Thread: Why aren't single edge GEM razors as popular as DE razors?

I was surfing the net when I discovered the existence of GEM razors. I did a search on some online stores and haven't found any brand new Gem razors for sale, but DE razors are still being produced and sold new (you don't have to hunt in antique shops if you don't want to).

Why aren't they popular?

i often wonder the same thing.. they look really cool and blades are inexpensive.. i'm tempted to purchase one and see how they shave.

thanks Ironman , I just took a look on ebay and found some blades , I had no idea that you could still get blades for the Gem razor , I have an old Gem of my fathers and often wonder how it shaves , now thanks to your post I have an oppertunity to find out ...cheers Baz

Ok, here is whaat I am told the reason is. This needs to be told from a historical perspective. The company once known as Gem today is a part of Proctor and Gamble and is known as Gillette. Gilette has always had the attitude that they will dictate to the customer what they will use and at what price and everyone will pay us what ever we want for our products and will buy what ever we chose to make. Way back when, King Gilette named his company Gem and made the single edge razor. The company made the razors sucessfully for many years then, around the time that King Gilette died they started to work with a double edge razor. They found that the double edge is actually cheaper for them to make since it did not require hinges and could fasten together more easily. Converting to the construction of double edge razors was fairly simple and cheap to do and the general public never once asked why is a double edge beter than a single edge. When the company converted to double edge it took the name Gillette for the founder of the company and doubled the price of their product. Customers never asked "why is double edge better than a single edge." Like today no one has ever asked Proctor and Gamble to explain why two blades are better than one.

I have been shaving with a Gem Micromatic in my rotation for about two months now and have found that the blades really make a difference. I found the GEM blades at Walgreens and thats what I have been using don't try using the single-edge blades from the hardware store there not made for shaving. The GEM really shaves great and I like it very much, takes alittle getting used to so go easy with it at first untill you get the feel for it.

Regards,
RB

I started shaving in the late 1960's , and if you shaved with a blade you used either a DE , SE , or an injector (usually a Shick) . I tried all three . The DE blade seemed too flexible for my liking . The SE blade gave me the rigid sturdy blade that I liked , but it gave me alot of nicks . Which was probably due to my inexperience at shaving , because the DE gave me alot of nicks , too . I finally settled on the injector razor , and used it until I finally bought a Mach 3 . IMHO , the injector razor is the best of the three , with the SE second best , and the DE last .

I think the reason is that the DE and the Schick injector shave better. More a blade thing than a design thing IMO. I can get a good shave from a Gem but not as good as from a good DE. When I was in my 20s I liked the Schick best until the Gillette 'Good News' came out. Straight razors beat 'em all. For blades Gems from Walgreens or Ted Pella coated blades are the only way to go with those razors IMHO.

I'd bet DE blades are also cheaper to produce than SE blades.

Ironman9889,

I have wondered this myself.

Gems (Micromatic aside)/Ever-Readys and Schicks are the manufacturers dream - made of stamped material, with little machining - yet produce, for me, the best shaving safety razors I have ever used

I would have thought that this type of razor would have fitted Mr KC Gillettes' business model the best. Perhaps some patent issue prevented him from producing such razors ?

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

The Gems and the Evereadys were both produced by "The American Razor Company" - not Gillette. Double edge blades became more popular because they were "newer" and more practically, had two sharpened edges to shave with, giving you twice the shaves from one blade.