new old razor

[bob.e]

Just picked up an Ever-Ready Razor it says Made In U.S.A. uses Gem Blades and was more ornate than the Gem they had, so I took style over substance the only other markings on it was PAT'D 1912. I have no idea how old it is or how to date it.

The handle on this razor is totally sweet very intricate tooling the Gem just had ridges on a hexagon shaft, this has the ridges as well as intricate tooling on the hexagon handle.

There is no rust or brassing or loss of plating on the razor.

Will shave with it tonight and report later

Any idea when it was made???

 

[mdunn]

That, to my untrained eye, is a Gem 1912

 

[82R100]

I don't believe there's any reliable way to date it. Obviously made after 1912.

- Chris

 

[BroJohn]

Bob --

The 1912 pattern was produced from 1912, and into the late-40's ending with the Parade model about 1948. I don't know when your's was produced; perhaps Dave Irving will stop by and help out.

They are a great shaving razor. Enjoy.

-- John Gehman

 

[D.Irving79]

it is in fact a 1912 ever ready

dating some of them is tricky, which is why for the most part we just call them 1912s

the 1912 ERs were made all the way into the 1950s, but mostly for the UK market. ER had its own version of the gbar and featherweight and also featured an all aluminum version of the 1912.

 

[bob.e]

Thank you guys for your comments

I tried shaving with it tonight, to make the experience as authentic as possible I used an old fashioned scuttle with boar brush and a puck of Williams Shaving soap. I don't understand people not liking the Williams soap, with no effort at all I had a lather on my face as thick and creamy as my regular cream. As to the shave I made multiple passes in each direction in fact 6 latherings I had no cuts nicks or weepers and my face felt fine after the shave. Under the bridge of the nose was not too easily done I can picture many users of the razor sporting mustaches. I must say it's a very loud razor to shave with as you hear the whiskers shearing, but I can't say if it was my technique or poor blades (I couldn't find actual gem blades, and settled for "window scraping blades from the hardware section" but I had a fine over-all stubble left after the shave, to the eye it looked perfect a CCS for sure, but getting a DFS would require more effort and expertise with the razor and possibly better blades.

 

[82R100]

I suspect better blades would help. Walgreens usually has Gem Super Stainless available.

- Chris

 

[michiganlover]

(I couldn't find actual gem blades, and settled for "window scraping blades from the hardware section)

shivers with fear

For the love of all things holy, if you love your face at all, please, please, please never attempt to shave with paint scrapper blades again!!

OUCH!!

Those blades are way to dull for shaving, which will likely make the razor pull, and you will be more likely to suffer nicks/cuts/ and weepers.

If you can't find the actual Gem blades locally, you can buy them from ShoeboxShaveShop:

http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/gem-superstainless-single-edge--5-p5.html

 

[bob.e]

Will try again with Gem blades when I can locate them locally

 

[82R100]

shivers with fear

For the love of all things holy, if you love your face at all, please, please, please never attempt to shave with paint scrapper blades again!!

OUCH!!

Those blades are way to dull for shaving, which will likely make the razor pull, and you will be more likely to suffer nicks/cuts/ and weepers.

You see, you shouldn't put up challenges like that, John. In my last amazon.com order I threw in this blade order, just for kicks (the shipping was free).

After reading the customer reviews "Great blades for the price...my wife uses them to clean spots on our glass top stove." I knew these were the blades for me!

I figured it's a pretty tiny investment for 100 blades, and I get a good four shaves out of my Blue Star carbon blades already (with two ATG passes per shave). In a couple of weeks I'm going to try one of these in my open comb Micromatic.

- Chris

 

[michiganlover]

You see, you shouldn't put up challenges like that, John. In my last amazon.com order I threw in this blade order, just for kicks (the shipping was free).

After reading the customer reviews "Great blades for the price...my wife uses them to clean spots on our glass top stove." I knew these were the blades for me!

I figured it's a pretty tiny investment for 100 blades, and I get a good four shaves out of my Blue Star carbon blades already (with two ATG passes per shave). In a couple of weeks I'm going to try one of these in my open comb Micromatic.

- Chris

The key difference, is that you are an experienced Gem shaver, who knows what a good blade should feel like. If you find those blades bad, no biggie, you can just go back to using good blades.

A new Gem user who encounters a sub-par blade may write off the entire razor as a result.

~John~

 

[82R100]

That would be unfortunate.

 

[82R100]

Will try again with Gem blades when I can locate them locally

The package should look something like this: