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Micromatic!!!

Had my first shave on a Micromatic today that I bought a couple weeks ago. Thanks to Rick for the blades! I had to wait b/c I can't seem to find SE blades any where here in Toronto. This was also my first GEM shave ever. IT... WAS... AWESOME!!!!!!!!

It might have been the smoothest shave I've ever had! And my flesh remained mostly attached to my face.:wink: After hearing some of the blood bath threads I was a little nervous but those nerves were completely unfounded. I think the issue that most guys run into is that they don't respect these razors enough. They've been lulled into the false sense of security that you get with the ever forgiving DEs and lose focus during the shave... a woom there goes a 4X2" strip of your face.

I know everyone says this but I have to say I was extremely impressed by the auditory response you get from these bad boys. That beautiful ssscccrrrrrrrrcccchhhhh as the blade shears of the individual hairs... music to my ears, and I would know I'm a musician!

That thick blade really does make a big difference. As a heavy bearded guy myself, I needed some thing with a little more umph. Those hairs never knew what hit em.

I was also surprised and impressed with how natural the razor felt in my hand, I expected it to be awkward and unwieldy but no it almost felt like I'd been shaving with this thing since I was born. I might even go so far as to say that it's considerably more natural to hold and use than a DE... I had the blade angle right straight off the bat, no adjusting. The only place I ran into a bit of trouble was shaving up wards on my neck, that and under the nose (but I expected that.)

I think you guys may have created a monster!:eek: I can say with supreme confidence that my DEs are going to be warming the bench a lot more in the future. I'm now on the look out for a nice shave grade 1912.:wink:

btw out of curiosity could anyone tell me the the increase in life expectancy of SEs blades over DEs, or if there is any?

Thanks for all the info that encouraged me to take the plunge,
Kevin
 
Yee haw! Welcome aboard the Micromatic band wagon!

I shaved with a Gem Featherweight this morning and wished I had used my open comb Micro.

As for blade life for SE vs DE ... as the saying goes, YMMV :001_tt2:
 
Welcome to the club :D

Blades don't last any longer because they do twice the work, and an edge is an edge no matter how thick the razor blade body.

I get the same out of one as I do out of most sharp DEs, 4-5 shaves.
 
I have had excellent results with the Micromatic as well.

So much so, that I proceeded to buy another Micromatic (a clogpruf, my first one was Open Comb) a Featherweight, and a 1912.

Fortunately for me, the bloodbath stories do not apply.

I honestly think however, that I have had excellent results, because I respect the razor. I know that due to it's "straight razor on a stick" reputation, it has the ability to cause disastrous results. I make sure to take it slow, and pay attention during every shave. :biggrin::biggrin:
 
I'm still waiting for a Micromatic I recently bought on the 'bay, but I currently have a G-bar and a Gem Contour. The G-bar was rough on my face, but the Contour provides a great shave - I've momentarily lost interest in the DE's...
 
Congratulations, and believe it or not, as long as you continue to respect the razor, it only gets better. The 1912 model is a "must have". They really are very good.

My beard is tough and it is unfortunately combined with soft/sensitive skin and I find GEMs are among the better razors to use for that combination. As an aside, I find the "G" model, while absolutely stunning, a bit too tame. The "G" is a good one to start with to try out SE shaving.

I find that each GEM coated blades give me at least 5 bbs no problem shaves, plus 2 more bbs shaves but with extra care, and 2 or 3 more perfectly good perfectly acceptable shaves for a total of 7 - 10. If I just go for perfectly acceptable two pass type shaves I can easily get say 8 - 10 shaves out of an SE blade. I normally don't get more than 4 or 5 shaves out of a DE blade.
 
First off, welcome to the true GOP, The Gemocrats :biggrin: As far as blade life, I hand strop prior to each shave in accordance with the gospel of Dave Irving and I get 7 good shaves out of each blade (stropping them on the heel of your hand). I change blades every Saturday. And to tell you the truth, most Saturday mornings I toss a blade that would clearly be OK for a few more shaves. However, I've gotten myself in trouble before trying to stretch that one more shave out of a blade that wasn't up to it. In response I decided I'd change the blade on the same day every week regardless. At the price of these blades I think 7 shaves is plenty. I've not had a bad shave since.
 
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