I guess a few pictures of what you have would help. Then I can figure out what you need and if I can give any advice.
Razor - GEM Featherweight Blade - GEM Personna SS (6th use and still sharp!) Proraso Menthol Simpson T3 Trafalgar Geo F Trumper Skinfood The Featherweight was so nice, I plan on using it again tomorrow. I may redo this whole shave. It was that nice! The shave soap was not as cooling without the Proraso Blue pre-shave cream. I have mastered this razor! Very pleasant shave. WTG, ATG, XTG. No cuts, nicks, or weepers. Alum bar raised no feedback. This razor shaves REAL close even after the blade had been used 5 times already!
Some of the fellows @GAW9576 (Greg) & @Rosseforp (Doug) have been getting creative with Micromatic handles from damaged Micromatics and thought that was a good idea. I had a Micromatic that was sent to me damaged from the big auction house with a damaged blade stop making the razor unsafe to use so instead of discarding it I also made a usable handle. Micromatic handles are very comfortable to hold, new length is about 2 3/4 inches long & is perfect for myself using a steep angle approach shaving with my DE razors IMO . Most ASR 1912 different model handles are slightly shorter in length or approximately same length from what I quickly measured. I clamped (sandwiched)the handle between 2 small wooden 3/8 X 2 inches planks so not to damage the handle with the small tension bolt at bottom of handle removed in a small vise & just hacksawed the area just above the top flange and just filed it flat & smooth. Tap drilled smaller handle existing hole out to 4.2 mm in small progressions of drill sizes to reach 4.2mm.(make sure everything is fairly square and then tapped a 5mm dia X .8mm pitch thread which is a common tread for normal DE razors and some SE razors. Then I bought some 5mm X .8 mm pitch brass machine screws about 40mm in length so I could grab the head in vice to cut to length(this will fit the #10 32TPI similar threads also in the ASR 1912 head models). The handle spindle small end I cut to a length so it would jam the bottom of the adaptor so it has some resistance when tightening or removing the Gem(ASR)1912 model razor head with out any issues.(It might sound complicated but it is not it is just hard to describe for me) I was going to make a adaptor stud for my lather catchers but they used a Proprietary or different obsolete thread #6 24 TPI machine screw thread & you need a lathe to make that male thread for this thread size now because there are no dies with this uncommon thread size that I know of. Any ways I'm still having fun with my (ASR)Gem razors even the ones being victims of rough handling and accidents along their life time journey. Have some great shaves!
I still don't see how these come apart! Does the "knob" screw off after you open the razor fully and then continue to turn it? I do not want to break it or cut the threads off. That knob is very secure in the handle!
If you go to page 11, post# 202 you will see the Micromatic broke down, there is a retaining spring on the handle and it will collapse when unscrewed first and is lose then while in the vise all I did was pull and twist and it came out. I made a copy for you. Have some great shaves!
If bottom of handle knob is lose I would clamp it in a vice between 2 pcs of wood so not to destroy the handle main barrel and just take the end of handle nob and pull and twist together at the same time it should collapse the retaining spring inside to exit the razor barrel, that is all I did and that is how mine worked (refer to pictures. If that does not work you will have remove the base plate and see it they have a snap ring on the top of the spindle securing it up higher possibly. Nothing to lose!
MicroMaticMonday, August 8th 2022. I have been experimenting with shimming the spline of the modern Gem blade for years with my Everready streamline razor and it mellows out that razor nicely. So this morning I used a spent regular flattened spine that I use in my ER Streamline and installed it in the MMOC button less model to mock the thicker splined blades of the 1930 era and results where it also tilts the blade enough to smooth it out a little. I would suggest trying it at least and used it with a new Gem PTFE blade also. I'm not the only person to try this and only works best in the Micromatic 3 different models (because of the way those razors clamp the blade) with a flattened spline from a spent blade. I have not tried it in the MMCP or MMFW yet and I not sure it would benefit the MMFW(AKA, Bullet tip or MMBT) because it is the milder razor of the 3 Micromatics. Razor : Micromatic open comb button-less- Mfg 1930-32, excellent mid>upper mid range depending on experience, well built and designed for that time era, it was the first mass produced TTO razor world wide. The button-less model was before the newer Micromatic open comb models 1932-41 that held the double edge blades and used button shims to mock the spine blades. I used a flattened spent spline in MMOC to mellow it out and performed well. Hard to believe just tilting the blade a few degrees would make a difference but it sure felt like it and performed like a nice smooth mid range razor. Blade : Gem Personna SS PTFE(1) Very sharp with excellent longevity, smooths out nicely + predictable. Soap : Yaqi Musketeer Rapier- nice scented soap with excellent lather qualities. Has a slight lemon look and scent works for me. Brush : Yaqi Goblin 24mm synthetic- excellent lather generator, cloud like soft tips, nice splay scrub + great lather painter. Pre shave : (Dedicated Cashmere synthetic)Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser with a dollop of clear Aloe Vera on the cleaned beard area. Prep : Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups. Post shave : Yaqi Musketeer aftershave + a dollop of Neutrogena hydro boost moisturizing lotion(scentless)testing). Results :CCS,DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers= Excellent shave with my MMOC buttonless with a coated Gem blade. I also make sure that the cap closes freely(because of the shim) before tightening so not to damage anything on the razor and with finger pressing down as as you would tighten regularly works best for this simple added procedure I used.) No big deal for checking for the few extra seconds it takes! Have a some great shaves.
