March 24th, 1914

[Haggises]

Was in my opinion, one of the finest Patent days in the world of shaving.

I tried my ER 1914 for the first time and at first thought I was doing something wrong. It slid down my face. No tugging like the 1912, no even much of a sound.
I relathered and tried an XTG pass and same thing. I put the plug in the sink (I prefer running water) to see if I was getting any stubble removal. My second XTG pass went ultra smooth and now I could see stubble in the water and almost nothing left on my face. The final ATG pass produced my smoothest face yet, BBS except for one small spot on the Adams apple that I just plain missed.
I am absolutely blown away by this razor. I have only one spot of irritation on the lower neck where I think I got overzealous.

Completely gobsmacked that a shave could feel this nice. 1914 was a pretty good year (well except for the breakout of hostilities in Europe and all that...)

Looking forward to another 5 days of this one for GEMini, then it will be the first one I pick up when I've gone through the rest.

 

[Cicatero]

I don't know if my 1924 will wind-up as my favorite razor, but it's ONE of my favorites now!

I also really appreciate the design simplicity of it.

No tugging like the 1912, no even much of a sound.

Mine's quite different, it's loud as heck!

 

[ERVARGASNY]

Haggises, That is great. 1914 was my first SE shave, i to was blown away at what freekimg amazing shave this little razor gave me, i.did same as you, WTG, XTG, ATG insanely smooth irritation free BBS, funny i can do ATG with an SE around my chin, neck,mouth area and no irritation + BBS. I can't do the same with a DE without irritation and a Weaper or Two. Something tells me in the thick Gem Blades shave more hair then skin?

 

[Member357]

You know the rules - photos or it didn't happen!

 

[HoosierTrooper]

The 1914 ER is a great razor, no doubt. It sets in second place just behind the 1912 for me because it's just a bit trickier to open and close.

 

[The Kiwi]

No matter how hard I try, I cannot recapture any mental picture from 1954 to identify, with certainty, either one of two SEs I looked at then. Both were tarnished silver plate colored, both looked older than dirt itself. One, according to my Aunt, had been my Mother's own SE. But Mother claimed it had to be another sister's, instead, since she still had her own first and only SE, and it was slightly different, but I can't recall a single specific. I'd tried a new electric shaver, and it couldn't handle the fineness and the softness of the peach fuzz I was growing at the time.

I had three DEs, and one SE given to me. The Aristocrat was NOS, its shipping carton was missing, that was all. The other one- piece Gillette was the one I liked best of the DEs, but it was the SE I began using once a week or so. I nicked myself under the nose at least every other shave, one way or another, the first few weeks. But it was the results that counted, not the process. No one seemed to pay that much attention to the process or hardware, with the exception of the incessant Gillette blade advertising, plus a lot of aerosol foam advertising.

None of those ads were particularly memorable at all, either. AFAIK, there was only one brand of SE blades on anyone's shelves anywhere, ASR's. Schick advertised their electric shavers a lot, but once again, no memorable ads. They didn't advertise blade razors or blades, that I recall, other than point of purchase displays. I have a couple of Gems about the same age as the ones that my Mother and my Aunt had (both 1912s), and haven't done much with either one yet. One looks like it has a gold wash, which is top-coated with a clear lacquer.

I'll eventually give the silver one the baking soda treatment to see if it will end up looking better, of course (and I do have two little Canon cameras, one new, and the second a lot older, as well. The older one works with the old PC, on which the newer Windows OS has just gone belly-up. The new camera wants Windows7, but will work with Windows XP and Vista).



On closer examination, the two aren't identical in all regards but color. The gold-toned one has "knobby" extensions at the ends of the safety bar, where the blade nibs are located. Incidentally, it was only today, while setting up the pose, that I've seen where the Patent Date was stamped on them -- not easily spotted.

 

[Haggises]

I noted a wee problem with the 1914.
I shaved off most of the beard today and found that I quickly got a pile of stubble build up under the blade. Had to clean it out three times. Anyone else found this with shaving a large amount of growth withe an SE?

 

[duokun]

I noticed some hair build up with my 1912, since i usually shave every couple days, but it wasn't anything that was enough to negatively effect the shave quality.

 

[The Kiwi]

I've been fighting off allergies and sinus blockages, and skipped an extra day and a half. That's after temporarily promoting myself back into the shave every day category for several days in a row, so I was about 60 hours on into a weekend's worth and a little bit. The 1912 worked as it should have (the "gold" one that is probably just brass, but still well protected by a good coat of lacquer), although it's not quite as close-shaving as my Clog- Pruf is -- about equal to my Gbar, though. If there was any extra stubble not rinsing out, it never showed itself to me.

 

[Haggises]

Bumping me own thread.

I have a replated 1914 coming in from Krona Kruiser.
Can't wait!
Especially since I won't be able to get it until next Saturday as I'm on vacation.
Pics will actually be forthcoming!

 

[Haggises]

A bump.

I'll be on vacation next week but will be honoring the 99th anniversary of the patent with my 1914 replate for Single Edge sunday.
Who's with me?

 

[KingGordon]

I sir shall stand with you. Happy 99th to the 1914 Ever Ready!

Does somebody need to get a cake and candles?

 

[KingGordon]

Had a great shave with the 24/14 today on it's 99th birthday. It's a fine machine that has definitely stood the test of time.

 

[Haggises]

Nice KG!

I just shaved with the 1914 replate I got from Krona Kruiser, fresh PTFE SS blade, Mystuc Waters Coconut and a B&B Boar.

Doesn't get much better than that!

Almost a year since getting my first, this is still my favorite razor. Just that little bit smoother than a 1912 or a 1924, more efficient than a Gbar or a Flying Wing.
Must use more often!

 

[retturn2blades]

As the contrary one here, I sold off my 1914s and I have a shovel head heading out the door once I recover from my hip replacement surgery. Cutting my razors to the bone (pun intended) and keeping my selected best only.

I find on any given day the shave gods will allow a DFS from any razor or a soap can top...but I want consistency without having to dance around with soaps, preps, blades, etc.

Im moving away from being a hobbyists and shaving explorer to a fussy user...so only my personal few best razors remain on my shelf. But it was fun buying and trying most of the most talked about razors on B&B.