I recently tried a Gem loaded with a Pella and didn't find the shave to be in any way remarkable. I've noted several ppl here are serious SE users, so my question is: What do you Gemocratz see as being the the SE advantage over the DE razor? - of which there are many styles, so many blades and such gentle, close shaves. II. That str8s shave closer and longer than DEs, or any other safety razor for that matter, also doesn't strike a chord with me. A WTG pass is a WTG pass, an ATG pass is an ATG pass, and so on!
Keep using your Gem.It takes a while to get the hang of them.The combination of a thicker blade and the razors built in shaving angle gives superlative results with a little practice. I have a heavy beard and after 24 hours there is very little stubble to mow down. That being the only downside of using these wonderfull razors. Give the Gem a bit of time,you'll love it.What model did you use by the way.
I am not a die hard single edge fan like some around these parts but I do like mine. I do know what the attraction of the single edge is, at leat in my mind. In this era of razors with huge heads and lots of blades on them its often refreshing to shave with a razor from a simpler time, something that is the exact oposite of those terrible multiblade razors. Something that is the exact oposite of what those terrible mulibladed razors are. The single edge is the exact oposite of what thodays razors are, its minimalistic it presents the minimum of what is needed to get the job done. It does not bother with the term system and presents one single edge and one single blade. Its the bare minimum of what is needed to get the job done every morning. It gets the job done with minimum of muss and fuss.
I just haven't had much luck with any of my SE razors. Each shave has been followed up by painful irritation that seems to last far longer than any other irritation I've experienced. I shaved last night just past midnight, and here it is, over 7 hours later and my face is still burning. Each time I've tried it, I've been able to tell after one pass that things aren't going to be smooth if I try any more passes. For now I'm going to put them aside. I'm hoping that in a few weeks I can come back to the whole SE thing with a fresh mindset and a new perspective and maybe find that elusive shave that so many others seems to get.
Corey, how are you using it? The head should almost rest flat against the face. If you tilt it at an angle like a DE you scrape the skin/whiskers instead of slicing the whiskers off. That could be what is causing your irritation.
The head is flat and the angle is very acute. I read up on proper technique and I still get bit by the thing. I've used a Ted Pella in an Ever Ready, Walgreens Personna blade in a Micromatic, and a Treet blade in a Gem Jr. Each shave has yielded similar, irritated results.
The only gripe I have with SE's are I can't get a blade to last as long as a DE or cartridge blade. 2-3 shaves and I'm done with it. A good DE (7 O'clock line) can last me 5... EW
You've definitely have the angle right. Do you get irritation going WTG? Which seems backwards to me. I would think that nice thick blade would last longer, but I found out 4 days max for me the hard way
They do... at least for me they do, but they still don't outlast a KAI or a 7 O'clock black for me. On the other hand, some people can't get more than 2 days out of a KAI, so its just another case of the Burnwood phenomena...
The SE is the simplist best way for me to get a great shave. I can be half asleep and still get it right. Once the technique is down it is very easy. I get just as many shaves from a SE blade as a DE blade. I will add that I do not try to stretch a blade out. After 3 or 4 shaves I move on to a new blade. The SE also looks better to me. I love the face Hoe. I feel sorry for people that can not enjoy it more. I have some DE razors that I enjoy using, mostly OC types of various vintage, but nothing comes close to the feel of one of my 19xx styles or my 1910 lather catcher.
I just got a Junior with a fat bakelite handle in the mail. It's my first one. I'll try it out on Saturday. Or maybe tomorrow. Very anxious to try it, but I shaved today before the mail came. Aaron
That is a great razor. I am going to bump a 1912 thread I had started a while back it may help understand why we love them so much.
I see in the bumped post, MTGrayling mentions a "Parade" razor. That is the one I got, complete with a case and 2 Gem blades still wrapped in the blade box. I'm really looking forward to trying it. Aaron
