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The Gem 1912

the razor pictured is a 1907 model. knowing the company it was probably available for up to 5 years after. as for the difference between gem and gem junior, thats where im just as in the dark as anyone else. but remember, gem and ever ready flew basically under the same flag, and i think they acquired star at some point (1915 i think?)

the bar on the razor that snaps down on top of the blade is designed to lay your skin taught in advance of the blade.

im going to have a website dedicated to the gem cutlery co. complete with pictures, history, shaving technique, and a grading scale loosely based off the hazelcorn kampfe grading scale. theres still a lot of company history i want to collect though; hardly anything is known about it.


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
 
Thanks Dave, I'll be really interested in whatever information you put up on the website you intend to have on Gem Cutlery.

As far as Star, I have two Star razors that are identical to the 1912 Gem's and Ever Readys. These two Stars are both still in their printed cardboard boxes with celophane windows and they say "Star division, American Safety Razor Corp. Brooklyn, N.Y." on the boxes.

I also have a Treet razor which is identical to the 1912 Gem Junior with the large, tapered black bakelite handle except, the Treet has a deeply serrated safety bar instead of the closed comb as is on all my other 1912's; also, it doesn't have any patent dates printed on it like the others. Dispite those differences, it is otherwise identical, so I'm sure that ASR used that "Treet" tradename for some period of time also.

This whole subject with all the different models and all the different tradenames gets just convoluted enough to make it interesting. :confused:

Regards,
Tom
 
The 1912 model gives a terrific shave. The head on mine is in mint condition, though the handle is prone to rust, for some reason. Under the blade cover, it admonishes the owner to use "Damaskeen" blades, whatever those are. In any event, the Treet blades seem to do fine. One thing about these GEMs is that you can't be in a hurry. That's the sure path to a lot of nicks. The razors demand your full attention and respect.
 
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 :wink:

Dave has hit on something here. He introduced me to the GEMs but sending me a Micromatic as at PIF (He hates them and found a sucker to give it to! :biggrin:). In addition he sent me a loaner 1912 GEM and a couple blades.

I found the 1912 a great shaver in fact I have gone out and bought three of them. One in nickel, another in gold, and a third a travel version in nickel with a travel case. But the GEMs I enjoy the most are the 1901 GEM Jr and 1907 GEM Jr that I have purchased recently. They are the lather catcher type and are fancy to say the least. But they are also great shavers.

I am a vintage Gillette fan primarily of open comb style but I also enjoy the change up in shaving with the GEMs. I think every one who wet shaves should have at the least one 1912 GEM in there arsenal. Try one, you will love it.

And thanks Dave for your generosity and your willingness to help out this neophyte GEM shaver.
 
Dave has hit on something here. He introduced me to the GEMs but sending me a Micromatic as at PIF (He hates them and found a sucker to give it to! :biggrin:). In addition he sent me a loaner 1912 GEM and a couple blades.

I found the 1912 a great shaver in fact I have gone out and bought three of them. One in nickel, another in gold, and a third a travel version in nickel with a travel case. But the GEMs I enjoy the most are the 1901 GEM Jr and 1907 GEM Jr that I have purchased recently. They are the lather catcher type and are fancy to say the least. But they are also great shavers.

I am a vintage Gillette fan primarily of open comb style but I also enjoy the change up in shaving with the GEMs. I think every one who wet shaves should have at the least one 1912 GEM in there arsenal. Try one, you will love it.

And thanks Dave for your generosity and your willingness to help out this neophyte GEM shaver.

My only resources for finding Gems and Ever-readys are eBay and my local antique mall. Are there other online sources to look at? I'm on the lookout for pre-1912 GEMs, but don't see any currently on eBay.
 
Mike, actually there is a Gem Junior like the one I pictured above (w/ no box) on Ebay currently. I certainly can't vouch for it; I just happened to see it last evening.

Regards,
Tom
 
to be honest, ive gotten all of mine on ebay. they dont pop up often there though; youve gotta keep your eyes peeled.


My only resources for finding Gems and Ever-readys are eBay and my local antique mall. Are there other online sources to look at? I'm on the lookout for pre-1912 GEMs, but don't see any currently on eBay.
 
I have a Treet razor with a head that looks like the GEM 1912 but is is not "open comb". The handle is black, large in diameter, has a red end, and made out of some sort of plastic. Any notions as to the shave quality of the razor? Is it similar to the 1912?

Mark
 
I have a Treet razor with a head that looks like the GEM 1912 but is is not "open comb". The handle is black, large in diameter, has a red end, and made out of some sort of plastic. Any notions as to the shave quality of the razor? Is it similar to the 1912?

Mark

fat handle, right? the handle is bakelite, an early form of plastic.

and you say its not open comb? can you post a picture?

if its what im thinking it is, it shaves just like the 1912.
 
