Dating “1912” GEM Razor

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Rachael0016, Nov 16, 2021.

  1. Rachael0016

    Rachael0016 New Member

    Having trouble finding this variation of razor. I’m not sure if it makes a difference but it may, all the other GEM 1912s that I’ve found in trying to date this 1912 seem to say Brooklyn NY while this one only says New York. Any help would be appreciated.

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  2. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    1911-1912 Gem de Luxe
    1912 Gem Damaskeene (the "1912")
    1914-1915 (ER) "1914" Marked "American Safety Razor Company New York" Patent Pending
    1917-1919 (ER) "1914" Marked "Ever Ready" Patented March 24/14
    1918 "Radio" trademark blade - just a point of interest being perhaps "Radio" predated "Ever Ready" on the razors that are marked "Radio"?
    1919 Star became a subsiduary of ASR
    1919 Gem "1912"
    1919 (ER) Front Hinged Cap "Brooklyn New York USA" Patent Applied For (becomes the "1924")
    1923 "Ever Ready" trademarked by ASR
    1924 "GEM" trademark redesigned by ASR
    1925 ER "1914" & "1924" produced hereafter marked "Ever Ready"
    1930 Gem "Micromatic" (the Open Comb)
    1930 The Improved Ever Ready ("1912") - what we call the Ever Ready "1912" finally coming into common production (see above, regarding "Radio")
    1933 ER "E-Bar" - potentially earlier than the Gem offering of the same model? (Last use of "Ever Ready" in the US)
    1930s "Star" - supercedes "Ever Ready" in the US (British market continues with "Every Ready") and duplicates "Gem" ("1912") ... perhaps simply becoming the "Junior"
    1930s? Gem G-Bar (introduced after the cessation of the Ever Ready trademark in the US)
    1940s? Gem "1912 Junior"
    1941 Gem (Micromatic) "Clog Pruf"
    1947 Gem (Micromatic) "Flying Wing"
    1940s? (Late) ER "Streamline" (British - Ever Ready trademark picked up in Britain ... last used in US in 1933)
    1950s ER Featherweight (British)
    1950s Gem Featherweight/Pushbutton
    1960s Gem Contour
    1970s Gem Contour II

    So, the Gem "1912" is only a 1912 if it's a Damaskeene, 1919 otherwise.
    An Ever Ready "1912" is actually a 1930 and Star "1912" were made from 1933.

    Ever Ready "1914" is a 1914 if "patent pending", 1917-1919 otherwise.

    Ever Ready "1924" is a not a 1924 if "patent applied for" which makes it actually a 1919.

    Pivotal years seem to be 1912 (Gem Damaskeene "1912" begins), 1919 (Star brought into ASR, Gem "1912" begins & Ever Ready "1924" comes into pre-patent production), 1923 (Ever Ready brand goes full blown) and 1930 (Ever Ready "1912" begins).
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  3. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Looks like a cut and paste of some old material... I'd delete the mistaken Waits reference to the G-Bar as a 1930s production rather than 1955. Given that error I'm not sure about the basis for speculation of the E-Bar .

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  4. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    took from Darkbulb thread
     
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  5. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    More reliable[​IMG]

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  6. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    that should work.............
     
  7. HoosierTrooper

    HoosierTrooper Steve-less in Indiana

    That is the first 1912 model known as the Damaskeene, produced by the GEM Cutlery Co. In 1919 GEM, Star and Ever-Ready merged to form the American Safety Razor Corporation and the models produced after the merger dropped the warning to only use Damaskeene blades from inside the frame and the name on the back of the frame was changed to the GEM Safety Razor Co. The Damaskeene models were sold from 1915 to sometime shortly after the 1919 merger so yours was produced sometime during that time frame. The first models sold from 1912-1914 were open comb and they went to the closed “guard-comb”as it’s referred to in the patent application starting in 1915.
     
  8. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    One of the very best SEs ever.
     
  9. HoosierTrooper

    HoosierTrooper Steve-less in Indiana

    Absolutely.
     
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