The Gem Didn't Do it For Me

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by jay_gatz, Sep 4, 2021.

  1. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    It could be polished brass, couple of months if no patina forms on it that will be the definitive answer.
     
  2. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    We'll agree to disagree. Looks the same as my NOS/minty gold MMOCs. Lots of plating gone from cleaning

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  3. twhite

    twhite Peeping Tom

    I will keep that in mind if I don’t find one in a few months. I see a fair share of clog proofs in my hunts. I need to pay more attention to them now.

    The thrill of the hunt!


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  4. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    Looks more like old soap than green brass rot...

    As for mine, when you zoom in you can see the "waves" and "ripples" in the gold plating on the hump and the door...

    IMG_20210825_172650_2_resize_86.jpg
     
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  5. Enrico

    Enrico Popcorn

    I tried a few times with a two or three Gems and found no love .... that's ok, I have plenty of the razors.

    :)
     
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  6. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    That was the same way about 11 years ago when I first tried a Gem razor. After a couple of times of getting ate up, I went back to my DEs and injectors. Fast forward 11 years and now it's one of my most beloved razors. Chalking it up to my technique having improved over those years.
     
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  7. SharptoothC

    SharptoothC I bite..........

    I currently have a collection of 50+ razors. If I had to whittle it down to 1, the Clog Pruf would probably be last man standing, including DE, SE, Injectors and shavettes.

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  8. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    I think part of what of puts people off to Gem razors and SE razors in general is that when they first use them they try to shave them like DE razors. That will rip your face up something serious, between using them at the wrong angle and not being used to thicker stiff blades makes for a rough experience.

    My first go round with a Gem wasn't a pleasant experience for the above reasons but now I can use that same razor after learning how to use a Gem style SE correctly with nary a care as I whip it around my face.
     
  9. BBS

    BBS Well-Known Member

    I am willing to concede they did plate these in a gold since they did state they were gold in ads during 1946 when the MKII was being sold. I am just not convinced the 2 examples shown here, yours and jmudrick's are from the pictures is all. Bigger scheme of things is if you enjoy the one you have is what is important. I know I do and my MKII Clog Pruf is a beater but firmly in the N.F.S. (not for sale) razor camp of collection.
     
  10. Enrico

    Enrico Popcorn

    Maybe we should get the traveling box going again so I can try again.

    :)
     
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  11. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    I'm for it!
     
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  12. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    So you see advertisements that say they came in gold but his and mine are mysteriously just raw brass? :confused: :shocked029:

    Maybe it's just not showing well on your screen but I am 1000% positive that mine is gold plated.
     
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  13. jay_gatz

    jay_gatz Well-Known Member

    Looks like gold plate to me.
     
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  14. jay_gatz

    jay_gatz Well-Known Member

    F25AE574-FD52-4A7B-95AE-D457A4CD69EF.jpeg Are these the blades most folks use? And for the record, the Gem has never torn me up. It’s just not as close a shave as I’d like. As many have said perhaps I should try a G Bar?
     
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  15. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    Yes, that's the SE blades most people use.

    Honestly, in the search for the right SE for you, I'd suggest trying several GEM and Every Ready models. Or at least the ones that the most people recommend.
     
  16. jay_gatz

    jay_gatz Well-Known Member

    Would something like this be a better Gem than the Pushbutton? I think it is a MM Bullet Tip:

    s-l1600-2.jpg
     
  17. twhite

    twhite Peeping Tom

    Yes that is a fine shaving razor.
     
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  18. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    As Tom said, that's a great razor according to many people. The bullet tip, with "guiding eye" in the center on the door. That one is next on my list to acquire. I had one of the rare ones with the plastic bullet tip knob, and NOS blade dispenser steel sealed in cellophane, in my eBay watch list but when I went back to buy it yesterday, someone else already had. It was a BIN listing. I was having an internal debate on whether or not I wanted to spend the $40 on it. I snoozed. I losed. lol The plastic bullet tip knob, as I understand it, was the last variant and not sold for long, which is why they changed to a plastic knob - and which is why they are rarely seen. It also didn't have the "guiding eye".

    Screenshot_20210907-162548_resize_94.jpg

    Screenshot_20210907-162624_resize_4.jpg
     
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  19. jay_gatz

    jay_gatz Well-Known Member

    I was doing the same thing yesterday. We both missed it!
     
  20. IAmTheJody

    IAmTheJody Gillette-i Master Staff Member

    If for nothing else, even if I decided I wasn't going to use it because I just can't imagine any of them being any better than my GEM Clog Pruf, I should have gotten it for collecting purposes. The plastic knob ones just don't come around that often, especially NOS.
     
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