Double Edged Razor Blades

[cshubhra]

From what I’ve read about double edged blades, the first ones made from carbon steel might well have been the keenest, when new. But carbon steel is hard to keep from rusting when wet.

Then Gillette coated the carbon steel blade that helped it glide, but those coated blades wore the coating off and actually got keener after a few shaves. And rust was still a problem.

Then Wilkerson Sword developed a stainless blade that helped the rust problem but they weren’t as keen as carbon steel.

After that, the makers began to coat stainless blades, and each one is a bit different in performance.

What no single blade can do, even a straight razor, is have one blade pull out a whisker and the next blade (or blades) cut it off.

And the amount of research and development used to make the latest five blade cartridge means they are going to be comfortable and quick to use, for about $2 a blade.

Likewise modern gel shave creams soften whiskers and protect skin to the maximum amount industrial science can do it.

But that’s too easy, for a good morning ritual.

When my Gem blades come, I’ll be eager to try those.

By the way, I did not mean BIC cartridges. I meant BIC double edge razor blades, which are made in Greece. Many say these have higher average sharpness over 6-8 shaves as compared to Feather. I might post a picture later.

 

[Briar Lee]

The postman just brought me 10 of these for $4




Any advice on how to shave with a old, heavy, 1912 patent Gem razor?

 

[RookieGuy80]

The postman just brought me 10 of these for $4

View attachment 259129


Any advice on how to shave with a old, heavy, 1912 patent Gem razor?

Go slow, use a light touch, and let the weight of all that brass do the work for you. Don't go chasing a baby's butt smooth shave. I have that same trait and it is a gem of you don't push it.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

I like the Astra Superior Platinum blades the best!

 

[cshubhra]

This is my current rotation of DE blades on trial, organized into four columns

1. Blades I have not tried yet
2. Blades I have tried and found to be good
3. Blades I have tried and find average. Not final rating as need to go through at least 5 for the rating to be final
4. Blades I did not like (So far)

 

[Jbrewer2002]

I’m almost out of my Personna blue blades (after 8 years) and I have never tried many other I just ordered this sampler. I’m interested in seeing the difference in them.

Amazon.com

 

[Jbrewer2002]

I tried it using a little hot water on the puck, and worked the brush until it lathered, applied to my face and kept brushing, and got up a pretty good lather.

I’m still not equaling a can of Barbasol, close but not there yet.

Like anything else involving old ways of shaving it will take practice.

No wonder brushless Burma Shave was such a big seller. It was faster.

Xxxxx
The original Burma-Shave was introduced in 1925 by the Burma-Vita company in Minneapolis, MN. The original product was a liniment (a medicated topical preparation that sometimes was called a heat rub) and having ingredients described as having come “from the Malay Peninsula and Burma”, hence the name.

Burma-Shave: A History

If you have been around the hobby for a little bit, or searched eBay for vintage shaving gear, it’s quite possible you have come across a shaving puck of Burma-Shave, or a mug with the logo on it. With what one finds on eBay, it would make sense that the original Burma-Shave product was a...

www.therazorcompany.com

I usually soak my brush in hot water while I shower. Then I shake the brush out a bit then load it up by swirling the brush on the puck of soap. I usually leave the puck in its container to do this. Then I work it into a lather in a bowl. There is usually some residual water (dump it out first. not much left) in the bowl from soaking the brush. If it doesn’t foam up much then I add a drop or two if water. You want a few small bubbles to be in the lather but too many bubbles can indicate to much water. When this happens the lather disappears quick on your face. Too little water and you won’t get a rich lather and it will clog the razor. It took a little to get used to at first but now I don’t even think about it.

 

[mso489]

Double edged is what I took to Navy bootcamp in San Diego, which no longer exists. I shaved with that all the nearly four years I was enlisted, out two months early to start school, under special dispensation from the then top admiral Zumwalt. That applied to all exiting Navy people headed out to use the GI Bill.

 

[Briar Lee]

I shaved this morning for the first time with my 1912 Gem razor.

This time I got up a good lather from the Arko. Soaked the brush in hot water a few minutes, only put a few drops of water on the puck inside a mug, then used the bowl to work up a lather. I had plenty of foamy lather—not Barbasol foamy—-but I looked like a gray haired version of the man on the Arko package, finally.

A 1912 Gem razor is an intimidating, cool, wonderful antique relic to shave with. It’s heavy. There’s a wicked looking blade exposed, at a sharp angle.

But I went slow and easy, let the razor glide, and I was surprised to hear the sound of my wispy whiskers only a day old being cut. I couldn’t really feel it cut but the sound was audible.

