Thread: I never tried a SE razor (e.g. Ever-Ready). Any tips on what to look for?

Originally Posted by trondsi

OK thanks for the warning. I usually start cautiously with a new razor

If you can shave with a straight razor any of those vintage SEs are easy to use as long as you remember that the top plate is almost touching your face, minimal gap, and use a light hand also like with a straight razor. They do not shave like a DE.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

If you can shave with a straight razor any of those vintage SEs are easy to use as long as you remember that the top plate is almost touching your face, minimal gap, and use a light hand also like with a straight razor. They do not shave like a DE.

Bob

Oh yes. I quite liked the Star, since one thing I was looking for is a good alternative to my straight razor, when I have less time. The Star felt milder than a DE, but oddly like a SR in some ways (thicker blade I suppose). Definitely something I could get used to. We'll see about the Micromatic

OK Micromatic open comb review (pic is earlier in this thread, post #28)

This one had a different feel compared to the Star 1912 razor. I agree with Rod, it is definitely more aggressive. For the most part it felt pretty good, and it really cleans up the face. I drew one tiny bit of blood at a place where my stubble is a bit obstinate, perhaps my angle was a tad aggressive. But this is a fine razor, and good looking too. I can see why some people who like straight razors would also like the Micromatic, but I would probably still go with the Star if I'm in a hurry, but less concerned about a super-close shave.

Next up is this Ever-Ready lather catcher
BTW what is the metal "flap" on the back for? (you can see it in the photo)

YouTube is your friend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROG_UWa8Py0

Bob

Originally Posted by trondsi

Next up is this Ever-Ready lather catcher
BTW what is the metal "flap" on the back for? (you can see it in the photo)

You flip it up to hold in the blade, it looks scary but it works lol!!! The Micromatic with the safety bar is gentler on the face for sure, broke out the open comb and I had to slow down with this lol!

Ever-Ready Lather Catcher review

Wow, that was something different. If you ask what kind of "safety razor" is closest to a straight razor, I'd say this is. In aggressiveness I think it is between the very mild Star 1912, and the more aggressive Micromatic. But I could easily change the feel a bit by changing the angle, sort of like a SR. It also sounded like an extra hollow ground SR, the sound being amplified by the "scoop" shape (unlike what others have said, I don't think the type of blade has that much to do with it). Like the other safety razors it is slightly awkward under the nose, but it can do it, and the resulting shave was very close. Very nice overall (makes me wonder why they stopped producing these. Too expensive?)

Gem razors are terrific. I have a 1912, MMOC, MMCP, G-Bar, and a Featherweight. All are great shavers. But I would like to also make folks aware of another fantastic vintage razor that is cheap and an incredible shaver. I'm talking about about the Auto Strop Razors. The nice thing about these razors is that if you choose to use carbon steel Gems or Feathers in them you can strop them and get an amazing number of shaves out of them. I'm a real fan of these razors and have been shaving with them for almost two decades. My father used to use a Valet Auto Strop VC4, that's the only model with a safety bar, all other models have Open Combs. There are three classes of Auto Strop razor. The first two classes A and B take Gem blades in addition to the Valet Auto Strop NOS blades still available out there. The C class consists of 5 models all of which are spectacular shavers. Only the first, the VC1, takes Gem blades,but all the others work with Valet blades or Feathers. The VC4 model with the safety bar represents over 40 years of incremental improvements, and is an incredible shaving razor. That razor routinely delivers BBS head shaves for me when I use it.

Originally Posted by Jgreenepa

Gem razors are terrific. I have a 1912, MMOC, MMCP, G-Bar, and a Featherweight. All are great shavers. But I would like to also make folks aware of another fantastic vintage razor that is cheap and an incredible shaver. I'm talking about about the Auto Strop Razors. The nice thing about these razors is that if you choose to use carbon steel Gems or Feathers in them you can strop them and get an amazing number of shaves out of them. I'm a real fan of these razors and have been shaving with them for almost two decades. My father used to use a Valet Auto Strop VC4, that's the only model with a safety bar, all other models have Open Combs. There are three classes of Auto Strop razor. The first two classes A and B take Gem blades in addition to the Valet Auto Strop NOS blades still available out there. The C class consists of 5 models all of which are spectacular shavers. Only the first, the VC1, takes Gem blades,but all the others work with Valet blades or Feathers. The VC4 model with the safety bar represents over 40 years of incremental improvements, and is an incredible shaving razor. That razor routinely delivers BBS head shaves for me when I use it.

I just traded a VC4 away. I had owned it for over a year and had never used it, so when downsizing in preparation for my move to a new (smaller) house, I decided to get rid of it. Now I regret not trying it first!

Ever-Ready SE razor (with safety bar) review:
This one was exceptionally gentle. Too gentle if you ask me. I mentioned earlier that the Star 1912 razor was gentle, so I tried that one for a couple strokes in the middle, as a comparison. Sure enough the Ever-Ready was even more gentle. I had some problems with getting to the mustache area with this one. It seemed like no matter which angle I came at it, some hairs would slip away. Notice the relatively wide non-cutting edges to each side; that's where the issue came from. The Star was also a bit awkward here, but it got it done, so I let the Star help out here. This Ever-Ready also had a tendency to leave quite a bit of lather behind.

In conclusion I think the best SE razors I have tried so far were the Star and the older Ever-Ready lather catcher (as opposed to this one, although maybe it works better when you get used to it)