Micromatic Monday

[Tanuki]

I found a PB in pristine condition for less than a 6 pack of decent micro brew.

Wow @Flintstone65 that is quite an update.
@Twelvefret How bout this PB

View attachment 953986

I would cheerfully trade a 6 pack of indecent PB ale for a decent PB GEM. Or even a pristine short case of IPA for a pristine PB GEM.

I went from 0 to 5 GEMs at a stunning pace, one more and I can make my own chart. (My photo will be slightly out of focus, since my 1912 is actually an ER.)

The mentoring and good fellowship on this thread and the GEM models thread have made this journey a heck of a lot easier and a h... of a lot of fun.

I will be there tomorrow for MM with the CP; there’s a slight Presidents Delay on my road trip.

 

[GAW9576]

I hope to be there tomorrow with either the CP or the OC.
And @Tanuki is spot on. This is one of my favorite threads, and a great group of guys. I frequently read the posts to my wife, who has very little interest otherwise. And even she laughs.

 

[Twelvefret]

Circa ‘58 Push Button/circa 1920’s 5/8 Salamander.

First and third passes with the Push Button. This little GEM is a real work horse and gets the job done in style.

 

[Flintstone65]

View attachment 954077 View attachment 954070 Circa ‘58 Push Button/circa 1920’s 5/8 Salamander.

First and third passes with the Push Button. This little GEM is a real work horse and gets the job done in style.

Style indeed...classy and beautiful!!!

 

[Ron R]

Good morning on Micromatic Monday, @Twelvefret nice advertisement for the time of creation of that GEM.
I really enjoy some of the old ads, it seemed like a innocent time and not overwhelmed with so much other stuff.
The morning shave was real close and comfortable with the Micromatic flying wing, MMBT, Micromatic guiding eye..... just a great razor and highly recommended for CCS>BBs. The humidity gauge is at 28% and that is hard on shaving proper in my opinion unless you shower or preshave. The skin absorbs a lot of water when it is needed in cold dry weather. When the thermometer reaches-30 c> it freezes the moisture in the air and creates ice fog,the dryness is hard on your eyes..... because of lack of moisture.

I really like Italian barber Amici, inexpensive and mid range soft gear made in Italy.

 

[Flintstone65]

Good morning on Micromatic Monday, @Twelvefret nice advertisement for the time of creation of that GEM.
I really enjoy some of the old ads, it seemed like a innocent time and not overwhelmed with so much other stuff.
The morning shave was real close and comfortable with the Micromatic flying wing, MMBT, Micromatic guiding eye..... just a great razor and highly recommended for CCS>BBs. The humidity gauge is at 28% and that is hard on shaving proper in my opinion unless you shower or preshave. The skin absorbs a lot of water when it is needed in cold dry weather. When the thermometer reaches-30 c> it freezes the moisture in the air and creates ice fog,the dryness is hard on your eyes..... because of lack of moisture.
View attachment 954112
I really like Italian barber Amici, inexpensive and mid range soft gear made in Italy.

Beautiful MMBT -- and I am an unabashed fan of mine. I like my MMCP, but I order my favorite Micromatics as: MMOC, MMBT and then MMCP....there's not much daylight separating the MMBT and MMCP for me (both are excellent shavers), so it must just be the BT or perhaps the "guiding eye" that swings it into 2nd.

 

[Twelvefret]

Okay, I saw a MMBT with a plastic ivory color TTO knob. Were these a later offering? Dates of production if available.

 

[McKinneys]

Shave Nr. 17 (GEM PFTE, MMBT) started a bit rough and tuggy while going WTG. But as soon as most of the three days growth had been removed, going XTG and ATG turned out to be smooth and easy. Great fresh (Speick cream and Speick AS) 3-pass-BBS-shave with only a bit of touchups needed.
I would like to see the life of the blade to be stretched to 20, but we'll see how it will perform next MMMonday.

 

[Clay S]

Monday Menthol Madness, Madness, Madness, Cough, Madness
& Micromatic
2019/02/18 Shave:

Prep - Noxzema, Microfiber Hot towel*, Lather, Microfiber Hot towel*, Proraso Green Pre-shave**
Razor - Gem 1912/Gem SS(9)
Brush - Graydog Black Palm with Stirling Knot
Post - Alum, Thayer's Medicated Witch Hazel, Microfiber Hot Towel*, Blade for Men(CVS) Arctic Blue
Passes - 2 ATG
Result - High DFS, BBS - would need cotton ball to determine along jaw -too lazy
Nose - Zicam Intense Sinus Relief with Menthol & Eucalyptus
Chest - Vicks VapoRub

Congestion is ongoing, decide to co-opt Menthol Monday for dual purpose.

