Instant Gem Razor Collection - but what should I keep?

[mos6502]

I recently picked up a gaggle of Gems off of ebay:

Top: Damaskeene, Junior, "G bar"
Bottom: Micromatic, and two clog pruf razors

I bought the lot because I wanted the Damaskeene and the G bar. However now I might prefer to keep the Junior instead since there is plenty of plating loss on the Damaskeene handle. I guess I'll try shaving with both before deciding which to rid myself of.

I'm not particularly interested in any of the micromatics, however I did notice that aside from the plating the clog pruf razors are slightly different (the guard bars have different numbers of teeth):

Is one better than the other? Or more desirable?

Unfortunately the micromatics must have been stored with blades in them as they all show rust strains inside of the head. The G bar seems to be in the best condition and I've already cleaned it up.

So advise me on what I should keep!

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Keep all of them, each one is unique and you have a pretty nice selection from each era of the Gem history. Even though you have two Clog pruf's if you look closely you'll see they're a bit different, the gold one has more "teeth", and they're a bit taller than the ones on the nickel model. The rust stains will come off very easily with a little metal polish or even toothpaste

 

[Sledgehammer39]

Tom has the right idea, keep them all. They are great razors!

 

[jmacak]

Nice little collection.

I agree, why not keep them all? Maybe later you will want to give those MMs a try and it will be much easier to do it if you still have them.

Anyway, it's nice to switch off once in a while.

joe in seattle

 

[Alraz]

Yeah, no need to dispose of these beauties.

Al raz.

 

[redbike]

The razors - the Flying Wing Micromatic on the left and the two Clog-Pruf razors - in the bottom row are great shavers. Give them a good try before deciding whether to let them go.

 

[MondoJ]

Keep em and try them, just got a Damaskeene in the mail today and will be cleaning it up for use later this week. I like all the micromatics as well as the Jr. You probably will also if you try them. The ones you like you could explore getting them plated

 

[mos6502]

Hmmm. Well I can't say I'm much of a fan of the "gold" plating, so those two are most likely out by my tastes but I guess I'll give them all a go before deciding which ones stay.

Is there much reason I should keep the gold clog pruf over the chrome one? I'm assuming they shave the same despite the different teeth.

 

[santamariasteve]

In my experience a combed razor with fewer teeth generally is more comfortable to the face than a similar combed razor with more teeth. More teeth means the teeth are more narrow and perhaps more pointed. Conversely fewer teeth means the teeth are wider, and my face likes that.

The comb of my Gillette Sheraton with 12 "wider" teeth is much more comfortable than the comb of my 1909 Gillette Old stye with 14 slightly narrower teeth.

Also, I would shave with each of the new razors for at least two weeks, and then decide what to keep. They are all good razors, and there's a good chance you will keep 'em all.

 

[alex2363]

keep them all except that crappy damaskeene, just send it to me so we can keep the landfills free of brass metal

 

[dgilman]

I recently picked up a gaggle of Gems off of ebay....So advise me on what I should keep!

How on earth will you know what to keep before you've shaved with all of them?

keep them all except that crappy damaskeene, just send it to me so we can keep the landfills free of brass metal

 

[mos6502]

Well I don't really need 7 especially when some are almost identical... (I already have a shorty 1912, so I don't really need two more 1912s, and I don't think I need two clog prufs either xD )

I already shaved with the G bar now - it's a keeper. So I'll try the Damaskeene or the Junior tomorrow. I think I'll hold off on the micromatics until my SE technique improves some.