I have been using an MMOC for a few weeks and think it's a great razor in all respects but one. I struggle a bit with the thin handle. Most folks won't have any problem, but I have thick arthritic fingers so thicker handles are just much easier for me to manage. I realize that the MMOC handle is not changeable (or at least not easily), but is there another Gem razor that performs similarly but has a thicker handle?
Shaves like an MMOC
- Thread starter Steve_in_CT
- Start date
There's this: Shave off between Blackland Sabre L 2 vs Gem MMOC
No but you can always swap handles on a 1924 Shovelhead for one more comfortable. The shave for me is reasonably comparable though I prefer the MMOC. You can do the same on most late 1912s.
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Nothing shaves like the MMOC.
Maybe wrap the handle with something to make it thicker?
Maybe wrap the handle with something to make it thicker?
Few layers of heat-shrink tubing.
Surgical tubing came to mind.
Easy to put a bigger and fatter handle on a 1912. You need some thread to link it, and for this I use 2BA. I just buy 2BA long brass screws and saw them off at the appropriate point so they go right in to the handle with enough sticking out for the connection. That way they can't get lost in the handle.
Clever, but he's talking about a Micromatic Open Comb. It's a twist to open design, so the handle can't be replaced.
No, OP says - "is there another Gem razor that performs similarly but has a thicker handle?"
This points straight at the 1912 (or 1914 or 1924). Easy to fit thicker handles using a 2BA thread as connector.
If the handle is the main area of concern, then Gem made the "Parade" or "Junior" version with the "baton" handle -- the large-diameter plastic one.
However, it does not come in an open comb version if I recall. In the vintage Gems you only get two OC versions -- again depending on memory here -- either the MMOC which you can't change, or the older and considerably rarer Damaskeene OC which you can re-handle if you're creative.
I don't know your experience, so I'll leave it to your discretion whether you must have an open comb.
In "Gem format" but not "Gem brand" -- I've got two: the ATT G1 and the PAA Starling V2.
The G1 shaves exactly like a 1912 pattern Gem for me. This is exactly the way they designed it, so +1 for success. It has a textured cap that will help to re-distribute lather, so it doesn't tend to stick as much as a Gem. (I've never found "stick" to be a problem...) With the Kronos handle it is one SOLID razor and that appeals to me. Also the Kronos handle is heavily knurled and works well with my fingers which are also losing a bit of flexibility. The G1 is only available with an SB plate. (An OC plate would make it a G2, but there is no G2.)
The Starling V2 is only available in aluminum. It's GREAT aluminum, but still it's not got the comforting heft of the G1. Wonderful handle, though. A bit smaller in diameter than the ATT Kronos, but well knurled and grippy. I believe the change they made in the V2 from the original was to add blade corner guards. (The G1 does NOT have corner guards, but I've never had a problem with it.) It comes with both SB and OC plates. I prefer the OC plate, and can report that in my (recent, short) experience the Starling V2 OC shaves just barely smoother than an MMOC.
For the record, the MMOC handle seems kinda dinky to me, too. I shave ambidextrously, and with an old injury that impairs my left thumb I like to have plenty of handle to hang on to.
O.H.
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