As I have completed my quest to shave with a 100 year old razor, I think my next quest is to obtain a SE. I have some questions for the GEM crowd. Blades: It seems that the selection of SE blades is a bit more limited/less complicated than the DE end of things. What are the blades that I should try when I find a SE razor? I think the local Walgreens has GEM brand, which I gather are pretty decent blades, is this correct? Prices: If I'm browsing the antique stores, how much should I expect a common GEM model to go for? With antique stores it sounds like prices can be anywhere between super cheap and super ripoff. Any models in particular I should be aware of? Other than a GEM (or other SE), I think it might be interesting to track down a Rolls Razor, but I'm in no rush. I read something interesting about Rolls Razor the other day. Apparently after the company went belly-up, the name was bought by a guy selling washing machines. I wonder if there's a collectors' market for Rolls Razor Washing Machines. :happy102
Start with a 1912 Pat. Gem/Gem Junior, 1914 or 1924 Ever-ready. You should be able to get a good one for under $10. In regards to the Rolls.. Go for it. However, start looking now. You might run across one tomorrow in a store for $10 and then can't find anything but $85 ones later. Don't buy the RR before you inspect it. There should be a lid with a leather side, a lid with a hone. Inspect them to make sure the aren't overly worn, cracked, pitted, etc... Look to see if the blade has a good edge that is free of nicks. Make sure it has a handle. There have been several people on the boards looking for handles because they didn't realize the handle was missing when they bought it. some links to get you started.... http://www.geocities.com/safetyrazors/Rolls_Page.htm http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Rolls_Razor
VIVA LA REVOLUTION. Any of the SE blades.. Treet PAL or Gem should do you well to get started. I suggest starting with a 1912, 1914 or 1924 model Gem, Star, or Ever Ready. They all shave about the same. A G bar feather weight or push button would be my next choice. If you would like to borrow one to see if you like them send me a PM with your addy, I can get you one out middle of next week. I do not have any that I want to get rid of right now, but happy to be an enabler and loan you one for a month or so.
Yea.. I had the original Bunny I used as an avatar.. but can not find it now. This one will do for a bit.
I see I'm late to the party as usual, but these gents gave some great advice. Have a CVS nearby? Same stainless blades as Walgreens only cheaper. All the S/E's I've tried shaved great, from a 1912 all the way through a late 50's early 60's model. You really can't go wrong. That said, I would stay away from a Micromatic for your first S/E shave. not that they are bad shaves, but I think for a newbie they are a little rough.
I stopped by an antique mall near where I work. Never been in there before, but my god it was big. Apparently they've had a lot of people looking for razors lately, but there were still a few nice ones there. I picked up a gem with the box, instructions, and some blades (I'll have to look to see what they are and if they're at all interesting). The handle is very intricate, but I'll have to identify it a bit later. It needs a little bit of cleaning and has a bit of pitting on the metal, but it should work fine. There was a loose micromatic in the case with it for $9.50. The boxed one I picked up was closer to $20. I also picked up a rolls. It's not in the greatest condition, but it'll be neat to have anyhow. It has both panels, though one side is missing the release button so it doesn't stay closed. The leather on one of the panels has a square indentation in it. The other leather is better, but still looks like it wasn't immaculately cared for. There appears to be a tiny nick in the blade, but it may be something I can take care of. It does have the handle. I've only messed with it a little bit, but it's a bit of a pain to try to get the blade on the handle. It may just need some cleaning as there was a bit of green gunk around the ball in the handle (is the handle plated brass, it looks like a coppery type corrosion.) I paid $25 for it, which is probably on the high side, but other than the missing button and damaged strop, it's a nice piece to look at. There was one more razor there that I almost picked up, but I was spending enough as it was. It was a black handled adjustable with a pretty good price for an adjustable. Probably a late model Gillette. I might have to go back and pick it up if I can figure out what model it is. I'll try to get pics of my growing collection later.
Congrats on the new razors! Are you saying both lids have leather strops in them? One lid should be a stone hone.
I guess it is a hone. I honestly didn't examine it that closely. The strop side is the damaged one. I guess the hone is the one that still looks good. I don't know if the rolls will be usable, but it looks fairly nice. Upon closer inspection, the Gem is a 1912 with the ornate handle. It has a red paper box in pretty good condition (slight tears on the bottom), the instruction pamphlet, and a single GEM blade which has a fairly ornate pattern on the band. It needs a good cleaning, but I think it'll shine up beautifully. The edge of the guard has a bit more corrosion than I'd like, but we'll see how it cleans up. It looks like the adjustable I saw is probably a '60s model. I may swing back by and take a closer look at it. There was also a nice aristocrat in box for $65, but that's more than I want to spend on a razor for the time being.
You really done good then. As many have said, the 1912's are great shavers, even for your first S/E shave. Fuzzy will be along shortly with the revolution thing, unless MsB beats him to it.
Your local drug store should have some single edge blades in the shave isle somewhere. That's where I got mine some months ago. I am not totally sold on single edge shaving but it still one of the better shavers that I have.
Now all I need is an adjustable and a slant and I'll have representation of all of the major safety razor types. (I currently have a 3 piece travel, TTO, 3 piece single ring, rolls, and gem) I think I'll stick with my single ring for a few more days before I make another change in my shaving routine, but then I'll try the gem. (And I have a few treet DE blades that I may try out after a few days) I'm a little scared of the rolls, so I'm going to learn a bit about it and see if mine is in usable condition.
I had to make about 400 to 500 passes on the hone before my blade was sharp enough. Take time and read up on those sites I sent you and look over the instructions. I wouldn't even try shaving with it until you have done a few hundred hone passes. You want your hone passes to be fast and with pressure BUT when you get to the end to change direction you need to be controlled and not just slap the blade down hard on the stone. I read several spots where it said to try and hear two clicks (one for safety bar and the other for the edge) as it flips.
