Livin' On The Edge, My Indoctrination Into The Single Edge Cult

Single Edge razors, or SE razors, are one of the many oddities of traditional wet shaving. They are a group of razors that linger in relative obscurity, even within the traditional wet shaving community. SE razors first popped up in the 1890s and were widely produced until their decline in the 70s. Poor marketing, less variety, and Gillette cornering the safety razor market via returning WWI and WWII veterans (who were given the Gillette Old Type as a part of their standard issue field gear) are all listed as reasons for the decline and eventual demise of the SE razor. Whatever the reasons, time has marched on and away from the poor single edge safety razor. In spite of this SE razors are still regarded as excellent shaving tools. SE razors can be purchased for relatively little money and while there are relatively few options the blades are still available in most on-line shaving stores and can even be found in many drug stores such as CVS, Walgreen’s Pharmacy, and Rite Aid. For someone interested in trying something a little different, the SE is an excellent choice.

Generally speaking, there are two different types of SE razors, the Gem type (which encompasses a number of different razors made mostly by Star, Gem, and Ever-Ready) and the Injector type (which is more or less entirely represented by the various Schick injector razors). These two razor types are very different and use completely different designs, blades, and mechanics and are only lumped together because they both happen to be outdated razor designs which use a ridgid single edged blade. The Cobra razor is another, currently produced SE razor that does not quite fit into either category (it is closest to an injector), but is usually kept in its own special category in spite of the fact that it too is a single edge safety razor. For my purposes when I am referring to SE razors I am talking about the Gem and injector style razors, but excluding the Cobra.

Recently I have become interested in SE razors. It has come about partly from a desire to try something different and partly because I have been seeing an increase in the number of folks posting SOTDs featuring SE razors. Thanks to an event called The Nation Wide Box Tour (hosted by the fine folks here at The Shave Den) I have managed to pick up a few Gem SE razors, a Schick Injector and several blades for both razor types. Over the next couple of weeks I will dedicate my time to learning about the history, proper techniques, and peculiarities of each of these odd razors. I hope to come out with a better understanding of SE razors and traditional wet shaving in general.

16 AUG 2013

For my first go with a single edge razor I decided to use my largest and most intimidating SE razor. Last night, after picking out some SE razors, I boiled some water and sterilized the razors that I snagged from The Nation Wide Box Tour. This morning while looking over my freshly cleaned razors I debated heavily with myself about which razor to try first. The large headed Gem 1912 won out, so I loaded a stainless steel Gem blade (making sure to slide the blade into, rather than over, the two prongs that stabilize the blade), grabbed some Musgo Real Lime Basil shave cream and my Vulfix 376S Super Badger brush and set up for my shave.

Following my usual preparation I did a three pass with the grain/against the grain/across the grain shave and finished up with a cold water rinse and some T.N. Dickinson Witch Hazel.

The first thing I noticed about using a Gem type SE razor was that the large head and rigid straight blade make this razor a lot like a disposable blade Rolls Razor. Unfortunately I had a hard time figuring out how to position the thing so as to get the proper angle and found myself constantly changing my angle with out realizing it…which resulted in an overly aggressive shave. Luckily for me the 1912 is fairly forgiving and the Musgo Real shave cream is ultra slick. I managed a damn fine shave with a couple of tiny nicks (which required no styptic) and mild irritation. I’ll have to work on my technique with this giant headed razor, but I see lots of potential.

On a positive note, the Musgo Real Lime Basil is awesome! It’s an amazing lime scent with spicy, woody notes and none of the sweetness that usually accompanies a lime scent. It lathered easily and provided an extremely slick surface.

Overall I would say that this was a good first attempt at SE shaving and with some technique improvement I predict that I will be getting some great shaves from my newly acquired SE razors.

Pre: Hot shower and warm water splash
Razor: Gem 1912
Blade: Gem Stainless Steel
Brush: Vulfix 376S Super Badger
Soap: Musgo Real Lime Basil
Post: Cold water rinse and T.N. Dickinson Witch Hazel




17 AUG 2013

This is day two of the great single edge safety razor experiment. I have discovered a few tid-bits and tips in regards to properly using SE razors which should make for a better experience. I’m also moving on to the next SE razor in my arsenal, the Gem Micromatic Clog Pruf with the same Gem stainless steel blade that I used yesterday. I’ll also be trying out the TSD Lemons and Figs lanolin soap with my EMJ synthetic brush. I’m a little hesitant about this soap because the few TSD soaps that I have used in the past have not worked well for me, but none of them have been of the lanolin variety. The Lemons and Figs feels completely different from the the other TSD soaps I have tried and it smells great, so I have high hopes.

