Injector & SE Party !!!

A year ago, after a terrible shave with my 1912 GEM Junior The Parade, I hid it in the darkest corner of my apartment. Yesterday, I decided to give it another chance.
The shave was good and enjoyable. Not excellent, not very good, but not fair and furthermore bad. Just another example showing you should get back to a razor, blade, brush some day. Just allow the time to erase the negative memories and you may be surprised you did not like it a few months ago.

 

As you can see from my new avatar, I have now received all the SE razors I was expecting. A VERY clean Shick I1, a reasonable user quality GEM clog pruf, and my daily driver Shick G (until I finish my 30 days, or the urge strikes me to try the others)

 

Hi guys...looking for a pointer or two. I have no experience on injectors, but have acquired a few. I am interested in learning to shave with an injector and wondered which I should try first. I have 3-4 vintage blades, a pack of current production blades. So three questions really.

Which one to start?
Ranks of these razors mild to aggressive?
Good sources of current PTFE blades or any blades?

The silver handle Schick was my Father's, and was gonna start there, unless one of the others really is better for learning. I plan on devoting a month or two to learning injector shaving in 2015. I also owe Secret Santa an SOTD on the black Floating Head model...it happens to be a birth year razor for me. No attachment to the other two. Any and all thoughts on this greatly appreciated!

 

I have used all four of them in the past.

Top Left Least Aggressive
Top Right Most Aggressive
Bottom Two Medium Aggressive

Chinese Schicks are good / Amazon.

 

I am gonna take that advice/rankings and start with my Dads's razor to learn the techniques. Will look into the Chinese Schick blades. Thanks!

 

I have no self control! I said I would wait for a while before using the GEM clog pruf... Sure.... All of an hour! I enjoyed using it, with a GEM carbon blade. The shave was comfortable, with a little irritation, and some rough patches, but a quite acceptable CCS. All in all, I thought the Shick G gave me the best shave.

 

Sounds good to me...I believe the learning curve is shorter with injectors than any safety razor....although the shaves are exceptional...

 

Congrats on your first Micromatic shave...They will only get better as you log in more time...And those Schicks are solid charmers, you got that right!

 

Just got my "last" package in the mail. I even let SWMBO open it, as I knew what it was, as the package had "Royal Mail" on it. 5 boxes of Personna injector blades from Connaught. This, combined with my two packs of Chinese Shick injectors, and I should be good for a while.....maybe even 2017???

 

Recent find my first se. Shaved this morning with it using cvs gem blades. My second pass seems the blade completely dulled had to finish with another razor

 

'Just this one, and I will be done for a while'... no offense, but good luck! Those were my exact words about 75 razors ago. RAD is a fearsome disease.

 

I don't know the CVS brand blades....Either made by Personna or Dorco probably.....This definitely sounds like a blade issue....It could be solved maybe with a GEM blade....either Carbon steel, like I imagine these were....Or a GEM Stainless. I get 3 great shaves with the GEM carbons, maybe 2...With the Stainless's easily 7 or more...I still love the carbons because they shave so smooth. At least thee GEM Blue Stars and Treets do. But the Stainless's do possess an admirable longevity while still giving very smooth shaves. I think each shave gets better for the first 3 or 4 shaves as the blades seem to smooth out and continue to stay at that point... When they do get dull, they don't pull and nip like DE blades do, but rather just become less efficient...

 

No offence taken..... I know I have no will power.... thinking about a G bar or featherweight. I am staying away from ebay until the new year.... then all bets are off. Mind you.... I was watching some straight razor vids...... BACK AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER.....

 

Hey man....check out the EverReady 1914..... This is one of my all time favorites...


On March 24, 1914 this rascal was Patented...So it's now going towards it's 101st birthday on March 24th... You really need one to join in the festivities....I can say this as a friend because I believe if I had to pair it all down to two....It would be my Schick I, and my ER 1914...

This razor is like an Exotic Sports Car....It delievers more feedback to the driver than any razor I've ever seen...It's a real blast from the past. It's got it all...all the extremes....It's the loudest. Sometimes if I shave late at night I'm afraid the sound of blade cutting whiskers will wake up my wife in the other room...ha,ha...It sounds like a knife scraping toast only amplified....It also vibrates with every whisker cut. I'm telling you...It's a sensory over-load, a real party razor, I'm crazy for mine.

And I can get a perfect DFS with one pass....BBS with two...But I usually do a third just for fun...Plus, it's the last Lather Catcher...I can almost do a whole pass with out rinsing...ha,ha.
Look at her....isn't she a looker?

 

Get thee behind me...... And yes it is a looker. on the lookout for a ER 1914 in the new year.

 

I just got an unexpected Ever Ready 1914, it is a cool little machine. I buy Tawn travel kits whenever I see them because I love the hair tonic and tooth powder... The two products that are almost always untouched in the sets. Plus every Tawn set I have bought, has come with a minty unused Gillette Tech of some sort. Well worth the $10/15 they usually cost me. My latest Tawn set was a bit more expensive. Set me back $20- but, all the products are unused, and it came with a perfect ER 1914 and '24. Pretty good, since I was expecting yet another ball end or plastic handled tech. And even better is the fact that I do not own either type razor. I have yet to use one, but I have been admiring the design of both. So slick and modern. I am really surprised by some of the things that were happening in industrial design 100 years ago! As a former design student I was aware of the modernists in the early part of the twentieth century, but this is the first time that design has firmly entered into my use. I like it. It really is not what you would expect when you think of the time period.

 

You won't be sorry...

You are one lucky man 'Droid'.....I sincerly love both of those...The 1924 Shovelhead knocked me out from the first shave...and the original patent was in 1909...It really is a modern piece, maybe too modern for 1909. But when it was re-released with a new handle in 1924 it clicked. And the 1914 was kind of a modern-retro. It was a NEW razor but had the Lather Catcher angle, which I think endeared it to the general public. Works for me...

Shavewise, I think they are very similar. Although to me, the 1914 is more "feedback" oriented because of the way you can feel every whisker cut through the handle. The 1924 is more like a Caddie, and cruises through the whiskers, although it is equally LOUD! Try Them Out....and get back to us with comparisons...I'd love to hear your thoughts...

My Schick I2 has a quaranteed spot at the head of the table...for many reasons on many levels...
But I'm also SE crazy, and have many loves...But the "ER 1914 Little Lather Catcher " and the ER1924 are probably my two favorite SE's....and you got both like new in that Kit....Pics!
We Want Pics :ahem:

 

Hey, guys!
I posted this on another part of the forum, but it was suggested that I post it here, as well. Just received a 1924 Ever Ready.

 

A few more SEs and Injectors in the thread below.

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...ct-ads-from-days-gone-by-dec-2014-adds.26065/

 

I had a second shave with the clog pruf, and a SS blade, and it was okay... I'm sure that it will get better with practice. Having said that, I must admit that my co-favorites are the Shick G and I. I get what appear to be effortless DFS, bordering on BBS. Let's just say, that when I wanted to get a great shave for a very important day, I used the G. It did not disappoint. (And I was VERY carefull) Didn't want gashes on that day in particular.