really looks like.
View attachment 32878

View attachment 32879

 

[ShaneC]

that 1924 is a nice lil' shaver.

 

[D.Irving79]

if its a damaskeene it will most likely say so when you open the head.

i was just curious b/c my "roman column" handle gem is a damaskeene.


the word was supposed to be a break from damascus steel i think.

 

[Etoyoc_Rebmos]

nope.. nothing like that written on or in the gem. I suppose the handle could have come from another razor. After all, the head certainly doesn't want to fit in the case it came with. I would assume the handles are somewhat interchangeable like the DE razors. However, the Ever-Ready and the Gem certainly are different handles and can not be switched.

 

[Etoyoc_Rebmos]

Shaved with the 1912 this morning...

WTG, XTG passes... butter, smooth, gentle, if it weren't for the sound and the fact that the beard was getting shorter, I wouldn't have thought it was doing anything. At the end of the 2nd pass I was quite impressed and I was wondering how I was going to rearrange my shaving shelves to move the DE stuff I wasn't going to use as much back to promote this great gem. By the end of XTG, I started to wonder why the head should be kept flat, a slight angle worked just as well.

And then I worked ATG. I should have skipped it. On the face it wasn't too bad. It was a bit rougher than a DE going ATG, but acceptable. I couldn't figure out how to shave in the moustache area ATG, so I did a different angle XTG instead. And then I started the neck area... Egads! Obviously, I wasn't doing it right (tried to keep head flat to skin) or the razor was more damaged than it appeared. ATG was rough. No cuts, but a lot of red bumps on the neck when I was done. Hit my neck with Witch Hazel, AS and then balm in hopes to keep the damage down enough to be able to shave tomorrow.

Any pointers would be great; however, I might save my next SE shave for next Saturday so that I have a day to heal in case I end up with the same results.

Of course... now I am wondering... 2 razors? Gem for WTG/XTG, DE for ATG?.... hmmmmmm....

 

[tom myers]

Of course... now I am wondering... 2 razors? Gem for WTG/XTG, DE for ATG?.... hmmmmmm....

Naah, once you get the hang of it, you can use the SE any old which way. You just need to keep using the Gem to get the technique smoothed out. The 1912 is a great shaver.

(Is the razor that you used the one that had the damage to the comb bar or is it a different one. If it's the original one, is it possible that the comb still isn't quite right?)

Regards,
Tom

 

[D.Irving79]

Shaved with the 1912 this morning...

WTG, XTG passes... butter, smooth, gentle, if it weren't for the sound and the fact that the beard was getting shorter, I wouldn't have thought it was doing anything. At the end of the 2nd pass I was quite impressed and I was wondering how I was going to rearrange my shaving shelves to move the DE stuff I wasn't going to use as much back to promote this great gem. By the end of XTG, I started to wonder why the head should be kept flat, a slight angle worked just as well.

And then I worked ATG. I should have skipped it. On the face it wasn't too bad. It was a bit rougher than a DE going ATG, but acceptable. I couldn't figure out how to shave in the moustache area ATG, so I did a different angle XTG instead. And then I started the neck area... Egads! Obviously, I wasn't doing it right (tried to keep head flat to skin) or the razor was more damaged than it appeared. ATG was rough. No cuts, but a lot of red bumps on the neck when I was done. Hit my neck with Witch Hazel, AS and then balm in hopes to keep the damage down enough to be able to shave tomorrow.

Any pointers would be great; however, I might save my next SE shave for next Saturday so that I have a day to heal in case I end up with the same results.

Of course... now I am wondering... 2 razors? Gem for WTG/XTG, DE for ATG?.... hmmmmmm....

pretty damn good for the first time. and a lot of people shave with it at a slight angle, myself included. sometimes the flat against the face suggestion dosent work. the XTG for the upper lip is what most people do and what was actually recommended by gem.

the neck issue might be pressure related.

 

[Etoyoc_Rebmos]

the neck issue might be pressure related

Probably is. I used to have the same issue with DE when I started.. It took me a while to learn short light strokes. For some reason when shaving ATG, when it starts to feel rough, I start to press more. I had trained myself not to do that with a DE, I will have to make a mental check next time. Maybe while thinking to keep the razor head flat and not angled I forgot my previous training.

(Is the razor that you used the one that had the damage to the comb bar or is it a different one. If it's the original one, is it possible that the comb still isn't quite right?)

Yes, it was the 1912 gem that was pictured as being completely messed up. However, if you notice the second set of pictures, it wasn't as bent as it first appeared. Honestly, I can't tell it is bent in normal light and with a blade sitting in it, I don't notice any bigger or narrower gaps. However, I also shaved with a fatboy (that I was nicknamed "the monster") that tore my face up on very low settings when I usually used a fatboy at a 7 without any problem. For a month I would shave with it, be confused and put it away to try it again a few days later. It was a month before I realized that it had a bent safety bar and had 2-3 times the gap size on one side. Call it a fatboy slant - boy it was aggressive. So my eye-ball judge of straight may be off by a bit. It would help if I had a perfect 1912 to compare with. Yeah, I "straightened" the bar; however, did I straighten it by making the wrong side match?