The 1908 Ever Ready

[D.Irving79]

Outstanding! Should I get up at 6:00 am to get a jump on this. Thank you for doing this. Did you use the junky camera or good one?

hahaha, i wont be posting them until the afternoon sometime.

i have an awesome camera, but im still figuring how to use it well. these pictures actually came out pretty good though.

I will be waiting for these myself. I now have to acquire a 'lather catcher' myself.

Dave, do you know how to fix an ER razor that won't clamp the blade tight?

if its a 1912 its not worth it for the effort youd have to put into it.

 

[ShaneC]

I finally get in a Gem (well, 4) and now you go and make the ER's the 'hot thing' again!

grr...always one step behind!

 

[D.Irving79]

its a hip hop world young man.

 

[lpj]

Hello DIrvin79,

Beautiful beautiful razor. I just got a 1912 Gem and it shaves great too. You are a SE type of guy, so how do these (ER vs GEM) generally compare and which one came first? Sorry I don't know the history, but I sure do like the present example. Did I say, beautiful?

Lee

 

[D.Irving79]

the gem razor came first, with the first one appearing around 1898. the first ever ready didnt appear until about 1900 or so. the same man founded both brands. as far as comparison, for the most part, they shave pretty equally until around 1917 or so; thats when ER models started taking on their own designs independent from gem and where the shaves between the 2 would not always be equal.


and thanks

Hello DIrvin79,

Beautiful beautiful razor. I just got a 1912 Gem and it shaves great too. You are a SE type of guy, so how do these (ER vs GEM) generally compare and which one came first? Sorry I don't know the history, but I sure do like the present example. Did I say, beautiful?

Lee

 

[napoleon]

I have a similar model. Great shave!

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=86011&highlight=lather+catcher

 

[John C]

there are razors that dont come around too often. this one is a step above those. observe:
this year ive only seen one other auction for this set and foolishly i missed it. now, on to the specifics...

today was my first shave with it. i was curious as the handle is a slight bit short and the head widens a bit at the middle. some lather catcher razors with these attributes can take a bit of getting used to. not this one. very easy to maneuver, the head was able to tackle all the right spots, and the blade was seated a bit differently than most ER razors of this style: a bit higher off the comb, which allowed for less frequent rinsing off of the lather; a big plus being these razors only have 1 edge. i got an incredibly close, comfortable shave and i can safely say that this razor edged out my 1907 gem junior, which until now was my favorite, best performing lather catcher razor.

if you ever get a chance to obtain one of these, i strongly suggest you do.

This is awesome timing. I just found this same set in the wild last weekend. I snagged and bagged mine for $12. I've got a bit of plating missing from the front right stop for the blade but other than that it's in remarkably good shape.
+1 on the shaving review, this is a sweet little razor.
The only issue I have with it is the stubby light handle. I'm thinking of building a larger handle to help balance it out a bit better.
enjoy

 

[D.Irving79]

I have a similar model. Great shave!

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=86011&highlight=lather+catcher

nice 1915

 

[fmlondon]

I have one just like it, except with a wooden handle. I quite agree, it gives an awesome shave, close and comfortable. Do you know anything about the first Ever Ready model? I saw an ad for it from 1904, and another from 1906, where the lather catcher appears to be backwards.

 

[fmlondon]

Hello D. Irving,

I have used an ER such as the one you pictured, and it is a great shave. You also mentioned that you would post your ER collection on another thread, would you please send me the url?

I have always wanted a variety of ER that was manufactured in 1906. On Ebay there is an ad for this razor from 1904. However, it says American Safety Razor, so, either ER was acquired by ASR earlier, or this ad is somewhat later than described. It has what looks like a backward lather catcher, with the lather accumulating on the back of the handle rather than the front, as is always the case. Do you have one of these? Are they rare?

Thanks!

 

[ShavinBacon]

Hello D. Irving,

I have used an ER such as the one you pictured, and it is a great shave. You also mentioned that you would post your ER collection on another thread, would you please send me the url?

I have always wanted a variety of ER that was manufactured in 1906. On Ebay there is an ad for this razor from 1904. However, it says American Safety Razor, so, either ER was acquired by ASR earlier, or this ad is somewhat later than described. It has what looks like a backward lather catcher, with the lather accumulating on the back of the handle rather than the front, as is always the case. Do you have one of these? Are they rare?

Thanks!

D.Irving79 was an excellent SE resource and valuable asset to this community but he has not been on here August 1, 2010. As far as I know, no one knows what happened to him but it is believed he had some health issues.

This thread is over 4 years old. I would suggest posting your questions in your own thread on the SE razor sub forum. You will get more responses that way.

 

[MacDaddy]

I have always wanted a variety of ER that was manufactured in 1906. On Ebay there is an ad for this razor from 1904. However, it says American Safety Razor, so, either ER was acquired by ASR earlier, or this ad is somewhat later than described.

I'd say that seller is just wrong about the date of the ad. Volume 62 of American Magazine appears to capture the timeline here perfectly. This ad appeared in the May 1906 issue still showing the older style hinged-front lather catcher:



Then, in the June 1906 issue they ran this ad showing the newer reverse lather catcher. But notice that they hadn't yet updated the inset trademark shaving face image.



In July they ran an updated version of the above ad where even the trademark shaving face is using the newer razor. Then in August they ran a side-by-side ad comparing the 7-blade Ever-Ready set with a 7-day set of straight razors, and finally in September they ran the same full-page ad that the seller on eBay is offering:

It has what looks like a backward lather catcher, with the lather accumulating on the back of the handle rather than the front, as is always the case. Do you have one of these? Are they rare?

I've got a couple of these, one loose and one complete cased set. I would hesitate to call them "rare" but they're definitely uncommon. They appear to have stopped making them at some point during 1907 -- at least that's when they disappeared from the ad record, and when the more traditional type at the top of this thread started showing up. If I were just making a wild guess I'd say that their short life had something to do with the fact that they're not terribly pleasant at all to shave with. There's nothing at all guarding the corners of the blade so you have to be unbelievably mindful while you're using it or you will end up with a face full of nice red welts for hours afterwards. (Don't ask how I know this.)

 

[fmlondon]

Thank you for the information! If you ever want to sell the loose one, please let me know. Thanks!