Interesting read Cool Breeze, thanks for posting. I tried my first SE shave not long ago, and you are right; the drugstore blades are not that great. (I went the same route for convenience/impatience) HERE is where I ordered my current SE blades, which are GEMs; they are a huge improvement over the CVS blades.
Nice to hear first hand, I figured as much. I was just too impatient I guess. After the holidays I'll get an order up. Im gonna need some soap and other things. Besides, I would like to try some of the TSD products. Im on here all the time and it only seems fair that when I restock I go through TSD. Give them a shot anyway.
Well, the wife wants to go to the flea market again and check out some antique shops today. I'l keep my eyes open , maybe I'll find more of those $7.00 treasures again.
In my not so humble opinion I consider the carbon steel blades as the top of the heap, I much prefer them over the stainless blades.
Yea, the cvs blades I have are carbon. A brand new blade will spot during the time it takes to complete a first shave. I know this because I take out the blade after I use it and pat dry. I didn't do it the first time I used the Gem and it left rust inside my razor. Im still learning about razor blades but 1 thing I do know is that I prefer carbon steel as opposed to stainless in my pocket knives, but then I sharpeb my own pocket knives. It takes me longer to sharpen a stainless knife than a carbon one and I can never get a stainless blade as scary wicked sharp as I can my carbon knives. Could the same principle apply to shaving blades?
Ok folks, todays booty, not so good. This is what I got. An Old Spice mug ( It's actually very heavy for its size) And this Fred Flinstone, clam shell looking razor. It says "made in USA" and Treet. Other than that, I have no idea. Would one of you more knowladgeable members please fill me in on the dates of thease items? The mug has the ship "USS Friendship" on it. I don't know if that makes any difference or not. Thanks.
Not sure of the relationship between Gem and Treet, but that's what is called a baton handle. I have one stamped Gem Jr. I prefer the MicroMatic Open Comb over this 1912 style head, but that's me. Not a bad razor.
Do you have experience with this razor? Is it aggressive? All I need is one person to tell me its on the aggressive side and I'm gonna put a real handle on it and turn her loose on my mug. Normally I would NEVER alter an ancient treasure as this, but I just cannot accept the 2 in hollow plastic handle. The metal head looks crazy cool, spring loaded door and all but the fat, short , cheap plastic handle reminds me of my ex wife, its gotta go. If however, its reported as a nice shaver but mild, it'll sit on the shelf with the rest of my vintage collection.
Treet was formed around 1927 and merged with ASR in 1948. The razor you have was probably made after the merger with ASR and are sometimes mistakenly called 1912's, but they aren't. They have a different comb-guard and don't have 1912 stamped on the bottom of the frame. I have a few, they shave very similarly to the 1912 with the baton handle.
Ask and you shall recieve. Thanks Hoosier Trooper. So , mild, aggeressive? It has a closed comb and the top is spring loaded but does stay open when you open it all the way. Also, is that a rivet or a screw that holds the head on the baton?
Tom is our SE guru!! I find most SE razors to be more aggressive than most DEs. But only your face can tell you the truth.
I truly wish EJ or some other major manufacturer would put out a new SE, I think we already have everything ealse. I must admit, I've been bitten by the SE bug.
I too would like to see EJ or Merkur offer something similar to your Gem. I have two OC's that I'm keeping, along with 2 super speeds. I have a slant, and a new Dovo straight. A good SE would complete my keeper list. Who knows, maybe somebody with the power to make that happen is listening?
Honestly, I try not to get hung up on whether a razor is considered mild or aggressive by others, if I like the way a particular works and feels I use it, if I don't it doesn't get used much. Also, I mistakenly referred to the Treet's guard-bar as a comb-guard. The frame just screws onto the handle, they usually come off pretty easily.
Good info, thanks. I like the way the head looks so I probably will change the handle and use it. It looks like it used to be gold or tarnished gold coating. It's pale yellow but not spotted , just pale yellowish. Today I'll scrub it up with the scribbing bubbles and see what color it atcually was.