For this shave, because my skin is still a little tender from yesterday I only did a two pass with the grain/against the grain shave followed by a cold water rinse and some SAL Alum.

This shave was an improvement over yesterday, but it was still not quite where I need it to be quality wise.As my technique improves I hope to be able to pull of shaves with SE razors as effortlessly as I do with DE razors. As of right now using an SE takes me almost as long as using a disposable blade straight razor and results in irritation and some slight frustration.

Even after loading my brush up fairly heavily, the TSD Lemons and Figs soap lathered up a bit thin, but it did the job and smelled nice through out the shave. I will experiment with it and see if I can’t get it to come out properly in the future.

I made sure to keep the Clog Pruf’s head flat against my skin, rather than using the guard as a land mark, and kept a closer eye on my angle, but I still got some moderate irritation and a small nick. My technique with SE razors still needs work, but I’m improving and I look forward to mastering these beasts. I would not quite call this a damn fine shave, but it’s close.

Pre: Hot shower and warm water splash
Razor: Gem Micromatic Clog Pruf
Blade: Gem stainless steel
Brush: Every Man Jack synthetic
Soap: The Shave Den Lemons and Figs lanolin
Post: Cold water rinse and SAL Alum



More to come...

 

Good write up Jabberwock. I think what you'll find, it is all a matter of technique. I haven't used any SE's other than an injector in over a year now. The MM is a beast but if you give it a week, you can get away from feeling tender even. They are all good razors, just different.

 

I have good success with TSD soaps by lathering them right on the puck. I did get the thin lather at first but some more water and product in the brush fixed that issue for me. The TSD soap's lather is just as good as Arko when you get it right and it smells better too.

Good luck with the SE experimentation. I really enjoy my injectors but Gem-type SE blades just don't seem to be sharp enough for me and I've given up on them.

 

Interesting read. Every time I went to SE razors, I crashed and burned.

 

SE razors come in many levels of aggressiveness and you tried 2 of the extremes. For me, the 1912 is too mild for me. The opposite end of the spectrum is the MM, which is perhaps the most aggressive razor I have (including the R41). I have found the Push Button SE sits in the middle between those 2 extremes. If you have a Push Button I suggest you try that next.

 

Part Three, or How I Found The Edge And What I Did With It Once I Found It

It's true that to get truly comfortable with a particular thing, any particular thing, that you should eliminate as many variables as possible. So, it should hardly be surprising that I am having some issues with my technique and tenderness. I do plan on settling down, I just want to try all of my newly acquired SE razors first. It's not necessarily a recipe for success, but I can live with a little tenderness while I play.

Today I decided to try easing up a bit. I'll be using the Schick Type G Injector. This razor is, by most accounts, a relatively mild razor and it's similarity in style to older cartridge razors should make using it a somewhat easier task. I have avoided injector razors mostly because I thought they looked kind of boring, but also because their blades are fairly expensive when compared to DE blades and are also harder to come by. In spite of this, my curiosity got the better of me and I grabbed one up when the opportunity presented its self (thank you, Nation Wide Box Tour). I have two sets of blades for this razor, a seven pack of Schick Platinum blades and an eleven pack of Exchange Select Platinum Chrome blades. The Schick blades come in a blister pack and are dispensed from a nice metal container. The Exchange Select blades also come in a blister pack, but are dispensed by a plastic bottomed/metal topped container. I have no idea who made the Exchange Select blades, so I am going to be using the Schick blades to start with.

The injector has an old school feel to me, so I am going to do a sort of old school shave. I'm using some Colgate Mug Soap along with my scuttle and a partially restored Made-Rite brush with a pure badger knot. This set up really has a cool retro look and I rather like it.

I really liked the look of the Made-Rite brush and was looking forward to restoring it, but too much enthusiasm and not enough forethought often make for poor outcomes. I had a little bit of tragedy occur with this brush when I, without thinking about the fact that steam makes plastic unhappy, placed this brush in a steam bath to remove the old knot. I realized my mistake relatively early, but the steam and heat still warped part of the lower half of the handle...a stupid mistake, but one that did not make this brush unusable. a drill finished up the knot removal, some careful heating and shaping partially restored its shape, and a sterilized pure badger knot from another brush easily fit in (secured by two part epoxy). I still have to polish this guy up and redo the lettering on the bottom, but for now I am happy.

