I went perusing the local antique shops yesterday, and was able to locate a very nice condition Gem Micromatic (open comb) for a mere $3.00. It suffers from minor plating loss on the head, but otherwise is a great razor. The silo door operates perfectly. I found some Pal SE blades at my local Family Dollar, so after cleaning the Micromatic, decided to have a go with it this morning: Today was my first shave with the Micromatic: -Dove Conditioner as Pre-Prep -Gem Micromatic -Pal SE Blade -Omega Pure Badger Brush -Cyril R. Salter Luxury Shaving Cream-Sublime Citrus -Gillette Series Sensitive ASB I have to say, I am extremely disappointed with the Micromatic: Reading through the various boards, I was expecting a total disaster with the Micromatic, many people saying they had a total bloodbath their first time out!! Not so for my first shave with the Micromatic: I have a very close, wonderful, irritation free shave, with no nicks, no weepers, and absolutely zero blood loss!!! While I am not sure at this point that the SE shave is necessarily better than my DE shaves, it is certainly very comparable, and a very pleasant shaving experience! By the way the Salter Sublime is wonderful stuff. I got it as a free sample from Phil at Bullgoose Shaving, and when I first opened it, the smell was so real, I thought briefly about actually eating it!!
Glad to hear that it worked out for you! As you said, I know some people hate the MM and others love it. Glad to hear that it treated you nicely. Maybe since you were expecting a rough shave, you paid extra close attention to getting it right and that is what a MM needs. :signs107
I have barely shaved with a clog puf Micromatic and was,again, a perfect shave.For me works better than DE shaving..this is why im a GEMOCRAT!!! I will post a pic of it on my SOTD later....oh yes and: VIVA LA REVOLUCION!!!!!!
congrats on the good shave! I'm one of those who had problems on the first shave with an o.c. micromatic, but that was because I didn't have much time and tried to rush. I find the open comb micromatic shaves closer and smoother than most DEs, but you have to pay attention when using it.
I've never had any luck with the Gem I have. I've shaved with it twice and tore my face up both times. I'm scared. So scared. . .
Glad to hear you had a good shave. It's encouraging as I just picked up a gold Micromatic Friday during an antique treck into eastern PA. I paid $4.50. Cleaned up it looks pretty good. The movements are smooth. I really haven't heard much about the MM (I've never used an SE, for that matter), so I don't know if it was a good buy or not. But, hey, at $4.50 it was worth an experiment. Any body know if there is a way to date this razor?
Exact dates for S/E razors are not possible as they don't have a serial like some of the Gillette's do, but a rough date for the style is possible. That question is best answered by that young (in years only) man that posted directly above you. Dave is the guru for all things S/E, in case you didn't know that.
It's an excellent buy. You need to start with the razor flat on your face then rotate the angle up until you can hear the blade cutting the hairs. It will sound different than what you are used to when using a DE.
That's a nice looking Micromatic. Looks identical to mine, except mine has the silver/ chrome finish.
In response to this post I just shaved with my Clog-Pruf. I wawas afraid because my MM cut the dickens out of me. This time there was not a single weeper! I am loving it again.
sounds like that good old closed bar suits you a little better. after a while you might even be able to go back to the open comb.
2nd shave with the Micromatic: -Dove Conditioner (as Pre-Prep) -Gem Micromatic (open comb) -Pal SE Blade (with 1 shave on it) -Vulfix Boar Brush -Cyril R. Salter Luxury Shaving Cream-Sublime Citrus -Gillette Series Sensitive ASB I have to say, I am super impressed with the Gem Micromatic. It is of course quite a bit more aggressive, than any of my DE Razors, but I actually kind of like that. I can really feel it cutting, and doing a great job. This was a great quality, close shave. I did get one cut on my upper lip, where there exists a bump from a childhood scar. I nick that nearly every time I shave, unless I am uber careful, and limit the number of passes on the area. I nicked it this time, because there were some stubborn hairs in the general location, just underneath the the left of my nose, that the razor seemed to be missing. Anyway, in an attempt at perfection, I did one too many passes on this sensitive area. ashamed001 I don't think I will attempt to push these Pal blades beyond two shaves each. I am fully sold on Gems, and just purchased a safety bar Gem Featherweight. happy102