Mark, the razor you are describing sounds to be just like the Treet razor I was talking about above. With the exception of the safety bar rather than the comb, it is just like a Gem Junior with the bakelite handle that I have. I haven't really tried the Treet with the safety bar, but I suspect it would shave about the same as the other 1912's.

Regards,
Tom
 
Yes, Dave, it has a deeply ridged or serrated safety bar with "clog-pruf" type openings behind it very much like a Micromatic. The bar has the same number of ridges in it as the 1912 has teeth in it's comb (14).

The razor is, otherwise, just like any 1912 with the fat, tapered, black, bakelite handle.

Regards,
Tom
 
After I addressed the question about the safety bar being similar to a Micromatic, I took a closer look at my various Micromatics . . . Good Grief!, I find at least 3 different counts of ridges on the safety bars. I have them with 12 ridges, 17 ridges and a very finely grooved one with about 55 or 60 little ridges (I got crosseyed trying to count them) plus one with an open comb (it's not "clog-pruf").

I'm beginning to think there are more variations of ASR razors than there are Gillettes. :w00t:

Regards,
Tom
 
Tom. I have one exactly like the one you displayed. I have a bunch of old information on these old Gems laying around somewhere. I'll dig it up and see if I can find any info of value. I do know that it provides a great shave.

Seaforth
 
Tom. The box is original to that particular razor. I cannot vouch for accuracy for the following:
In Sept. 1907 the Gem Jr. was advertised as the razor and blade that replaced the forged steel wedge blade. The was apparently Gems introduction of the ribbed back single edge and was to be competetive with the $5. Gillette. I had often wondered about the "junior" name myself. I know that Ever-Ready and Star also came out about the same time with the ribbed back blade. And if I'm not mistaken, Ever-Ready always had the ribbed blade and not a wedge blade. Perhaps Dr. Irving knows more about this.
The snap button case, which replaced the flip type latch appeared in advertisements as early as 1916.
The Damaskeen or Damaskene blade was simply a ribbed back SE blade that was "chased". I think that this was to make it appear like Damascus steel such as that used on shotguns. But then I could be wrong.
The wooden handle sounds like a real find and I know they are popular with collectors. However, the longer hollow metal handles are my preference for shaving with these instruments.
Seaforth
 
Tom. The box is original to that particular razor. I cannot vouch for accuracy for the following:
In Sept. 1907 the Gem Jr. was advertised as the razor and blade that replaced the forged steel wedge blade. The was apparently Gems introduction of the ribbed back single edge and was to be competetive with the $5. Gillette. I had often wondered about the "junior" name myself. I know that Ever-Ready and Star also came out about the same time with the ribbed back blade. And if I'm not mistaken, Ever-Ready always had the ribbed blade and not a wedge blade. Perhaps Dr. Irving knows more about this.
The snap button case, which replaced the flip type latch appeared in advertisements as early as 1916.
The Damaskeen or Damaskene blade was simply a ribbed back SE blade that was "chased". I think that this was to make it appear like Damascus steel such as that used on shotguns. But then I could be wrong.
The wooden handle sounds like a real find and I know they are popular with collectors. However, the longer hollow metal handles are my preference for shaving with these instruments.
Seaforth


lee, youre right on with the info for the most part. the snap button case actually appeared a year earlier in 1915. ever ready actually never did have a wedge blade style razor; i always found that weird being the time period reichard founded the company, gem cutlery was still producing gems that functioned with wedge blades. as for the wooden handled models, they make for interesting shavers, even though im like you and prefer the longer telescopic handled models........which actually i discovered thanks to you..haha :wink:
 
Gentlemen, I really appreciate all the information you've provided. I am really getting interested in these Gems, ER's etc. and just in my relatively meager collection, I've found so many variations that each time I look at them, I seem to come up with more questions than answers.

By the way, Dave, after three days with the 1912, this morning I tried out the 1907 model that I had posted the picture of. Wow! what an amazing experience. :w00t: This thing took off the whiskers like a professional barber's straight razor back when those guys really know how to manipulate a straight.

The amazing thing is that I, again, got an excellent shave even though I certainly am anything but experienced with using any SE, let alone this one. I used two passes and some "clean up" on my stubborn areas and I achieved as good a shave as I can get with any of my DE's that I am very practiced with.

As I mentioned earlier, I had, in years past, tried some of the more recently produced models of Gems and I was not overly impressed. I soon went back to the DE's. These older models, however, have really opened my eyes. I want to do some more experiementing with the SE's, but I suspect you have a convert here.

Regards,
Tom
 
glad to hear the good news :biggrin:


the pre 1912 models are amazing shavers, better than the 1912 IMO. i just wish they were more readily available for more people to try out. they can be pretty hard to come by.

btw, if you want to see a few more examples of pre 1912 gems, i have some in my SMF.com gallery HERE
 
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