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SOTD SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
Yesterday’s shave with my Brass Gem Jr. Model 1912 was spectacular. Realizing that all safety razors are essentially just blade holders, the fun part of the hobby for me has been mastering the particulars of shave technique peculiar to each blade holder design. William Henson patented the first “hoe design” safety razor in 1847, but it really wasn’t until the 1880s that the Kampfe Bros. of Brooklyn, NY began producing their SE safety razor that later led to the Gem brand. With my Gem razors, since discovering the delightfully smooth and sharp SS Pella blades, shave technique turns out to be consistently similar with these “hoe design” SEs. Yes, there are minor differences in stroke and angle when shaving with an OC versus a SB Gem model, but the design itself just works!
For today’s shave I selected the G-Bar. This particular blade holder is one of the SB variants, and has never failed to deliver a top-of-the-line shave, and this morning was no different. The razor has a certain heft that just feels good in the hand. It sang “scraping toast” lyrics as it mowed through my whiskers right down to the skin line on that first WTG pass. The Nancy Boy shave cream provided a nicely slick, cooling cushion with its 6 drops of M-Bomb added. The 15.8 oz 316L SS Synth by Rearden Razor provided a bit of exercise during the two lather applications. The second ATG pass brought your happy narrator to VBSS land, the objective of every shave, and an A on the cotton ball test. Alum revealed some slight heat on the top of the back of my dome, but otherwise, another spectacular Gem shave. I feel clean, cool, velveteen smooth and refreshed.
RAZOR: Gem G-Bar
BLADE: Pella SS PTFE
PREP: Cold water rinse
BRUSH: 316L SS Synthetic by Rearden Razor
CREAM: Nancy Boy Signature
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with Glyce Glycerin soap followed by Thayers Lavender WH and Krampert’s Frostbite AS Splash.
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