*Scented with Eucalyptus EO and Menthol Bath Salts

 

[Twelvefret]

Monday Menthol Madness, Madness, Madness, Cough, Madness
& Micromatic
2019/02/18 Shave:

Prep - Noxzema, Microfiber Hot towel*, Lather, Microfiber Hot towel*, Proraso Green Pre-shave**
Razor - Gem 1912/Gem SS(9)
Brush - Graydog Black Palm with Stirling Knot
Post - Alum, Thayer's Medicated Witch Hazel, Microfiber Hot Towel*, Blade for Men(CVS) Arctic Blue
Passes - 2 ATG
Result - High DFS, BBS - would need cotton ball to determine along jaw -too lazy
Nose - Zicam Intense Sinus Relief with Menthol & Eucalyptus
Chest - Vicks VapoRub

Congestion is ongoing, decide to co-opt Menthol Monday for dual purpose.

*Scented with Eucalyptus EO and Menthol Bath Salts

View attachment 954150

Feel better soon @Clay S

Great sit up today. Thanks for participating. Beautiful brush.

 

[Tanuki]

SOTD MMMonday - 2/18

1 New to me GEM Micromatic Clog pruf - first shave
2 GEM (14) flipped - WILL NOT QUIT
3 Semogue 1250 - face lather, with bowl backup for a little painting
4 BOSC Special Reserve AC ‘croap’
5 Big ol’ Shavex alum bar that looked too rough to be given as a Christmas gift. So now I’m completely 3017 on alum and have a block rotation!?!

First and foremost - any doubts, vague aspersions, snark of any type concerning this blade; I want to apologize for any pain I caused. This blade is still in fine form, any performance problems were due to my youth and inexperience with the Featherweight as of last Friday. I hope to earn your trust as an SE blade critic as we move forward together. That is, if I ever get to use a second GEM blade... blade immortality has its drawbacks.

I am rating the MMCP as every bit as efficient, but slightly less aggressive than the MMOC. The shave technique learned at the MMOC’s ringed handle was completely applicable to the MMCP. Two days growth of beard. Aced the alum test. Two pass BBS except those troubling swirls.

Gotta hit the road, I am so outta here. But I’ll be back by Monday.

 

[Ron R]

Monday Menthol Madness, Madness, Madness, Cough, Madness
& Micromatic
2019/02/18 Shave:

Prep - Noxzema, Microfiber Hot towel*, Lather, Microfiber Hot towel*, Proraso Green Pre-shave**
Razor - Gem 1912/Gem SS(9)
Brush - Graydog Black Palm with Stirling Knot
Post - Alum, Thayer's Medicated Witch Hazel, Microfiber Hot Towel*, Blade for Men(CVS) Arctic Blue
Passes - 2 ATG
Result - High DFS, BBS - would need cotton ball to determine along jaw -too lazy
Nose - Zicam Intense Sinus Relief with Menthol & Eucalyptus
Chest - Vicks VapoRub

Congestion is ongoing, decide to co-opt Menthol Monday for dual purpose.

*Scented with Eucalyptus EO and Menthol Bath Salts

View attachment 954150

Hope you start to feel better, that almost looks like one of Greydogs master pieces when it comes to wood turning.

 

[Ron R]

View attachment 954125 Okay, I saw a MMBT with a plastic ivory color TTO knob. Were these a later offering? Dates of production if available.

I believe they were later production, I was on another thread reading and they removed the guiding eye on the ivory tip Micromatic flying wing and first models had the guiding eye sales gimmick.

 

[Tanuki]

View attachment 954077 View attachment 954070 Circa ‘58 Push Button/circa 1920’s 5/8 Salamander.

First and third passes with the Push Button. This little GEM is a real work horse and gets the job done in style.

Such a pretty set up all around. Makes me sad that I’m too lazy to shave at least a little straight. Hey, my Omega 11047 mixed midget is going on it’s first road trip!

 

[Clay S]

Hope you start to feel better, that almost looks like one of Greydogs master pieces when it comes to wood turning.