This question was brought up on another thread Micromatic Monday on another forum about shimming the 1912 models so It got my curiosity up on this good question brought up by fellow on another forum who is just getting into ASR razors & a few other long time members also curious with their findings also about blade width differences . MMMonday, August 8th 2022. I have been experimenting with shimming the spline of the modern Gem blade for years with my Everready streamline razor and it mellows out that razor nicely. So this morning I used a spent regular flattened spine that I use in my ER Streamline and installed it in the... There where some other ramblings 3 years ago that I was bringing up about my Streamline razor shimming with good results on this thread 3 yrs ago on page 8, post #145 but should of pursued that more possibly! So another interesting discovery that might be of interest to some ASR razors 1912, ER 1914, ER 1924 & ER Streamline model razor holders if you want to smooth out the shave a little more and I kind of been doing this with not really taking any notice really & barely mentioning this on this thread. So maybe it's time to start thinking out loud like know. I know other old timers where shimming there older Gem razors but thought not a lot about it because I was getting reasonable results as is with most of my Gem razors but a few like the Streamline razor puzzled me. It is kind of interesting because ASR was going through different blade transitions when improving their blades and keeping cost reasonable & practical at the same time. A lot of the older ASR blades had a thicker blade spine as some folks know(Newbies should know this) and when they went to the different newer models in the 1930's> ASR introduced their double edge blade & aluminum spline blade later because most of those models had the shim bumps installed on the base plates in all those models forward and a blade could be use the newer Aluminum spline blades for just basically safe handling of the blade is my conclusion. With millions of these early models razors like the 1912 and a few years of Gem Micromatics 1930-32 models also Everready Streamline models, ASR 1914 and 1924 + some ASR Treet & Radio Brand models with out the shim bumps to raise the blade height properly with the new Aluminum splined blade is different and owners of the 1912 can enjoy those models a little more IMO if your 1912 models will take a spent aluminum spline or thinner to place it under the existing modern Gem blade (some models will take a full spline shim possibly) . Also the modern Gem blades are slightly narrower in width than some of the older thicker splined blades when a lot of these razors where manufactured. The older razors will take the new Gem Personna blades like the 1912 and all the Micromatics + most1912, ER 1914 & ER 1924 models but are pushing the tensioning limits of a good proper engineered sloping blade possibly that really does smooth out the razor IMO and other folks have been doing this no doubt for years. ASR did not incorporate much thought for other previous owners of these older razor models that where engineered for thicker splines in that time era of thought and where encouraging folks to buy the newer generations of razors they were offering & dreaming up new models for future sales makes good business sense & already engineered to take the newest blades regardless . By using the blade shim tucked under the existing modern Gem blade you raise the blade to approximately 8 degree slope from a un-shimmed blade of approximately 4 degrees gaining a increase of 100% tilt slope of blade that will make for a nicer shaves IMO (the way the old shave engineers wanted those razors back then to work.). Tell tale signs your blade needs shimming(L)left razor photo shows indicator on top cap all the way forward where right razor is nicely tensioned with a shim underneath it. It is not a hard task to correct and will reward the person shaving hopefully with a smoother shave..........................Very easy to de-spline a Modern Gem blade with just a plier and wiggling the blade to free it. (click photo's to enlarge) Some old archived photos and new photos. A quick evolution of ASR blades to show what happened (L)blade is modern one.....A Ever-ready 1912 model with a modified Micromatic handle shimmed with lots of room in blade tray base plate still. A interesting photo of the new Micromatic double edge blade to compete with the 1930's New type Gillette DE blades instead of the 3 holed old style Gillette blades, Micromatic DE blades never really caught on obviously but at the time ASR where willing to compete with Gillette & ASR did know how the Gem brand customer would take to the new blades to prevent their previous owners to switch Brands to Gillette! Have some great shaves!
You are truly a great source of information Ron. Thank you very much for your contributions to the community.