To start this shave off I microwaved some water and poured it over the puck of Colgate Mug soap and into the scuttle to get everything nice and warm. I soaked my brush with hot water from the sink and let it rest on top of the scuttle rather than in the reservoir because I felt that the water inside was too hot for the badger hair. After my shower, and as I was loading up a fresh blade and wetting my face, I did settle the brush into the scuttle's brush soaker. Loading up the injector was an interesting, but simple, process and I finally understand the point of the "key" on the blade dispenser. Lathering up the Colgate Mug soap was easier than I expected it to be. I was afraid that this stuff would act like William's Mug soap, but I got a quick and easy lather out of it. It did start off a bit thin, but a return to the puck solved this issue. With everything set I was ready to begin my first shave with the Schick Type G Injector razor.

I did a three pass wtg/xtg/atg shave (normally I go wtg/atg/xtg, but I felt like trying a more conventional approach) followed by a cold water rinse and some SAL Alum. The results were a BBS shave with zero irritation and zero nicks. The alum barely caused a tingle after my shave, which is always nice.

My first impression of this razor is that it is very mild and very easy to use. After the first pass I was concerned that it might be too mild for me, but I kept going and found that its mildness comes, at least partly, form its ability to cut smoothly and easily. The small head design made maneuvering a piece of cake and made it obvious as to why this razor design is so popular.The Schick is a forgiving, but effective razor that I really enjoyed using. It may not be the flashiest thing in the world and the blades may be a bit pricey, but it is a razor that deserves respect.

The Colgate Mug soap was a snap to lather and did the job, but it does not strike me as anything special. If it were still made I would call it a good workhorse type soap, but since it is not I think of it as a nice novelty that works well. It had a slight scent that I could not quite place, but was very subdued and could easily be paired with just about any cream for an excellent superlather.

The Made-Rite Brush did a good job and will probably make regular appearances in my rotation once it is fully restored. I really like the red coloring and might even see if I can snag one or two more on eBay.

In the end, my Injector experience was a very positive one and I will absolutely be working this razor into a regular rotation. It's unfortunate that the blades are not more readily available, but they are far from rare and if they last a week then they will still be far less expensive than cartridges. I really feel that injectors and Gem type razors belong in separate categories, but I'm glad that their lumping together lead me to pick this razor up in the first place.

Pre: Hot shower and warm water splash
Razor: Schick Type G Injector
Blade: Schick Platinum Injector blade
Brush: Made-Rite reknotted with a pure badger knot
Soap: Colgate Mug soap
Post: Cold water rinse and SAL Alum

 

Hmm, I just noticed that while the box says "Shaving Mug Soap" the puck says "Cup Soap" I've read a few posts claiming that the two products are quite different...does anyone have any insight to this?

 

It is said that the "Cup Soap" was a great soap. Others have said that "Mug Soap" is garbage and not worth the trouble. I used to have a puck, but never used it. The one you have might be the one that I tossed into the Travel Box when I was in rotation on one.

 

I put the exchange select injector blades in. They're Personnas but they seem to be a little unusual. They're marked Platinum Chrome but not Comfort Coated. I haven't seen any others exactly like them. The Personna injector blades I've seen available now all seem to be either Comfort Coated only (which means PTFE coated - like Ted Pella's) or both Platinum Chrome and Comfort Coated (the Barber blades you see on Amazon).

Anyway, I like the Personna injector blades but many say the Schicks are even better. I haven't tried the Schicks yet so I'll be interested in your opinion.

 

At a guess, these could be microtome blades (for tissue sectioning), not injector blades specifically for shaving.

 

If you never used the puck, how do you know it was garbage? I have a puck of the Colgate Mug and it works just fine.

 

I didn't say that, others that I've asked about it said it was garbage.

 

Oops - misread that. Sorry.

 

No apology necessary, it happens.

 

Nice post...It's good to see another shaver trying out SE razors..I concur with your observations between the 1912 and MM..I never did find any love with either the ClogProof or OCMM...The PushButtons are easy to use and rather mild..
I use a 1924 EverReady "shovelhead" daily. If you get a chance you may want try one, I find mine shaves really well...It's a shame the blades (Gems) are getting harder to find locally...The early model Schicks are the more aggressive of the Injectors I.M.O. Nice shavers although they remind me way to much of Trac2's...

 

I've tried a number of SE razors over the years, as well as injectors. The injectors are almost fool-proof and give a great shave, but I don't really enjoy the experience much, so I never use mine anymore.

