As the title says. For instance, some people like Treet blades, while others warn against them. I haven't bought a razor yet so any tips would be highly appreciated. :)
As the title says. For instance, some people like Treet blades, while others warn against them. I haven't bought a razor yet so any tips would be highly appreciated. :)
Just have two suggestions for you. The first is to use Personna GEM stainless steel PTFE coated blades. Being stainless they resist rusting and being PTFE coated they are smooth as well as sharp. I'll go out on a limb and say they are the best I have found for use in an SE Ever-Ready type razor.
The second has to do with the angle they shave at. The top plate should be almost touching your skin. If you open the gap too much you will be scraping your face and get a good dose of razor burn. It is a bit different to a DE if you are used to one of those.
You should be able to get almost double the amount of shaves from those blades compared to what you would get from a DE blade.
Bob
OK thanks Bob!
You can also consider the Mongoose which is an SE of the newer all stainless variety though I think the make it in Aluminum too. It takes the Feather SE blades. It gives a great shave though I think there are a bunch of DEs out there that are better. It's also on the aggressive side.
I have a few SEs now, they are my preferred shaving method if I can’t use a SR for whatever reason. My favourite is the Gem Micromatic open comb, but the Gem 1912 is up there too. The MMOC is more aggressive.
I use the Gem blades, the same that Bob suggested. I can easily get 20 shaves out of each blade if I hand strop. That’s 3 times as many shaves than any DE I’ve tried. I have a coarse beard, so the thicker SE blades work better for me.
The gem micromatic open comb is my favourite SE. They are cheap and readily available and I love that space age design.
I have a lifetime supply of PTFE blades I bought from Connaught shaving.
Thanks folks!
Dang, I should have looked for the Micromatic then. I bought two cheap ones; an Ever-Ready and a Star 1912 (waiting for them to arrive in the mail)
BTW, I have a pack of stainless blades coming, but can anyone recommend a brand of carbon blades? I just want to make my own comparison :) EDIT: oh I guess maybe this was the deal with the Treet blades? Maybe there are others too?
Carbon blades went the way of the horse and buggy many years ago and with good reason. Yes they are cheap and yes in theory they can be sharpened but rust is the real problem there. They rust really fast and you have to treat them with oil or keep them away from moisture. Back in the day with the Gillette Blues they only gave a single shave. When Wilkenson came out with stainless folks didn't look back.
I have never tried it, but for various reasons I think I might be among the few that could make carbon blades work, simply because of my habits. When I use my DE razor, I always take the blade out between each shave and quickly "finger strop" it anyway. I have found that I am always happier with the shaves this way.Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
I find that the plain carbon steel blades seem sharper but deteriorate almost immediately here, even with plam stroppping and alcohol dips between shaves. The 1912 you have coming is a good intro to GEM style razors, if you find it too mild Open Comb Micromatics can be had for a song ..
Regarding the Mongoose and others of the hair shaper bladed ilk, I have not enjoyed them as much as the old fashioned GEM style, though the last couple years they've generated many fanboys. I like the much narrower GEM blade format due to its greater maneuverability
OK good to know Gary! The 1912 sure looked nice in the photos at least :) The blades I purchased are stainless, but I will probably try carbon later just to make up my own mind about it. Will let you know how it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by GaryG
There was a brief moment where I got into SE razors and went crazy. I was predominantly into lather catchers; they're very collectible and a pleasure to shave with.
I also had a 1912 and a few other SE razors from different European manufacturers. I then got a Henckles Rapide and fell in love with it so much, I sold every SE I owned and stuck with the Rapide.
Check out the Rapide if you journey further down the SE path. It can take standard SE blades or the wedge blades they usually come with. Best of luck with the 1912!
"lather catchers"?Quote:
Originally Posted by animalwithin
Lather catcher refers to the scooped frame under the blade itself that would catch lather as you shave .. lots of different ones out there, more than a century old .. can't get a picture to load but Google "Lather Catcher Razor"Quote:
Originally Posted by trondsi
Thanks Gary!
Another question; were the "wedge blades" meant to be sharpened regularly?
My understanding is they were - some of the lather catchers were even supplied with "stropping handles"Quote:
Originally Posted by trondsi
Attachment 321834
Back in the day before coated blades like the modern DE and SEs and when carbon steel was king most folks used one of those contraptions made of glass and sharpened the blades to extend their use. Lillicraps was the most famous made of that green glass. You see them all the time on Eboy.
Yes sir. They're sharpened just like you'd sharpen a straight razor. Depending upon which lather catcher you get, some came with blades with very high quality steel. Heljestrand made a few lather catchers with beautiful blades. If you find one with blade stops in tact, you can use them with disposable SE blades too.Quote:
Originally Posted by trondsi
Arrgh! They sent me the wrong razor! Suddenly I have more old Gillettes than I ever wanted. Hopefully they can fix it and send the correct one soon. The other one (1912 Star) should come early next week.
Sorry, I just needed to rant
I have a Rolls razor. Shaves very well but quite a hassle to put together and disassemble again after shaving.
(looking up "Rolls Razor") Well, that's something different, that's for sure. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kees
My favorite safety razors are the GEM 1912 and Micromatic with safety bar I use them when I'm not using a straight, as others have said, the Personna coated blades are really nice
Good to know, as I am getting one of those too :) I prefer straights when I want to take my time. But if want it quickly done, or I'm stressed for whatever reason, I have generally been using my DE. Now I will try out 4 different Single Edge razors (Micromatic, Ever-Ready, Star 1912, and Ever-Ready Lather Catcher). :) Yes, I went a bit nuts but most of these I managed to get at a good price (the lather catcher was expensive, but it comes in a very nice set). In a few weeks I will propbably have my verdict ready as far as the best SE razor goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by rodb
OK I'll use this thread as my SE razor reviews :D Just had my first SE shave, and I must say, I see what people mean when they say it is a bit closer to straight razor shaving compared to the DE. Thanks for the blade suggestions BTW
First up is the Star 1912 Single Edge razor. This one has a nice "snappy" feel to it. It was pretty obvious how the blade would fit, and I don't think the blade moved at all during the shave.
It is perhaps the most "safe-feeling" safety razor I have ever tried. The blade is very well seated and guarded in place. It felt almost like I couldn't cut myself if I tried (of course I didn't try :) )
I still managed to get a pretty close shave, although perhaps not as close as with my DE or SR (and a bit finicky under the nose, where the SR really shines). But then, this was entirely new to me. Very nice and very safe. :)
Good show - they take a bit to get used to, but provide very nice shaves. I didn't discover SE until joining a shaving forum a while back, while I shaved in my youth with a Gillette Adjustable and Schick Injectors, somehow my men folk never cottoned to the GEM's .. so I never tried one until late in life.Quote:
Originally Posted by trondsi
That's typical of a 1912, I usually do a 2 pass shave with those, my Micromatic with safety bar is very close and I can usually get by with a one pass with thoseQuote:
Originally Posted by trondsi
My second SE also arrived today. I really like the look of this Micromatic :) It came with two antique blades. The one shown is dull but the other might be salvageable
Attachment 322027
The open comb Micromatic's can be unforgiving, be careful of the angle and pressure with those. The safety bar ones are more forgiving, I have both kinds
OK thanks for the warning. I usually start cautiously with a new razor :)Quote:
Originally Posted by rodb
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by trondsi
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 :)Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
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)
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxN..._id=8800005007
YouTube is your friend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROG_UWa8Py0
Bob
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!Quote:
Originally Posted by trondsi
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.
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!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jgreenepa
Attachment 322483
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)
