Gem Featherweight...

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by skyfox12, Aug 8, 2010.

  1. skyfox12

    skyfox12 Active Member

    Just scored me a Gem Featherweight for 3 bucks at a local antique store nearby. Cleaned it up 'til it was nice and shiny and gave it a run. Great shave. Did 2 wtgs instead of 1 wtg and 1 xtg, which is what I usually do, but am waiting for my shavette gash from about three weeks ago to heal up completely before I do xtgs again. Compares to the Micromatics I used to have, maybe even smoother. Have plenty of Gem Personna SE blades, but am tempted to try carbon ones to see if they are any smoother, like Pal or Treet. Has anyone on here have any experience using carbon SE's? I hear they are sharper, but dull quicker, and have to keep them high and dry. If anyone here has used carbon SE's, please let me know. Also, let me know would it be worth ordering in bulk from Ted Pella should in the event I become a dedicated SE user, and what type would be best, PTFE or carbon?
     
  2. John

    John Member

    The featherweights are great. It is my second fav. SE close behind the venerable 1912.

    I haven't used the carbon's, but I've been more than happy with the GEM Personna's that I get from Walgreen's

    Call me lazy, but it's just as easy for me to go buy a new pack when I get low, as opposed to laying in a whole stock for the shaveapocolipse. :scared011
     
  3. Hanzo

    Hanzo Well-Known Member

    I've used the Gem Blue Star blades, they gave me a better shave than some other of the single edge blades I used but I can only get 2 shaves out of them which affected my love for SE's. The remaining boxes stored for about 2 years all have black corrosion on the blade edges. However, in trying a couple of different kinds , though not the Pellas, I can say with out a doubt that the Gem Blue Stars delivered the best shave.
     
  4. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Nice score!

    As for blades, in a word - GEM.

    I can't stand TREETS.

    But that's me.
     
  5. ThePossum

    ThePossum Member

    I second Steve's suggestion for blades. Yes, GEM is the way to go. As for the featherweight. I had one, sold it, just did not like the way it handled. Slipped around a lot in my hands. But when I could control it the shave was first rate.
     
  6. Slivovitz

    Slivovitz Well-Known Member

    The Treets give me an excellent shave. When I take them out of the razor after the first shave, though, to dry them off, they are already discolored as if starting to rust. Never pushed one past 3 shaves, while I'll get four or five from the Gems.

    Most of my SE blades are in 100 packs of Gems from an Amazon seller. Apparently the same as the Pellas, but the Amazon dealer has been out of stock for a long time now.

    I'll have to give my Featherweight another try some time. I was pretty underwhelmed by it, but I love the 1912s.
     
  7. skyfox12

    skyfox12 Active Member

    American Safety Razor Co.

    I read a while back that the American Safety Razor Co. filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. I believe its that company that makes Personna Gem single edge blades. Will this make it harder in the future to buy SE blades? Have a fourth Featherweight on the way, and when I buy multiple copies of one razor, its not for collectible purposes, but because I'm slightly neurotic and like to have ample backups, just me. So when I decide to no longer use a razor, I sell it and the backups. Which means if/when I start to fancy another razor, I inevitably buy backup copies of those, and so on down the line. I'm just wondering if the time has come or is going to come where SE blades will no longer be for sale, and I'll be forced, or want to at that time, to buy another razor, most probably a DE. Wish I could just settle on one razor and buy a few backups for that one, and be done with it. But no, I see one I like, then another, then another, it never ends...:sick007
     
  8. Alan

    Alan Well-Known Member

    I'm no expert but I think SE blades may be around for a while. Judging from the variety and types stocked by companies like Pella, they must be a demand for them in the medical field. And yes, I too wish I could settle on one razor, but just like you I see one I want, then another, and another. I'm afraid ADS is chronic.

    Alan in AZ
     
  9. skyfox12

    skyfox12 Active Member

    Featherweights...

    As of right now, I'm sticking to Gem Featherweights exclusively to shave with. Lately I have dabbled with Magic Shavettes and a temporary bout of insanity led me to buy two triple blade razors. They, along with some other razors, are being put up for sale. I have 3 Featherweights as of now, and possibly in the future another one if I get the itch. In terms of blades, I'm surprised to find out that most of my blades are carbon. The stainless steels I have are the only ones that say "Gem" on them. The others, which are either Walgreen's, CVS, or Gem Blue Stars just have the code "009 RD" on them, and on the other side "Made In The USA". I also bought a couple of packs of PALS from a grocery store in a town about 35 min away, and like them very much. I thought that the Blue Stars would have been blue coated and not the PALS, which have a navy blue coating perhaps to slow down corrosion I don't really know. All of the other carbon blades have a slightly bluish tint. I really can't tell the difference in quality from the carbons and the stainless steels, although I suspect the stainless steels may last a little longer so I will use them up last, although I may throw one in the mix every once in a while just for a change of pace.
     