Thanks Greg, we all do our part to make it interesting & more enjoyable. A lot of information never was transferred to future generations that will enjoy shaving no doubt.
While I'm talking about ASR shim bumps I did want to show users of the importance of the ASR Gem brand they thought of these bumps through their evolution of blades improvements. I believe the new modern blade with the Aluminum spine was introduced in 1950's ish with the introduction of the Feather weight model to prove this time estimation of the modern blade we use today. Gem Micromatic razors have the shim bumps placed more forward on the base plates in those models. You will see I modified a spent Gem blade to show more clearly what I'm emphasizing that ASR had the bumps moved back further in the bottom plate to raise the blade tilt of the modern Aluminum blade to a similar height as the older obsolete steel blade splines. The blade tensioning system in these newer razors would damage the middle of the blade edge on the new Double edge blades so this emphasizes or reinforces the reason for these shim bumps they wanted incorporated to lift the blade. The Gem Micromatics were engineered differently so not to damage their new double edge blade with their rack & pinion superior clamping system of blade tensioning IMO. Micromatic engineering marvel for a razor and always puts a on me. The Feather weight, Push Button, Heavy Flat Top(G-bar) and Contour 1,2 models had these shim bumps moved back and the reason is to smooth the shave because these models all have similar blade gaps (I have not checked the contour blade gap) and they are the smoothest of Gem models for comfort IMO. Blade tilt must matter for smoothness and Gem did changes also to top cap on these models to smooth out the shave IMO. These are just my simple observations and hopefully my last on this subject of shim bumps in the ASR Brand of fine razors. I personally have used a lot of different brands of razors out there from the finest stainless steel razors to most popular affordable brands and Gem brand still shines excellence in shaving if you understand how to use them properly. The blade thickness and blade edge refinement makes for good shaving in such a competitive shaving market of razors like it has always been for well over 100years. Showing Blade shim bumps change of placement on the base plate. (L) ......................................Gem Push button model............................................................................................................Gem Feather Weight model................................. Gem Heavy flat top model(AKA = G-Bar) Have some great shaves!
ASRazor SOTD, Sat, Aug 13th 2022, I did shim underneath the spline this morning and it seemed a little smoother and very enjoyable shave also. I used a small pc of electric tape to secure the shim to blade underneath for easier blade loading on this razor. Razor : Ever-Ready 1924 (AKA= Shovel head)-Mfg 1924-33 excellent mid range, different way of loading a blade from the back of head. Excellent shave this morning and the more I use this razor over the years the more I enjoy it. Blade : Gem Personna SS PTFE(3) very sharp blade , great longevity, smooths out nicely + predictable. Soap : Cyril R Salter Indian Sandal wood cream- nice 6/10 scent of Sandal wood spiciness + excellent lather qualities. Brush : Yaqi Black marble 24mm Tuxedo knot, excellent lather generator, cloud like soft tips, gentle scrubber + excellent lather painter. Pre shave : (Dedicated Cashmere synthetic)Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser with a dollop of clear Aloe Vera on the cleaned beard area. Prep : Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups. Post shave : Proraso Red sandalwood with witch hazel + a dollop of CeraVe moisturizing lotion(scentless). Results :CCS,DFS,BBs + no irritation + no weepers= excellent shave with my Ever-Ready 1924 Shovel head with a coated Gem blade. Have some great shaves!
I was struggling with how a simple shim under the modern blade spline could smooth out a ASR razor slightly when the gap is already pre- determined and so I did some basic figuring on paper and took some actual real photos to see what happens when a Gem blade is tilted more and basically it is creates less blade exposure(blade feel). The Gem blade is 9/1000 inch in thickness or 4.5/1000 of a inch to center of blade point that bumps the blade stop, with tilting the blade more it makes the bottom side of the blade flatter to base plate reducing the blade exposure to a max of 4.5 /1000 of inch in theory. So even if blade tilt reduces it 2-3/1000 of inch in blade exposure that would smooth the shave slightly to experienced person using that razor for years(like myself), a Newbie would not notice any difference because he would accept what is in the blade chamber as the best it gets without knowing some of the history of blade changes over the last 100 yrs going from wedge blades to the modern Gem blade changes. So I just made a simple sketch photo explaining my best understanding on Gem blade tilt and why it will smooth some of the older ASR vintage razors slightly if a person desires that, I used modern Gem blades in all my ASR razors with no shim under the modern blade and they work fine with great results, but the Feather weight> models are smoother shavers and now I understand a little more why the shim bumps where moved underneath where the modern spline seats on the newer models ! Have some great shaves!
I found my Lather Catcher! I expect it in about a week or so. 1907 EVER-READY Lather Catcher Vintage Single Edge Safety Razor
