Hey guys, I just took my girlfriend to this awesome antique store in Sebastopol, CA. I think it was an airplane hangar or something. It's just insanely huge. Anywho, I picked up an Ever-Ready 1912 with the Ornate Handle for $6. I'm ordering a blade sampler from TryaBlade.com at the moment. I'm hoping I like the GEM SS PTFE blades, because of how cheap they are for a 100 pack on Connaught. I have DEs and what not. I'm coming up on my first year anniversary of wetshaving. My favorite set up right now is a Fat Handle Tech with an Astra SP. What kind of shave can I expect from this razor?
I'm seeing a bowed comb on that razor. It ought to straighten out easily enough. I'm very fond of this model and use one frequently. My blade of choice is the Gem Blue Star or its CVS branded twin. They're excellent razors. Enjoy.
Should I try to bend it with needle nose pliers or anything or just leave it alone and shave with it and see how iti s?
Awesome. I'm really looking forward to it. I have a gold Gem Junior in better shape coming for me, but I saw this guy and had to have it for $6. I don't have any blades yet.
If it was me, I'd try to straighten it out. The blade gap will be dangerously wonky otherwise. Just remember go slow.
I see that bow now. If it doesn't straighten out successfully, you have an extra handle for your Gem Jr.
Thanks for the tips guys. I'll check it out when I get my Gem Jr with 5 GEM PTFE SS blades and see how the gap is.
Another FYI you can use DE handles with your 1912 as long as the handle thread size is 10/32, just get a 10/32 set screw.
Oh, I see. I'm not thinking about this correctly. Is there a list anywhere of which handles happen to work?
I don't know if you can tell when they were made. They carry the pat. 1912 stamp but were made for many years afterwards.
There is no list of handles that I am aware of, but most Gillette and modern handles have worked for me as far as thread size. Some SE heads such as the 1912 Damaskene were of a different thread size however.
I don't have the 1912 Damaskene to try, so I can't speak for that one. I made a punch handle for my SE, and it works great, however there is one that it does not work on, the Ever-Ready 1914. http://www.jrshaving.blogspot.com/2015/02/brass-punch-handle-continuing-story.html
So, I've done 3 shaves with it and it's fantastic. Closer than a DE(judging by the hair growth after a certain number of hours), and a super smooth shave. The bowed comb isn't having any adverse effects. It's great. I'm very intrigued. I'm still on my first GEM SS PTFE blade.