is my GEM featherweight damaged? calling GEM owners....

[drandall]

so i just got a GEM featherweight and unlike my 1912, the spring on the flip top isn't very strong. i can wiggle the blade horizontally (side to side) with the top down.

is this normal? is this dangerous? my 1912 clamps hard with no play in the blade. any ideas?

 

[Slivovitz]

The Featherweight isn't my favorite Gem, but I'd say no that isn't normal. There's no play in the blade with mine. Maybe you can bend the spring a little to retension it, but get someone else's opinion first. I've never done this.

 

[82R100]

While that's probably weaker than normal, from a practical standpoint, there really aren't side loads on the blade while it's being used.

- Chris

 

[K.T.]

Agh! I had two Gems with this problem. It's annoying, alright. It's caused by a lack of spring tension pressing upward on the bottom edges of the fliptop (cap?).

If you look carefully on the bottom of the bed on which the blade sits, you'll see two leaf springs. These press up on the bottom side edges of the fliptop. The fliptop rotates on two hinge pins, one on either side of the razor. The more upward tension these springs exert on the bottom edges of the fliptop, the tighter the fliptop closes. You want a tight closure, of course.

The lack of closing tension results from these contact points getting knocked out of tolerance.

If you think about it, the amount that the springs flex during normal operation, the opening and closing of the razor, should not be enough to weaken it over time. So what probably happened is that the distance from the bottom side edges of the fliptop to the tops of the springs has increased a little. This might have been from rough or forceful opening and closing. The greater this distance, the less force the spring can exert on the bottom of the fliptop, leading to a loose closure.

It only take a fraction of a millimeter or less of increased distance to drastically weaken the pressure.

The culprit is probably the little hinge pins that secure the fliptop to the bed. These pins simultaneously act as a pivot points for the fliptop. It's possible that rough opening and closing has caused those pins to bend upward slightly, increasing the distance discussed above. Thus the loose closure.

Here's what I did with mine: I took a thin flathead screwdriver and gently pried one sidewall of the fliptop away from it's capture/pivot pin (I did this from the back and bottom of the razor). Once one side is loose, you just pull the other side off. Now the cap is fully removed.

Look at the two pins on the sides of the bed. They may be bent upward slightly, but you may not even be able to notice it. In any case, take the bed of the razor in your fingers, making sure to support the area adjacent to and near the pin, so that nothing else on the razor warps. Then put pressure on the bottom surface of the bed, pressing the pin (the surface that corresponds to the upper surface of the bed) onto a cushioned surface, like a magazine on top of a solid wooden table. Press it so that the pin bends back down in the direction of the spring just ever so slightly. Repeat on the other side.

Now take the fliptop and hook one side onto its corresponding pin. You'll have to pull and/or flex the other side slightly to slide it over the remaining pin, but it should slide over the pin and click into place. Voila! That should do it. You've decreased the distance from the cap to the springs, allowing more pressure to be transferred.

One note: Just as an extra measure, when the fliptop was off, I took my thumbs and pressed the springs upwards, in the direction of the the bed. Make sure you support the top of the bed with your fingers so it doesn't bend or warp while you're doing this. I don't know if it helped, but if pressing on the springs did bend them up a little, that's even more pressure created.

Once you have the fliptop back on, you may notice that one of the sidewalls, most likely the one that you pried with the screwdriver, may be bent out a bit at the bottom. You can bend it back into shape.

Take an adjustable plumber's wrench, set it to the appropriate width, cushion the razor with some thick paper, and press the sidewalls back together with just enough pressure. That should do it.

After I was done with mine, the once loose fliptop clamped down with good force, like you'd expect it to.

Does that make sense? Hope it helps.

K.T.

P.S.- I did this on a 1912 head. I think the principle is the same for the Featherweight. The unplated brass of the 1912 Parade model is more malleable than a plated head, so it might be tougher working the plated metal.