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The "infamous" GEM MicroMatic OC....

Picked one up a little bit back as I wanted to see if its reputation for being a bloody razor was justified, or at least in my case (the whole YMMV thing).

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That is probably what most people are expecting to see :laugh: However, I am happy to report that is not the case. But please read on...

(Disclaimer: I like aggressive razors. My fatty is set on 9.)

I watched Mr. Guy's video to get an idea on wielding the razor. It is much like using a Rolls, which I have used a lot, so no problem there. I shaved with it over a few days, alternating between GEM and Treet blades.

When I first loaded a blade, I did not notice that the blade "stops" on the end tines of the comb were missing. Went on with a WTG pass and I could tell the unprotected ends of the blade were there. No nicks or cuts, they were just making their open presence known :001_rolle. Figured that wasn't the way it should be so I took a closer look and that is when I noticed the blade stops missing. I completed the shave with a ATG pass and ended up with a mostly BBS shave. There were spots that were DFS but I would have cut myself getting to BBS due to the exposed ends of the blade. Look at the circled parts of the razor for the blade stops I am talking about. (I borrowed the picture from the B/S/T forum, hope that is ok. If not, let me know and I will take my own pic).

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I bought another MM and over the next few days while waiting for it to arrive, I continued to shave with the worn/broken one to get a feel if I liked the GEM or Treet blades better. I settled on the GEM blades. The Treets weren't bad, but I got a more comfortable shave with the GEM. As far as blade life goes... about the same for me. I have wires growing out of my face so no blade lasts long for me. Shave quality past the second shave began to suffer.

I tried the replacement MM last night and it does make a difference having those blade stops. No problem getting a BBS shave. The MM is a delightful razor. :thumbup: It has very nice balance that makes it easy for the weight and head of the razor to do the work. No need to apply pressure. If I did apply pressure, I surely would have cut myself with the worn/broken one.

Another thing I noticed. With the blade stops missing, the razor was even more aggressive as the blade slides forward past the old stops until it hits the internal stop (the oblong one in the center of the blade). Oddly enough, I enjoyed this additional aggressiveness :lol: Sooo... that being said, I suspect there are far more of these out there with missing stops. It is not obvious of you are not familiar with these razors.... it just looks like normal brassing. Could this be part of the reason some people experience such a blood fest with these razors? At any rate, it is something to be aware of and look out for if acquiring one of these.
 
Good post. There's probably a lot of them with broken, worn or damaged blade stops out there since so many of these were made. I have two MMOC's, one gold and one silver, and I swear the gold one shaves better. I can't see any difference between them, but something's definitely different about it.

Once mastered they really do provide great shaves, and I would suspect they're great for someone like you with a tough beard.
 
Picked one up a little bit back as I wanted to see if its reputation for being a bloody razor was justified, or at least in my case (the whole YMMV thing).

proxy.php


That is probably what most people are expecting to see :laugh: However, I am happy to report that is not the case. But please read on...

(Disclaimer: I like aggressive razors. My fatty is set on 9.)

I watched Mr. Guy's video to get an idea on wielding the razor. It is much like using a Rolls, which I have used a lot, so no problem there. I shaved with it over a few days, alternating between GEM and Treet blades.


Is there a video showing how to shave with a SE razor? I would appreciate if you could provide a link. I am also interested in trying SE razors and have already picked up a Gem MMOC (BTW it looks cool) and a closed comb G-bar(?). I got myself two packs of Gem SE blades and am planning to plunge into SE shaving one of these days. :tongue_sm. I will appreciate any tips on how to get a good shave with a SE.

Thanks.
 
You could always grind the corners of the blades off (rounded) for use in the MM with the missing/broken blade stops. That way, the corners won't bite you.

Kinda like those utility knife blades with the corners (and the edges at the corners) rounded off.

I have a bullet tip MM and love it. With a Treet blade it gives me extremely close, comfortable shaves. Like a DE/Feather combo without all the blood.:blink:
 
You could always grind the corners of the blades off (rounded) for use in the MM with the missing/broken blade stops. That way, the corners won't bite you.

Kinda like those utility knife blades with the corners (and the edges at the corners) rounded off.

I have a bullet tip MM and love it. With a Treet blade it gives me extremely close, comfortable shaves. Like a DE/Feather combo without all the blood.:blink:

Hehe... yep, already done :thumbup1: I used the side of my hone just to take the bite out of the edges.
 
In fact, I think it's a good idea for SE blades in any SE razor. I've noticed a propensity for the blades to slide over to one end or other of the razor. And, none of mine are worn badly. My pushbutton appears to have been used once or twice before I got it.

Does anyone know if the Pushbutton is just a simplified (cheapened, though I hate to put it that way) Micromatic? It sure looks like one.
I'm not getting the same shaves with my Pushbutton as I do with my MM. The weight difference may be affecting the shave. The MM is built like a tank and twice as heavy. The pushbutton is much lighter feeling.
 
I eventually made friends with my OC Micromatic and got good shaves with it, although it's far from my favorite SE razor. I would never have tried it with the blade stops broken off, though. You're a brave man Mr. W_B_K!
 
I eventually made friends with my OC Micromatic and got good shaves with it, although it's far from my favorite SE razor. I would never have tried it with the blade stops broken off, though. You're a brave man Mr. W_B_K!

Nah, not brave :001_smile. It's like when I'm shaving with a spike point straight, it just reminds you it's there. If you ignore it, then it bites!

Really just wanted to see if you could shave with broken stops... but I can see how you could get cut up easily with one of these in that condition.
 
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HOORAY!! Another OC man!:thumbup: Welcome to the club.:thumbup1:
It makes me happy that guys are getting some good info from the vid. I'm in the works on a "live shave" video. I've perfected a rig to get my camera to hang down on my mirror with minimal interference to my shave. I'm just working out the details of the sound. The acoustics in my bathroom are pretty horrible, so it's a debate over crappy sound, cheesy "commentary track" voice over, or just a quick intro and outro with some music over the actual shave. Personally, I'm leaning towards the music track with maybe 30-45 second intro and outro. But I seem to change my ideas daily, so who knows:001_rolle
 
It makes me happy that guys are getting some good info from the vid.

Actually, it was your vid (excellent work, BTW) that prompted me to give SEs a whirl, which was a good experience to have. Sadly, I don't think they're for me, though.
-- Chet
 
Actually, it was your vid (excellent work, BTW) that prompted me to give SEs a whirl, which was a good experience to have. Sadly, I don't think they're for me, though.
-- Chet

As long as you gave the razors a fair chance, that's all that counts. I don't know if you have any plans for the SE razors you have, but I'd suggest to hold onto them for at least 6 months or so, then do a re-visit. Who knows, you might have a better touch by then. That's how I ended up doing it with Injectors. For some reason I could not avoid tearing my face to shreds every shave. Put the 2 I had in a box and didn't take them out for quite some time after. Deciding that I didn't want to keep a bunch of blades around that I'd never use I pulled out an injector pretty much for the sake of using the last of the blades, and what do you know, it's been great shaves ever since:001_smile
 
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