Micromatic Monday

I wish I had and ultrasonic. If the razor is all metal I boil water, remove from burner let it stop bubbling, add Dawn dish soap then put the razor in, let it soak a while and then hit it with a tooth brush. If the handle is not removable and other than metal sometimes I hold the head only in the hot soapy water. None bleach scrubbing bubbles is a nice one too.

 

I finally got a nick free shave with the GEM Featherweight today. I blended the Dead Sea soap with a spoon of TOBS Lavender and got some really rich lather! I have so many soaps, I have to try the blends. So far, they are really nice! Tomorrow, I will blend the MWF with some TOBS.

I shaved WTG, ATG, and some cleanup during this 10th shave with the GEM Personna stainless blade. The blade is still sharp and not tugging. I may got 14 shaves with this blade. Amazing!

Alum bar gave me zero irritation and zero feedback. So, very nice shave. I am really liking these single edge vintage razors. I have tamed this razor finally! Being an early version of the Featherweight, it is more aggressive than later ones I now know. Very light razor which made it hard to determine how much pressure to use. I have this razor dialed in!

 

I put a few drops of dish soap in the ultrasonic cleaner water. Mine runs for 5 minutes at a time so, I run it 2 or 3 times and then use toothbrush to clean. These vintage razors are gems (GEM) and should be better cared for than many were in the past. They don't make them anymore! And, IMHO, they shave better than the cart junk being sold today. They simply don't clog like carts do every shave!

 

Not a Micromatic but, still a vintage SE razor.

It was another very nice shave with the Star 1912 and the 11th shave with the GEM stainless blade. It is starting to tug a bit so, this is the last shave with it. Overall a very pleasant shave. Time to toss this blade.

 

The 1912 models with the closed comb are awesome, for a single edge razor it more than likely top 10 of all SE safety ever made IMO.

 

Amen brotha!

 

I still recall having to smack my razor on the sink to unclog it with EVERY shave with them cartridges. They ALWAYS clogged during EVERY shave! I would always take the razor and hit the head on the sink a few times to clear it.

These vintage razors, on the other hand, rinse out completely pretty much. I have not had a single clogged razor since I tossed the junk in the trash! It should tell ya something about the razors with the fact that they started with 2 blades. Then went to 3 blades, then 4, 5, and more! Why keep adding blades if they shave so well? Gotta keep "fixing" the design?

No thanks! I will keep my vintage razors with affordable blades. If carts were the only option, I would be a full beard man! (I was for years!)

 

Oh man that brings back memories. And not good ones. I remember my Dad yelling at me for hitting the razor on the sink to clear the clog. He was worried I was going to chip the sink or something. I used to be lucky to get 2 shaves from a cart. Sometimes I'd bin a cart halfway through a shave. Sometimes it looked like I was attacked by a cat after a shave. I have a full beard but shave the front and back of my neck and shape my beard line on my cheeks with predominantly vintage and antique razors. I used to absolutely abhorre shaving. Now it a hobby I love. I wish I would have discovered these razors nearly 30 years ago when I first started shaving. Imagine the collection I could have in that time.

 

YEP! I can relate!

 

What razor to use tomorrow has been decided for me. I just got another GEM Micromatic that was well cared for. Complete with box, blades & holder, and instructions. My first one was silver. This one is brass or gold color. Now I have 2 open comb Micromatics! Time to start a fresh blade!

 

That's awesome. Are there bumps on the blade tray of the Gold/Brass one like on the chrome one?

 

no bumps. Smooth tray not like the silver one. Is this one older? The 2 blades it came with are a lot thicker than new blades.

 

Yes the bumpless is an older model. The bumps are to accommodate a blade they came out that was a double sided single edge blade. It was reversible and since there was no spine on the back of it they put the bumps on the tray to lift the back edge to the same height it would be with a spine. They are far enough forward to accommodate the blades that do have spines.

 

Here is a picture of the blades @Hogie

 

This new Micromatic nicked me several times! It is much more aggressive than any of my other Micromatics. I will have to let my face recover for at least a day now. I had the angle really steep too. I was riding the cap and it still got me on my neck, cheeks, and lip! I may wait 2 days before shaving again. Now I need to conquer this razor! Today's shave was not pleasant at all!

It's odd because I did not cut myself at all with the silver open comb Micromatic. It's a newer model.

The new soap was very nice. RICH lather. It is a thirsty soap! I had to add water a couple times.

Thayers couldn't calm the face today.

 

the two side by side. The comb off the brass one looks like it has more blade gap. The comb is below the tray while the silver is at same level as the tray.

Also, the brass one doesn't have the tiny "hooks" at the edge of the tray that stops the blade from protruding past the comb.

 

I found I like to use the Gem milder razors with a new blade because it is one of the sharpest blades out there IMO, 1st couple shave I like to use milder ASR razors to take advantage of the sharp blade and it seems to work well with this combination.

 

That's a shame the shave didn't go well. My early model Bumpless MMOC has blade stops so I'm pretty sure the one you have is worn/damaged. If you decide to shave with it still you will have to be extra careful.

 

Yes, there are no blade stops at all on this new one. The only thing that holds the blade is the notches on the sides. That did seem odd to me. I imagine the blade is not secure and is allowed to flex upward more making it a monster! The leading edge of the blade is not secured with this Micromatic so, I think it will be a display piece only. I paid $25 for it. The other open comb Micro I have is pleasant to shave with. Nice to know the reason it bit me!

 

close-ups of the head. The hooks are worn off. The blade rides over top of where the hooks used to be. So, the front of the blade is not secured. This must be why it nicked me and irritated my face so much.