The MMOC teach me what a light touch is

[Felix G]

Month or two ago I got a nice MMOC. It is my first GEM razor. Loaded it with GEM coated blade and prepared to shave. I heard a lot how nice this razor and what a good shaves you can get.
Starting to shave and stoped. Feels very harsh on the face. Tried again, same feeling. Put it aside and google for more information. People suggest palm stropping. Did't help.
After a week give another try, same results. Put it aside again.
I wet shaving for about seven years and think that I know everything. Prep, good leather, light touch and I have very good results with my DE and AC razors.
After two weeks I tried again. I think may be my light touch isn't so light. I hold the razor so light I afraid it will fall from my hand. Short strokes and WOW what a shave.
Very close, may be closest in my life. No irritation, very smooth - perfect BBS.
The moral of this story - never give up.

 

[xxvaleria]

I'm glad you got it sorted out, Felix. The MMOC is a truly wonderful razor if it is handled properly.

 

[docjude]

I saw a YouTube video of a guy shaving so quickly with a Micromatic it was almost horrifying. They're definitely efficient, I enjoy my Clog Pruf esp for head shaving.

 

[rabidus]

These are the instructions for the MMOC, I'm a tad less than flat. It's all about the shallow angle!

 

[Felix G]

The problem was not the angle but a light touch


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[Dave Deluxe]

They (manufacturer) also recommends "long strokes" not short DE type strokes.

 

[Peter's coin]

Shaved with my MMOC this afternoon-loved it. My favorite razor. I started with (this) one that hasn’t got the two blade bumps; just got one with the bumps, only one shave with that one so far. The bumpless may be more aggressive and I may like it better—we’ll see with more trials.

 

[kingfisher]

It's an awesome razor, and nowhere near as aggressive as people think it is.

 

[Thistle]

Just had my own first shave with the MMOC I got off eBay. It was a rough shave, but then I expected that, as in my experience it always takes several shaves with a new razor to find it's right nuances.

Got a lot of weepers and some "road rash" on my neck, but I could detect some promising signs of potential. The blade definitely felt like it wasn't letting whiskers move out of its way, something I can often feel is happening with my DEs. The shave felt like it was going quite well for the first pass.

My main problem was I was experiencing A LOT of friction between the flat top cap and my skin. The blade was cutting fine, but the razor would drag hard if I let the cap touch my skin even a little. All that flat surface area contact, I think. This was forcing me to lift the cap a little and adopt a harsher blade angle. Needs a soap with a lot of extra residual slickness so I can lay that cap down properly. I think I'll wait 'till I can get a refill on Haslinger Schafmilch before going again.

Also felt like a razor that would benefit a lot from skin stretching, which I usually don't do.

All that said, it seemed to cut really well. Much more efficient than any of my DEs, without giving me the feeling that I had to concentrate to avoid tearing myself up... which seems odd to say, given the above, but as noted I think a lot of the irritation I got was just the standard "first time with a new razor" teething. I usually end up doing a fair amount of buffing with any of my DEs, but this is the first razor I've tried which honestly felt like it might be able to do the job in just two or three ordinary passes with no extras or special tricks.

 

[Peter's coin]

What blade did you use?

 

[Thistle]

GEM Personna super stainless. Not the PTFE coated, as far as I can tell (the package says nothing about coatings), but it is a shaving type blade, not a hardware type.

But that's beside the point. As I said, the blade was fine, it was the flat expanse of the top cap dragging against my skin that was causing problems.

And before you ask: no, I wasn't pressing. I alreadly got schooled in that regard by a particular slant DE head, so I came into this already knowing how to watch for that, at least.

 

[Peter's coin]

I use the Gem SS, too, but only have the PTFE, so I don’t know the difference. I wasn’t thinking of pressing, but I’ve noticed that a fresh blade is aggressive, but calms down on second and subsequent uses. That and a slick soap may be answers, plus I shave a bit off the cap, as rabidus states above.

 

[mchad21]

The trick at least for me is to never let the cap 'drag' on my skin. Doing that makes the glide unpredictable, which leads to razor burn, nicks, etc. The sweet spot for me is the point where the cap is just away from the skin - mind you this angle is different depending on the curves of your face, so it's a fluid angle, so to speak.

So ride the cap, just don't rub it.

 

[Shakey-and-twitchy]

When I first used a MMOC I rubbed a candle on the flat surface and that worked for me.

 

[draconicsonic]

I got my MMOC not too long ago and I have to say while the first couple shaves were a little rough, recent shaves have been fantastic. I think it just takes a bit of attention at first and then it’s like any other razor.

Definitely not the beast it has often been made out to be.