The Gem SE adventure

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bodge

Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Thanks to a PIF from gthomas04 I have just tried a Gem featherweight. He also gave me a few blades to get started.

It's a funny looking thing compared to what other razors I have seen. On initial observation, I wasn't sure if I'd be comfortable with this cross between a bowie knife and kermit the frog.

My expectations were a mix of screamfest and mistakes.
Anyway loaded up the blade and tentatively put the blade under my sideburn and after the first stroke - "hey no probs!" So just shaved away.

The light weight is a little disconcerting initially in regards to how much pressure to apply. It is really light. So I just went with the feel of the cutting action.

This is a superb razor to shave with. The only difficulty I had is due to the shape of the head and getting WTG strokes below the nose. I worked it through though.

I had a very comfortable shave and pretty darn close. Because it was so comfy I kept going for smoother and smoother touch ups.

I dont know if it is possible to get even more in tune with this Gem, but I will keep shaving this razor for a while to see if I do.

I am 7-8 weeks into this wetshaving with safety razor biz, so each change of equipment does bring an experience worthy of note. This Gem has been most noteworthy so far.

I have an old Gillette TTO and a muhle r41 to compare with.
As of now: The Gillette is supersmooth/easy to use for a first and second pass. The touching up to get a good looking shave becomes dicier and requires care.
The R41 requires care throughout but I can get an acceptable shave with less passes/touchups.
The Gem - Just great and easy. Although I have read peoples trepidations on the use of an SE. I just don't get why? YKmMV

Apart from right under the nose, there were also a couple of hollows under my jawline that the other razors can maneuver easier. I was definitely thinking of the idea of using different razors for various parts.

Some day down the track I will try the gthomas TM method and variations thereof.
 
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I don't know if it has mutated yet. I will be doing my own variations in time. Just going to stay with one razor for a while. As I try various razor/blade combos, I'll note what and where they work best for me.

Mix it up and see what happens. When I cook, I have no issue chucking in asian/italian/indian etc flavours together.
 
bodge said:
I don't know if it has mutated yet. I will be doing my own variations in time. Just going to stay with one razor for a while. As I try various razor/blade combos, I'll note what and where they work best for me.

Mix it up and see what happens. When I cook, I have no issue chucking in asian/italian/indian etc flavours together.
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Sweet and sour curry - yech. Feel free to do as many variations as you can come up with. We look forward to the BM or even the MB perhaps the ByM. Just remeber that the moderator of this page is the guardian of the TM as well as the worldwide Spreader of the Word. (he also has connections with a group of men who dress in black suits with snap brim hats and carry violin cases (not containing violins)).

Apart from that I am delighted you enjoyed you first use. There is a couple of us who can dribble new blades out to you should you run short before deciding whether to bulk buy or not.
 
lol, thanks guys. Due to excitement, and still a relative noobian I have already been looking up where to get blades. I have managed to convince myself to wait at least a few shaves.
 
bodge said:
lol, thanks guys. Due to excitement, and still a relative noobian I have already been looking up where to get blades. I have managed to convince myself to wait at least a few shaves.
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If you do decide to order some from Connaughts don't get a fright like I did when a box arrives with "Industrial Blades" written on it. They will be the real thing.
 
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2nd shave today. Great again. With yesterdays shave under my belt, I felt at home with this razor. More so than the other razors. It is forgiving and I can excessively keep touching up without much fear.

I say excessively, but that is interchangeable with obsessively. I have never ever had BBS all over my face, and I guess I never will or should. This razor makes me feel like I'm almost there.

I know I'm harping on, but I didn't expect this result from such a contraption.
 
Welcome to the other side. I bought a SE after about 9 months wet shaving.
It was an epiphany, it just worked, and so much easier than DE.
I use SE razors 80% of the time, I only rotate with DE razors because I bought so many blades and razors before I found SE, so I may as well use them for varieties sake.

SE is superior IMHO, there's many different types, so the first one anyone tries may not be the 'one', but find the right one, and it's so straightforward as easier to grasp than DE, as the angle is simpler to work out for people new to shaving. It's closer to a modern cart razor for example, just a flat face and one side.
 
3rd shave today. same blade. Didn't get too obsessive today, 2 passes and touch ups.
The touch ups, regardless of razor probably take the most time for me. They are usually around the corners of my mouth and require more care.

I agree with you pablo but I didn't want to use the word epiphany.

What this adventure has sparked for me is a requirement for a re-examination of what I thought to be true about me and shaving.

Some time soon I will go back and try my mach3 (I still have some carts left) with the same prepping and knowledge/experience gained with the safety razors. Vice versa, I will try the safety razors with the prepping I used to do with the mach which was:
wash/wetting, sometimes a preshave oil and using a KOS sensitive shave gel. This had been the best setup by far of all the disposables I had tried and I could shave twice a week maximum to remain pain free.

20+ years of shaving annoyance, discomfort, irritation had conditioned me to believe that it's just the way it is. I need a recount to prove things to myself.
 
bodge said:
.......What this adventure has sparked for me is a requirement for a re-examination of what I thought to be true about me and shaving.........
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That sounds almost religious. But yeah, I know what you mean. I never had any problems using carts, I just found the whole thing a bit of a tedious excersize. But give a man a few nice looking toys and it suddenly becomes enjoyable.
 
yeah, nah... No moral dilemmas here, just that things could have changed literally under my nose without me having noticed.
 
bodge said:
yeah, nah... No moral dilemmas here, just that things could have changed literally under my nose without me having noticed.
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I have done the same, I had decent shaves with carts, never been one for skin irritation, very few ingrowns, so shaving and carts were no big deal for me. After starting DE shaving I still had some carts that I used to finish up with, and they worked great with proper prep and lathering.
I still stopped using them due to cost though, they still only gave 3-4 shaves before the blade was blunt. I have tough skin that was never bothered with carts before, but I have tough stubble also.
So this wet shaving and antique razors has always been an economical aim of mine. Once I finished buying heaps of gear just to trial and find what is best for me, I stopped buying gear. That's why I'm the forums tightarse and hardly buy anything anymore.
 
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ok, so 4th shave today. I feel the blade weakening, but it gave me a close shave. Bit more work getting there.

Hey guys who use/used SE, how long do the average blades last? I guess they are the Gem SS from Connaught as gthomas sent them to me and you mentioned it earlier...........

Actually as I am writing this I just read "The single edge saga continues" by gt in the apothecary:

quote
"Fourth shave with my SE razor and that is as far as it will go. Nothing really wrong with the quality of the shave, but I just got the feeling while I was scraping away that this blade and I had come to a parting of the ways."

Sort of how I feel. I think three is enough for the next blade.
 
bodge said:
......Sort of how I feel. I think three is enough for the next blade.
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There are some who say they get 14 out of a blade. It's doable if you're on some "use one blade for a month challenge" but it's a bit ridiculous on a regular basis. I agree, it's a bit more work after 4 shaves but I tend to get 6 or 7 out of one.
 
thanks pj. When you are on the 6-7th shave, are you getting to the point of risking your skin?
 
bodge said:
thanks pj. When you are on the 6-7th shave, are you getting to the point of risking your skin?
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No, not at all. It just becomes a bit more work. But it's fun throwing an SE around without fear of hurting yourself. I never go beyond three passes so the shaves aren't that great after that.
 
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