Graydog Black Palm with Stirling Knot

Almost

He does true art IMO! A Pro 10098 Knot in a olivewood/blackpalm handle of his.

And thanks for the well wishes @Twelvefret as well.

Mostly just congestion, little coughing except for trying to clear.

 

[GAW9576]

Nice set up @Twelvefret .
@Ron R I don't see the guiding eye on that Bullit tip?
@Clay S those are sweet brushs, love the black palm. And the mixed olive and black palm.
@Tanuki nice set up. Where are you headed?

I did a quike shave with my MMCP, Gem ptfe 3 flip and my new to me Gillette new long comb, KAI 6th use. And the little brush wasn't to impresive it sheds alot and even with Cella I had a hard time lathering.

 

[Flintstone65]

Today was shave #2 with the renowned Gem Junior Bar....

As with most GEM razors, putting a date on this beauty is somewhat difficult. According to my understanding of Wait's Compendium, this model of lather catcher made it's debut around 1907 and remained until 1910. After 1910 the body was changed a bit, and not long after that, the razors we call the Damaskeene's (first the open comb version, then the closed comb version) came on to the scene. It came with a case that appears in 1908, so I think of it as a 1909 (splitting the difference between 108 and 110.

The handle isn't original to this particular razor, but it did come from the same model Gem Jr Bar. This one came with an incorrect ASR handle (the type you see on later ASR 1912's), but I managed to find a GJB that was missing it's blade keeper (the "bar" in the Gem Jr Bar name) but still had it's wooden handle. This is a light razor (25 grams total -- 19 grams for the head and 6 for the handle. And while I neglected to get a length measurement, you can rest assured that this one is definitely on the short side.

Now for the shave. While I think the efficiency is decent (a 5 or 6 out of 10), the razor itself is incredibly mild. It is the mildest SE I've ever used....even more than the MMBT. The angle is incredibly easy to find, and even when I start hot-dogging it around my face, I never got a single weeper or nick. I know it can cut me (it is holding a razor blade), but it just feels almost impossible to inflict damage to myself. The lower efficiency (especially with a used blade), did mean that I needed to do a fair amount of buffing, but I ended up with a DFS+, and frankly, I love wielding this razor so much that I don't mind doing an extra pass or a heavy touchup.

I've heard many rave about this razor, and now I know why. It's beautiful to behold, fun to shave with, and my face feels good afterward -- not a hint of discomfort or irritation. This is the first SE I've used that I thought could be a daily driver. Okay, now I'm raving about this 110 year old GEM!!!

Here's today's SOTD photo:
1907-1910 GEM Junior Bar | Treet CS (8) | Green Mountain Soap (Green-Vetiver) [Soap not pictured, part of a pass-around, so no box] | Yaqi 24mm Mew Brown Synth | Krampert's Finest Frostbite A/S

 

[GAW9576]

Gosh darn it @Flintstone65 did you have to rave about it so much, now I have to have one and there are so many razors I have to have.

 

[Flintstone65]

Gosh darn it @Flintstone65 did you have to rave about it so much, now I have to have one and there are so many razors I have to have.

Yeah, I am sorry about that....I've lost track of the number of times I've seen a review and thought "I have got to get that razor!". These really are special, but thanks to chuckle-heads like me talking them up, the prices have gotten silly. Hopefully the market will cool down before long....but these are definitely pricier than their Micromatic progeny.

Now for your shave, I've got to say that I really liked your Daily Double. I've got a Gillette New that looks like it could be a twin of yours, and I absolutely love it!!! Pairing it with an MMCP was absolutely brilliant. Can't say much about the brush....I know lots of folks that love the Boars (and the Badgers and Horses), but I'm strictly a synth guy -- which you probably figured out after all this time. I do like the handle -- do you know what it's made out of?

 

[Flintstone65]

Shave Nr. 17 (GEM PFTE, MMBT) started a bit rough and tuggy while going WTG. But as soon as most of the three days growth had been removed, going XTG and ATG turned out to be smooth and easy. Great fresh (Speick cream and Speick AS) 3-pass-BBS-shave with only a bit of touchups needed.
I would like to see the life of the blade to be stretched to 20, but we'll see how it will perform next MMMonday.

We're pulling for you, I'd like to see you hit 20 with that blade. I picked up a tube of Speick cream off the BST a while back....haven't had a chance to use it yet, but looking forward to it.