Antique Store Gems

Picked up two Gem Micromatics for a song yesterday at an Antique store. They both cleaned up nice. One is an Open Comb the other a Clog Pruf.
Bought some Personna Gem Stainless blades at Walgreens and gave the Clog Pruf a run this morning.
Another unique shaving experience. Much different than a DE or even an injector shave. The angle felt weird to start but was pretty natural by the end of the shave. The razor gave off some very loud feedback which I found nice. Really useful to maintain the angle.
I did 2 passes, WTG and ATG and didn't see the need for a third pass. Just a little touch up here and there for a DFS.
Gonna give the open comb a run tomorrow.

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Those are my favorite Gems. Enjoy!

Nice finds

Very nice razors. I love the Gem MM's - especially those two. Most people find the OCMM to be the more aggressive. but if you respect it it will give you a great no-nonsense shave.

The OCMM is my go to razor when I need to shave off 3 or more days of growth. Great shaver!

Took the OCMM for a spin this morning. Wow! very aggressive blade feel but close and comfortable shave. 3 passes for a BBS shave.
I don't know which one I like better. New toys to experiment with, lucky blade selection is pretty limited.
Now I'm shopping for a 1912 version to try out. Any opinions on which is best between the Damaskeene, 1912 and Junior?

Nice! the MM is the elusive SE on my list. You found both the open and closed bar. Congrats!

It must be wonderful to be able to buy SE blades at your local drugstore. Us Aussies have to send to England or the US for them! But it's worth it; the SE is, without a doubt, the supreme safety razor shave.

I had my first shave with one of these this evening, it was very aggressive, with a bit of practice I think it would be great but the blood on my face will need time to heal. I don't know what model I have, it is silver and doesn't have a comb. I bought a pack of blades from connaught which got here pretty quickly though I think it will take a while to get through 100 of them.
I does make a nice change and seems closer than the D/E razors I have.

If it's a TTO I assume it is a nickel plated Micromatic Open Comb. I believe GEM only made the one open comb version of the Micromatic. But considering your on the other side of the world, it could be something completely differnet ;).

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Originally Posted by stove

If it's a TTO I assume it is a nickel plated Micromatic Open Comb. I believe GEM only made the one open comb version of the Micromatic. But considering your on the other side of the world, it could be something completely differnet ;).

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It looks like this:
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That is a GEM G-Bar.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stove

That is a GEM G-Bar.

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Thanks, at least now I can research the thing :)

The angle is way different, more like a straight than a safety razor. You can shave with the head flat on the face. Tipped out just a bit worked for me. Cheers!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stove

The angle is way different, more like a straight than a safety razor. You can shave with the head flat on the face. Tipped out just a bit worked for me. Cheers!

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from my one experience that is what I thought too, it seemed to work pretty well with the head almost flat on my face. not too bad a shave closeness wise but a fairly unforgiving razor

I got two excellent shaves with mine, but the open comb Gem gave me reason to pause. I was probably more careful with it than I am with a Straight these days. They definitely could bite.

I had shave #2 with the G-bar last night and it was actually a decent shave with almost no irritation, I am almost tempted to say that I like it over my D/E's - shave #2 with a D/E was not as good.

I love my GBar. To me it is a fairly mild but efficient razor. Never had a problem with it. I use darn near the same angle as my straights, just pulled away from my face a tiny bit more.
I suspect if you play around with the angle a bit, you will fall in love with the thing.

I'm at the point where I was wondering why DEs even exist. Then I imagine a teenage in 1930 having their first shave with one, ouch!

i imagine DE blades would have been cheaper too both in production (compared to 2 SE blades) and at retail - you get twice the number of shaves per blade.

Whenever I use my SE razors, I often wonder why I use any other razors at all. The shaves are just so good, and so consistent with the SE razors.

Also, while I get about 2-3 shaves with a DE blade before I have to throw it away, I get a few more shaves with the SE blades (About 7). I think the DE blades still work out being cheaper, but not by much.

G-Bar eh? Nice to have a name for it. Its the first razor I remember my dad shaving with before he switched to his Gillette.
I should find one if for no other reason than to see how my dad shaved. I still have his Gillette, but the Gem is long gone to history.

They are super cheap here (US) and so far I have collected 7 different SE razors. Rolls Razor, Autostrops and Gems, they all shave fantastic. Im sure you will not be disappointed.