Checking in from Cincinnati

Hello all! I've been DE shaving since shortly after the new year and have my first straight on the way from a fellow B&B member. I still plan on getting one of Larry's "Sight Unseen" deals over at Whipped Dog, but liked the look and price of the straight that is on the way.

I just tried my GEM OCMM for the first time yesterday morning with a fresh GEM blade and it was a less than impressive experience. I was really shocked at how sharp that blade was and had more weepers in that one shave than I have had in almost six months of DE shaving! I had to make judicious use of a styptic pencil even after an alum rub followed by a cold rinse and application of WH. I'm hoping a milder blade will improve that experience in addition to my hope that a straight will not be a repeat of yesterday's shave.

Anyway, apologies for rambling a bit but wanted to offer a little background. :)

Glad to make my way here and looking forward to stepping into a new world soon!

-Darren

Welcome to SRP, Darren.
I hope you enjoy the experience of shaving with a straight.
Hang on and enjoy the ride

First off, welcome to SRP from a fellow Ohioan. Gem's can be extremely aggressive and very unforgiving. Keep the blade angle as shallow as the head of the razor will allow and use zero to negative pressure.

Welcome Darren, I use the gem ocmm once ever so often . The most aggressive single edge razor i ever used. Close shave i just go nice an slow ,and don't get to relax with the razor, pay attention all the time when shaving with it . When with the grain.

Thanks for the info on the OCMM. It confirms my suspicions. I think I will step back to my Gillette New for the open comb experience. :)