The Gem 1912

[tom myers]

I had shaved with single edge razors before; specifically the G-bar, and some of the newer models. I had never tried to shave with a 1912 until this morning.

D.Irving has been lauding the merits of the 1912, and since I never had any problems with single edge razors, I decided I might as well give one of my old 1912 flip tops a try . . . Amazing!

As far as I can recall in using other SE's, I don't remember ever getting a BBS shave so easily . . . two passes and put the razor away!! This is really better than what I usually get with my DE's. Considering that I certainly am not very practiced in using a SE, I still have trouble believing such a good shave came so easily. I looks to me like ASR got it right almost a hundred years ago.

Thanks Dave, for arousing my couriosity about this old shaver. For those of you who haven't tried this razor, you really are missing something.

Regards,
Tom

 

[D.Irving79]

youre quite welcome. and stick with it, thats all i can say

 

[Dr. Mike]

I'd have to agree. D.Irving set me straight that the Ever-ready I have been claiming is from the '30s actually is a 1912. Must be a mismatched box. Anyways, it shaves wonderfully. I was honestly surprised when first I tried it. Also, consider this - when we see the old-type Gillettes, we ooh and aah when they have just the "usual" amount of plate loss/brassing/crack in the handles. My 1912 Ever-ready is flawless. And I am not exaggerating. Absolutely zero plate loss or brassing, and they had the foresight to give the razor a nice, solid handle, so there is no crack in it, unlike the hollow Gillette handles.

Now don't get me wrong - I love my Super Adjustable. But it seems like Gillette didn't really hit its stride until later in the century when the Superspeeds and adjustables came out, whereas the Gems and Ever-readys were already really good back in the early part of the century. I think they simply fell behind because Gillette had a much better marketing strategy, and when they got the contract to supply the military with razors, that was really the clincher.

 

[D.Irving79]

Now don't get me wrong - I love my Super Adjustable. But it seems like Gillette didn't really hit its stride until later in the century when the Superspeeds and adjustables came out, whereas the Gems and Ever-readys were already really good back in the early part of the century. I think they simply fell behind because Gillette had a much better marketing strategy, and when they got the contract to supply the military with razors, that was really the clincher.

gillette, in a sense, was ahead of its time, which is why, IMO, it did so well. add the military contract of WWI and all the remarkable innovations and marketing strategies and thats a pretty hard act to follow. the gems and ever readys basically brought the first safety razors into the 20th century, taking wedge blades and introducing the single edge blades. oddly enough, gem and ever ready ALSO had military contracts during WWI, as you can occasionally find their khaki sets on ebay (valet auto strop as well). ASR stayed with what they did: single edge razors. sadly, that wasnt what was in demand with the public at large. even after the military contract, gillette had some competition from gem and ever ready; both brands of razors were HUGE sellers at the turn of the century; a comforting thought for a gem geek such as myself

 

[MTgrayling]

Do you guys have pictures of these 1912's? I have many GEM's and a few Ever-Ready's but don't think I have those oldies yet.

 

[rodd]

Chris, easily identified by the year 1912 printed on them, usually where the handle screws in. These are the only pictures I have on file of one of mine. I have one everready branded and 1 gem branded

 

[MTgrayling]

Thanks Rodd. It seems as if I have a few of those, English and American, but haven't actually ever shaved with one yet. Wow, cool.

 

[Dr. Mike]

This is the one I have, Ever-ready branded. It is the cleanest of all my razors. I tried the Gem Featherweight and the G-bar, but none had the nice solid feel of the 1912. I found it in an antique store for $9. I originally thought it was from the '30s, since it came in a box that had an NRA code seal on it, which could have only been done for a couple of years in the early '30s. Apparently I had a mismatched razor and box.

If you have one of these, do yourself a favor and pop a blade into it and give it a try. While I prefer the Pella blades, I was sold on this razor back when I was just using drugstore brand single edge blades in it. Technique is slightly different than with a DE, as numerous others have pointed out. But once you master it (which won't take long at all), you'll get great shaves. I got a very rare no-irritation BBS shave the other week using a combination of my 1912, a Pella blade, and Mama Bear Rosemary Mint soap - I even did ATG, which I rarely do.

 

[BroJohn]

BTW, the 1912 patent design was produced at least until 1948, when it seems to have been replaced by the taper-tip Micromatic with the 'magic eye'. (also called the 'bullseye' Micromatics). ASR also had GI contracts in WWII which they filled with the 1912 design, packaged in a plastic/bakelite slide-lid package, and using a bakelite handle instead of metal.

Dave is right about the gentle shaving qualities of the 1912 --they're a wonderful razor. Don't be intimidated by their evil appearance. Although they look like some sort of medieval torture device, they're easy to use and provide a great shave.

They are plentiful on eBay, most in VG to Excellent shape, and so cheap that they're damned near free.

