Horrible shave tonight! SE shave, ouch!

[IAmTheJody]

Shaved with a single edge tonight, my newly acquire GEM push button.. which btw looks awesome after I cleaned it up! Just a few barely-can-see them scratches on the head, other than that, mint! Loaded with a Treet SE blade.

Yuck.

A little over 2 months now shaving with a DE and not having gotten the first cut, nick weeper, burn or bump, I was so disgusted with this SE shave. My face hurt and sustained not 1, not 2 but 3 cuts... and I had several bumps on the neck appear, some of them looking like the tops were sliced right off, to go along with the razor burn. Needless to say, my neck is looking a fright and my face is covered in white styptic pencil residue! Not a happy camper at all! I finally had to finish with my DE and even that was painful due to the aforementioned butchering.

Now. I'm willing to chalk it up to being inexperienced with SEs. But to my credit, I did put the head flat against my face and neck as you're supposed to do. I'm also willing to chalk it up to maybe Treet blades suck. And hence I'll be trying it once more with a Pella blade as soon as my sampler arrives thanks to a very generous B&B member, DunEdinRanger. But after this fiasco, I'm going to have to talk myself into this second try. Somehow I think I'll be offering up a very nice GEM Pushbutton for sale soon.

 

[IAmTheJody]

And how fitting that my current user title is "Styptic Addicted". I think tonight, I would have chewed up the styptic pencil and swallowed it if I knew it would make it all just go away...

 

[siouxsie]

Been there with the SE, brother, been there.

 

[johnmrson]

Firstly, an SE requires a completely different technique to a DE. Play around with the angle. Secondly, good SE blades are very sharp and don't have any flex in them. I think that there is some wisdom into stropping or corking a new SE blade before you use it for the first time. When you get it right, an SE razor will shave you like no DE can. My GEM 1912 isn't nicknamed the BBS Machine for nothing.

 

[michiganlover]

But to my credit, I did put the head flat against my face and neck as you're supposed to do.

The Gem instructions do indicate you should use it flat against the face. That is actually incorrect. You will have far superior results if you move the razor to a couple of degrees off of flat against the face.

Using a Gem is more like using a straight razor, than using a DE razor. The blade is thick, and non-flexible. It requires an entirely different technique over a DE razor.

For one, using any amount of pressure will result in razor burn, and obstructions on your face just being shaved right off.

You might want to read up on skin stretching as well.

 

[bradyarz]

i was just pif'd my first se razor--a 1912 gem with treet blades from hoosiertrooper and i loved it. this must be a definite case of ymmv
it was one of the most effortless, closest-to-bbs shaves i've ever had.

that being said, i didn't go straight from my gillettes to the gem; i had been trying out straights for a little while. if you treat the se razor like a straight with the handle in the wrong place, my guess is your shave will improve drastically.

definitely don't give up on it yet. give your face time to heal and try again. try not to put the head of the razor right on your skin, but leave an oh-so-slight gap. i generally find the angle at which i want to shave based on how the hair sounds when it's being cut.

 

[Slivovitz]

Oddly enough, I shaved with a Gem Pushbutton this morning. Not my favorite SE, actually, but it worked well. I know where you're coming from, though, I think of my first shave with an SE (OC Micromatic) as "Bloody Wednesday". That was quite a while ago, and I've had many great shaves with Gems of different kinds since then, including that same Micromatic.

No advice to add to what you've already read, except maybe be sure that the blade isn't a little bit loose. You can read what other people have to say, but in the end, you have to find the angle and the touch for yourself.

 

[Shave Cat]

While the black and gold Push Button may not be Gem's most aggressive, it does yield a closer shave than, let's say, a 1912. Things have got to be right or you will get major irritation. As has been said, keeping the razor's big, flat head against your face is usually not the best idea. Often, the razor's head will stick to your face or drag. In this case, the razor will tend to skip, tempting you to apply pressure. Also, your lather should be slippery, but not sticky. I mentioned pressure. Use ZERO pressure, not just light pressure. It might feel as if you're slightly lifting the razor as you're shaving. You want a very light touch shaving with an SE. Imagine you're a master barber shaving your best customer. I get good shaves from the Treet blades, but I'll caution you not to leave them in a wet razor. They can rust. I remove mine, rinse them, and lightly blow the water drops from them after I shave. I only put them back in my SE when the razor is dry.

 

[Dave Deluxe]

When new to SE shaving be sure to allow for plenty of time so you don't feel pressured to finish quickly, use a light touch and watch your angle. Other than that double check to see that the blade is "seated" properly and you should recieve the best shave of your life.

DD

 

[Go West Young Man]

Tearing yourself up with a new razor is kind of a rite of passage here

The key is to stick with the same setup for at least a week, it always takes a while to figure out the specifics of a new razor/blade/cream/whatever. If you change stuff around now you'll never learn the techniques specific to that combo.

 

[IAmTheJody]

Thanks all for the advice. I'm not giving up just yet.. but will have a medic on stand-by next time.