Drop in on us for the first time, and you'll find yourself in the middle of dozens of ongoing conversations. The old timers who have been here for a few months fill their posts with mysterious abbreviations, and casually allude to well known facts about things that you've never heard of. What is MWF? What's a DFS? What does it mean to shave XTG? And you came here to find out about double edged safety razors or straights; what's all this about "SE" razors?

Single edged (SE) safety razors are the "other" type of classic safety razor. The blades are still made, but the razors are not. In our little world here, they are a hot topic, but outside of these forums, you'll seldom hear of them. Available only as vintage, they aren't everybody's cup of tea, but those who do discover them often become fanatics. A short primer on the subject might be helpful.

The focus here will be fairly narrow. A wide variety of safety razors, including even a couple of cartridge and disposable types, have a single cutting edge. There have been many fine designs, using a variety of blades, but I won't try to cover them all just now. For now, what we are looking at are the classic SE razors produced under American Safety Razor (ASR) brands, Gem, Ever Ready, and Star. We'll be looking at the most readily and cheaply available types, and ones that use blades similar to this:


The note is important. This may look like a utility blade, but it is actually a Treet carbon steel blade made specifically for shaving. CVS has the same blade under its own brand name, and Gem makes a stainless steel version. Use a utility blade from a hardware store, and you'll think you know why these razors vanished from the scene. That would be a shame, as you'd be missing out on some great shaves. I'll have some more comments on how to shave with an SE razor latter, but first let's look at some of the choices. There are many excellent models out there, but the ones that follow are all fairly easy to find at good prices. You won't go far wrong with any of these.

The classics.

The photograph above shows, left to right, a Gem 1912, a Gem Junior (a 1912 variant), Ever Ready 1914, and Ever Ready 1924. In each case, the year is that of the patent, not necessarily when the razor itself was made. There are many slight variations on these, particularly the 1912, with minor differences in the head and handle design. The 1912 was also made under the Ever Ready and Star brands.

A significant feature of all these is the guard bar design. Have a closer look. It's not quite a guard bar, not quite an open comb. The perforated design is closed at the bottom, but open in the middle, a sort of transitional stage. That unique half open design is, as far as I'm concerned, perfection. Once you have the basic angle figured out, the guard bar helps to guide the razor gently around all the angles and curves. You really have to try it to appreciate it. All of the above models have this feature, but for my money the 1912s had it just right. The 1914 is slightly more awkward to open, the 1924 isn't as well balanced, and may have a tendency to bite. They are all fine razors, though, and any one of them would be a good place to start.

The middle years.

The next three razors take us from the 1930s to the 1950s. Left to right a G-Bar (or Heavy Flat-Top), Feather Weight, and Pushbutton. Again, these are all excellent razors, The guard bar is now a conventional looking solid design, much like those you find on DE razors. The craftsmanship doesn't impress quite as much as with the older models, but these are still well made. If the plating wears off a G-Bar, you'll quickly get little spots of corrosion; it seems to be pot metal. The Feather Weight and Pushbutton have plastic handles. Still, these razors tend to wear their years well; any that you get will already have lasted more than half a century.

The feel of these has gotten a bit milder than the 1912s, and for me, they don't have that same intuitive rightness. Other people actually prefer them. For those who don't like shaving with a previously owned razor, no matter how thoroughly it has been disinfected, there is a chance of finding Feather Weights and Pushbuttons still in their sealed original packaging. If you don't mind a used razor (I don't) they can be had quite cheaply.

The twist to open (TTO) models.

The next three are the Gem Micromatics. Left to right, the Open Comb, the Clog-Pruf, and the Bullet Tip (or Flying Wing). These all have knobs at the bottom which you twist to open and close the razor. In addition to that TTO mechanism, they have unique shaving characteristics.

The Open Comb Micromatic is the ideal SE razor for many people. It is certainly the most...