Razor and Brush HP

GEM razors: a comparison

By Paul Merlino

This is a comparison of Gem single edge razors that I received in two lots of razors I got from Ebay.

I purchased the lots to get some DE razors and these were included, I wasn't interested in them at the time. With one of them was included a white box of Treet Blue Star blades. The four razors are two Gem Micro-matics, one Contour, one Feather Weight.
No G Bar at this time, perhaps I will get one later if I find it at a good price, it seems everyone wants one at the moment.

I shave everyday and for this comparison I rotated all four with two shaves each.

Shave prep for me is simple, wash face with water, a small amount of Green Tea body butter on my neck. Tryphon Rose Cream for lather. I used Treet Blue Star blades for all razors, I will try the Looks brand next time around.
Compared to DE blades there is a very limited choice in blades, don't ever be tempted to use box cutter blades! EVER!!!

The first shave was with the Contour, as with all these SE razors you hold the head flat against the skin. The handle sticks almost straight out, raising and lowering it a bit to get the correct angle. It is different than a DE in technique and feel but you quickly get used to it. It certainly sounds different, it's hard to describe, but you know the blade is cutting. The Contour is a fairly light weight razor with a good length non-slip handle. I found it fairly easy to shave with, even on the tough spots on my neck.

As I found with all the SE razors, shaving the upper lip can be problematic due to the size of the head and the angle you need. I do a three pass shave with re-lather between first and second and lather on problem spots during the third pass. I got a great shave with no redness on the neck, my problem area. I had to touch up two small spots on my upper lip next to my nose with my Gillette tech DE. I feel as I gain more experience I won't have to continue that step.

The second razor I tried was the brass Micro-matic open comb. I was hesitant to shave with this, looking at that razor, but it was just slightly more aggressive than the Contour. These TTO razors really hold the blade tight. Not only do the hold the blade down but they have tabs that lock into the cutouts on the sides of the blade. The tabs cam down and push the blade forward against the blade stops. Again a great shave with three passes as with the Contour. The heavier weight is also nice. The same basic problem for me was the upper lip, even more so with this razor. I think more experience and confidence with it will help.

The third razor was a chrome micro-matic straight bar. I really looked forward to trying this razor, I thought it might be the best of all. Perhaps as good as I heard the G Bar was. Well this was the most aggressive razor I have ever used in my life. I'm sorry to say I didn't make it half way through it's first pass. Luckily I didn't try to shave my neck. I can say for sure that the problem was not a bad blade, since I had used it once in the Contour with no problem and I later put it back in the Contour to finish the shave with no problem. I will try the Looks blade later after I forget the horror!

The fourth razor was the Feather Weight. This razor is lighter than the Contour and it has a shorter handle. As with the contour the blade is held in with a spring loaded top. It is actually quite strong and tight. They do not have the tabs to hold the sides of the blade like the TTO's.
I received some blades with this razor, the Stoll's, and they had no cutouts in the blade. And no, I'm not going to shave with those blades!

Well, this razor was a surprise, it shaved the easiest though I had to use a little more pressure with it. It was slightly mild compared to the other two but gave the best shave first time. It also shaved my upper lip the best. Perhaps I'm just getting better with this style razor. The funny looking handle actually fit my hand the best.

The above razors were cleaned and sanitized before use. I did not polish any of them.

The materials, construction, and quality of the TTO's are as good as any DE razor they are contemporary with. The plastic ones are, well plastic! The Contour is nice and very usable.

The Feather weight is also usable but really cheaply made, cheesy comes to mind, “fake gold plated” cheesy!! I'll just pretend, ”ivory handle and real gold”, because it's a razor you could use everyday. The other two as well could be used in a rotation.

Well I hope this has been a benefit to the wet shaving community, enjoy!!

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