As far as SEs go, I've had a bunch and sold them all. I recently acquired a really beautiful Ever-Ready 1912 and shaved with it a couple of times to see if I would like it this time around. I liked the look, but not the experience of shaving with it. I was able to get good shaves. I don't know exactly what it is about actually shaving with an SE razor that I find not particularly appealing.

On the other hand, maybe the problem is that it is competing with a Generation Two Tradere SB on a custom UFO handle. Kinda hard to measure up to that awesomeness.

 

The Exchange Select are fine blades and very sharp (IMHO), they remind me of the Chinese made Schick blades. I'm using the Exchange blade this week. I will see how many shaves the Exchange blade provides this is the second time I've used this blade, the first blade I used gave me four shaves but I made a bad batch of lather on that fourth day and thought the blade was dull. It wasn't! It was me

 

Part Four, or How To Shave Hairs And Influence People

18 AUG 2013

This is my final day of testing out the various SE razors that I recently acquired before deciding on which one I will be using to improve my SE technique. The las razor is a Gem Contour II. It is actually the razor that I have been looking forward to using the most. This razor has a nicely contoured handle (hence the name) with fine grooves for grip and most of the weight in the head. It snaps open and closed very easily and smoothly, which makes loading a blade a breeze. The guard bar should also make this razor a bit less aggressive than the other Gems that I have used so far. It has kind of a drab 80s design, but it seems to work on this razor.

I have been working on the Made-Rite brush over the last couple of days (sanding down the rough spots, buffing out the dings, removing the few spots of excess epoxy, and applying some turtle wax), so I am taking this brush out for a little spin. The knot isn’t my favorite, but it’s fairly soft and has good backbone, so it does well with soaps that need a little extra force to get them to cooperate.
The Stirling Costal soap will round out the shave. I have test lathered this soap a few times and really like the way it whips up, so I’m looking forward to seeing how well it performs. The Costal scent is no longer listed on Stirling’s web site, so I have to assume that it has been discontinued. I’m not too sad about this because as well as the soap seems to perform, the scent just is not all that great.

Following my usual prep I loaded my Gem stainless steel blade up and did a three pass wtg/atg/xtg shave followed by a cold water rinse and some SAL Alum. I managed a DFS with mild irritation and no nicks.

First, let me say that I really liked the Stirling soap. It performed well, was extremely slick, and was fairly protective. I can understand why these soaps get so much attention.
The semi-restored Made-Rite had no trouble creating lather, but it did not hold much and had to be refreshed after each pass. I don’t know if this is due to its small size (I believe the knot is about 18mm) or because the hair is of poor quality. I may end up reknotting it, but I’ll give it another chance or two first.

With that out of the way let me move on to the initial evaluation of the razor. I was disappointed. The Contour II is so mild that I found myself applying unnecessary pressure to get clean passes, which resulted in some discomfort and irritation. While this can be dealt with in the future using proper technique and patience, what can not be dealt with was the ho-hum factor. I found the Contour II to be a boring razor. It did its job, and I have no doubt that I will be able to use it effectively in the relatively near future, but it was so middle of the road that I felt like I was shaving with a generic store brand cartridge razor. It did not impress me or offer up anything that I could not get from another razor. I was just there. I think the main problem that I had with this razor is that with so many options out there, using a middle of the road razor (even a well made and well designed middle of the road razor) holds very little appeal. This would be a good travel razor or a good razor to use when in a hurry, but I doubt hat I would ever want to include it in my regular rotation.

In spite of my apathy toward the Contour II, this was a successful shave and I can see my technique improving a little bit each day. I don’t know that I will become a full fledged L.O.S.E.R., but I can absolutely see adding some SE razors into the regular rotation. As for which razor I will be using to work on my technique, I think that the Gem 1912 will get the honor. It is a big, intimidating razor, but it also holds the most appeal for me. I figure that if I can manage with the 1912, then I will be able to handle any SE with ease. We will see how it goes.

Pre: Hot shower and warm water splash
Razor: Gem Contour II
Blade: Gem stainless steel
Brush: Made-Rite Pure Badger
Soap: Stirling Costal
Post: Cold water rinse and SAL Alum

 

Nice post and great photos!

 

I'm glad you started with a 1912. I think that's what I had for a while and they're adequate. My first SE was an open comb Micromatic. That shave ended very badly. I don't know how the OCMM compares with the clog pruf but it sounds like they're in the same ballpark.