  10. Allen-Edmonds

    Allen-Edmonds Member

    The Featherweight is one of the best SE razors IMO. I think it easily outperforms the G-Bar. The only SE I'd put over the Featherweight is a 1912. I do have to admint I still have not used my beaten up Micromatic. The bad reviews have kept it at bay.
     
  11. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Okay, here's a good MM OC review - I like 'em better than the Featherweight. There's more heft, which I like. They're not as mild as the Featherweight - another plus in my book. While I like doing three passes when I could really get away with two and a touch up, I dislike having to make four plus passes and still not getting as close as I would like. While the Featherweight has its fans, I'm not one of them. Although these are my thoughts on the MM OC vs. the Featherweight, as I say, "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."

    Don't let a bad review keep you from trying something that just may be the next best thing for you.
     
  12. sffone

    sffone Member

    I'm another fan of the Micromatic. In fact, I'm a Micro-Maniac! The MMs are, by far, my favorite razors. I've been wet-shaving for 40+ years and shave with straights, DE, SE, and injectors, and the Micromatics remain my "go-to" razors. Though I like all the Micromatics, I prefer the Clog-pruf, which came out around 1940, over the OC, which came out around 1930 and the "bullet-tip" which came out around 1949.

    Regarding blades, I use both carbon steel and stainless, and the stainless seem to give a few more shaves, but, other than that, I really don't notice a significant difference. But, also, bear in mind that I'm an old guy who has skin that's kinda like shoe leather, so I'm not a good judge of the finer points of a blade's shave quality.
    Regarding whether or not SE blades are going to be around, don't worry about it because the blades are used a great deal in the medical profession.
     
  13. NoobShaver

    NoobShaver BGDAAA

    yep. for me, they work great on the first shave and drop off rapidly after that. that's with hand stropping a drying the blade. If I don't hand strop the blade it rusts to where I can't use it past two shaves.

    nobody knows how this is going to affect the personna brand, even now months later. Buy in bulk in a reasonable quantity and hope for the best.

    this is what I keep telling myself. it's reasonable to assume SE blades will continue to exist for some time. now if we could only convince a gifted artisan (like iKon) to produce more SE razors...
     
  14. sffone

    sffone Member

    "this is what I keep telling myself. it's reasonable to assume SE blades will continue to exist for some time. now if we could only convince a gifted artisan (like iKon) to produce more SE razors..."

    Amen, to this. I would indeed be nice if someone would make a good, modern SE razor. We know the blades will be around forever. I have a daughter and a couple of friends who are in the medical profession and they all tell me that they use SE blades on an almost daily basis and go through a ton of them every month -- well, maybe not literally, a ton.:D
     
  15. jwr3265

    jwr3265 Well-Known Member

    +1 on the Micromatic Clogpruf. Not as harsh as the OC, not as light as the Feather weight, a bit more aggressive than the G-Bar. All around, solid shaver.
     
  16. skyfox12

    skyfox12 Active Member

    PAL Carbons...

    Got my fourth shave out of a PAL last Saturday. Starting to feel a little tug with it but manageable. Going for the fifth one tomorrow. Believe I'll make it through. If I can get five shaves out of one carbon, using palm stropping to stretch it along, I figure that's not too shabby. Am now going back to how I used to shave: One WTG, and one XTG. For a while had to be satisfied with 2WTGS because of a scar healing up from a bad move with a Shavette.
     
  17. sffone

    sffone Member

    Five shaves out of a carbon blade is great. However, I suppose I'm a tad lazy because I don't make the effort to strop the blade and just settle for three, sometimes four, shaves per blade.
     
  18. ferroburak

    ferroburak New Member

    I got one for 1 usd. I will try it soon :)
     
  19. skyfox12

    skyfox12 Active Member

    5th Shave From The PAL...

    Did manage to get a 5th shave out of the PAL today, but that was pushing it. Did one pass WTG, then lather up and did a 2nd pass XTG which mostly consisted of very short repetitive stokes which could also be seen as doing a whole lot of buffing and pasting in Method Shaving parlance. Don't think I'll try that again. Got a very near DFS out of it but the tug and the amount of repetitive strokes and total amount of time for the shave makes me think four shaves with 2 passes and buffing/pasting should be the limit. Three if you want comfort on your side. But of course, since everyone's face and hair are unique to themselves, YMMV.:D
     
  20. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    seems to me that I get 3 or 4 shaves from the carbon Steel blades. I prefer the Treets but get good shaves from the PAL and Gem Bluestars. I can usually find them all local. My problem is that I usually have several razors in use at the same time and can mostly never remember how long the blades have been in. I will add that I never hand strop at all. I do like to dip the Carbon steel blades in alcohol and dry them after each use.

    As for the Featherweight razors they give me good shaves. Not as good to me as the 1912 models, or older "lather Catcher" models, but good solid DFS's.

    Fuzzy
     
    Jim99 likes this.

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