-- John Gehman

 

[danstar250]

I have a few 1912's both GEM and EVEREADY. I too agree that the shave is really pretty sweet. I've never tried Ted Pellas yet, and would be thrilled to have somebody give me a couple some time. I usually shave with a straight, but occasionally like to give some of my vintage SE's and DE's a go.

 

[Mr Mockett]

Say... I've got like two of these. I used my micromatic first, maybe I should try this 1912 business!

 

[D.Irving79]

overall, the 1912 usually gets overlooked, mostly because for the majority of people the micromatic gives a mild shave. dont be afraid of the 1912; with proper angle and technique, its a great, comfortable shaver. and believe it or not, PRE-1912 models (if acquired, they are somewhat elusive) are even easier to shave with despite them looking like devices of torture

 

[the real monkeyboy]

As the other poster said, these razors were made well into the 1940's. The date on the bottom is the pattent date. The first safety razor I ever got was one of these. I used it exclusively for about 2 years before I moved on to other types. That was mostly because the local drug store stopped carrying Gem blades. Well, that, and the plating was starting to wear a bit thin on the grill section. I have probably about half a dozen of these by several companies. Some are plated, some are brass. Some, like my first one, give great shaves. Others are a bit rougher. These are the same kind of razor that comes up in the 1632 science fiction series. It even mentions the 1912 pattent date.

-Mb

 

[Seaforth!]

I have to agree with Dr. Irving. We are both aficianados of the Pre-1912 ASR razors. They are harder to find than the more common Post 1912 and even later Gems, Stars, E-Rs. I don't have any engineering skills but I have attempted to study the angles and exposure of the ASR SE razors through the years. It appears to me that the later Micromatics and even later plastic handled Gems like the Contour have clamped down on the exposure and you don't have the freedom to change the angle while shaving as you do with the Pre-1912s. The later razors remind me of my Gillette adjustable set at about 3 to 4. Ah but the Pre-1912 with the huge lather catcher and using either a Blue Star carbon steel or Gem (Personna) Stainless, provides the closest shave I can get with just two (2) passes. Besides, there is just something neat about shaving with one of these Victorian era babies.

 

[paydepst]

overall, the 1912 usually gets overlooked, mostly because for the majority of people the micromatic gives a mild shave. dont be afraid of the 1912; with proper angle and technique, its a great, comfortable shaver. and believe it or not, PRE-1912 models (if acquired, they are somewhat elusive) are even easier to shave with despite them looking like devices of torture

Can you post pictures of that GEM collection in your signature?

Guys I've gotten to where I use SE razors almost exclusively. I can shave quicker and closer with them. I've found too that I can put them FLAT against my face and get a great shave. No worries about angle.

I don't know what I will do with all of these cased 195s I have!

Oh well!!

 

[puffmtd]

I've been using my gems and ever readys every other day and the DE on opposite days. I'm starting to lean more and more toward the SE's.

 

[D.Irving79]

Can you post pictures of that GEM collection in your signature?

Guys I've gotten to where I use SE razors almost exclusively. I can shave quicker and closer with them. I've found too that I can put them FLAT against my face and get a great shave. No worries about angle.

I don't know what I will do with all of these cased 195s I have!

Oh well!!

its a crappy cellphone pic, but here they are:

top row, from left:

1907 gem junior, black wooden handle
1908 gem junior, 2 piece telescopic handle
1911 elite gem junior, ivory celluloid handle
1910 gem junior
1900 gem cutlery
1911 gem junior, "hat" shaped head

bottom row, from left:

1912, knurled handle
1912, "roman column" handle
1912, "morse code" handle


since this picture was taken ive acquired 3 or 4 more 1912s

 

[paydepst]

I had one of the 1907s and was really looking forward to shaving with it but it was damaged and I had to give it a decent burial.

 

[BroJohn]

I picked up a 1901 patent GEM a few weeks ago, but haven't used it yet. Soon. Dave has me excited about this.

-- John Gehman

 

[tom myers]

Since there are obviously at least a couple of folks out there who are quite knowledgeable on the subject, can anyone give me any more information on this Gem Junior; such as, how long was it produced etc.? Also, what is implied in the name "Gem Junior" as opposed to simply "Gem"? I've seen many razors labled "Gem Junior" that look vertually just like others simply labeled "Gem", "Ever Ready", "Treet" and "Star".

The razor pictured, besides what can be read in the picture, says: "U.S. Pat. Aug. 28, 1900" and "U.S. & Eng. Nov. 5, 1901". The handle is black painted wood and it appears, suprisingly, to be in what I would call "hardly used or unused" condition, even though the box looks somewhat worn. (Possibly not the original box???)

I guess I'm just getting more courious about these razors and would like to learn a little more of their history. I have the Krumholtz book on Gillettes, but is there any good references similar to that on the ASR razors and their predecessors?

Thanks,
Tom