With the Gem I really needed to make a lot of strokes with and against the grain, but when I was through there were no facial cuts and I had a really close, long shave.

Can you hear a straight razor cut, I wonder?

I know now why the double edge safety razor nearly killed off the Gem type single blade. The double edge is faster and easier.


Man is a slave to quicker and easier.

 

[K.E. Powell]

Switching to wet-shaving really improved my quality of life. I am not exaggerating. I got in a really terrible fight with puberty when I was a kid, and lost. To this day, even at the age of 36, my skin is constantly causing me problems, and as such, I have to be very diligent if I don't want to break out and look and feel terrible. For years, every time after I shaved using those crappy and overpriced razors they sell at department stores, I could expect at least a lot of razor burn, and probably some breakout acne. Maybe something worse if I was rather unlucky. I don't fuzz up quickly, but even shaving 2-3 times a week can be expensive with disposable razors, and I can't pull off a beard to save my life. If I want to be presentable, I must shave.

Wet shaving gives me far less razor burn and practically no razor burns. The shave itself is closer, I am creating less waste, and I am saving money. The first few times were intimidating and I did cut myself, but with practice, things became easy. I'm at the point now I can shave with my DE fairly quickly if I need to.

My setup for the last half decade has been a Merkur 34c w/ Astra blades. Taylor of Old Bond Street (usually Sandalwood, but I occasionally try other scents/soaps), and Proraso for sensitive skin.

One of the chores I most dreaded and loathed is now something I mostly enjoy doing.

 

[badbriar]

Ikon Stainless razor is my razor of choice, paired with Astra DE blades.
I have several vintage models of the Gilette Speed, Fat Boys, Aristocrats, Techs, etc.

 

[Briar Lee]

The availability of single edge Gem blades intended for shaving instead of for box cutters is much less than double edged blades.

This morning I bought five unused Pal hollow ground blades to try.



From what I’ve read the best Gem blades were Damaskene crucible steel (like straight razors) made from about 1898 to 1920.

 

[Chasing Embers]

The availability of single edge Gem blades intended for shaving instead of for box cutters is much less than double edged blades.

Amazon.com

 

[Briar Lee]

Amazon.com

A lot of those brands of single edge are half a double edge, for barber’s straight razors with replaceable blades.

There are tons of brands of Gem style single edge blades, but most seem to be for box cutters.

Gem ( Persona)and Pal advertise they are for shaving.

Whether an industrial blade shaves the same, I don’t know.

 

[cshubhra]

I was very intrigued by a couple of things regarding Arco’s shave soap. The first is of course the widely varying experiences of people on the smell. The other is the fact that it is one of the very few products which are still made of animal fat. So I decided to try it out.

So far my first experience

1. The smell is “bad”. It reminded me of washing soap bars (Non detergent based) which was common in India till early 80s. So subjectively it smelled like washing soap people stopped using. Objectively it was kind of similar (but not exact) to a Citronella candle

2. If you can get past the smell, it gives you the best lather / sleekness compared to any other product I have tried so far (Including Taylor of Old Bond Street / Proraso or anything I used in the last 46 years).

3. For me it dries fast, but as long as you are not a beginner with DE, you should be able to finish before it dries. However still something to watch out for. I also think it will make an excellent shaving soap for cartridge razors

 

[Briar Lee]

I was very intrigued by a couple of things regarding Arco’s shave soap. The first is of course the widely varying experiences of people on the smell. The other is the fact that it is one of the very few products which are still made of animal fat. So I decided to try it out.

So far my first experience

1. The smell is “bad”. It reminded me of washing soap bars (Non detergent based) which was common in India till early 80s. So subjectively it smelled like washing soap people stopped using. Objectively it was kind of similar (but not exact) to a Citronella candle

2. If you can get past the smell, it gives you the best lather / sleekness compared to any other product I have tried so far (Including Taylor of Old Bond Street / Proraso or anything I used in the last 46 years).

3. For me it dries fast, but as long as you are not a beginner with DE, you should be able to finish before it dries. However still something to watch out for. I also think it will make an excellent shaving soap for cartridge razors

I’ve been able to get my Arko puck to produce all the lather I want and even pour a little down the sink, for several days.

It’s not as foamy as Barbasol, but it’s a face full of luxuriant lather.

But either something is wrong with my Gem blade or how I use it, because the cheapest dollar store brand Chinese blade in my Gillette Slim cuts far quieter and quicker, and using fewer strokes.

The only advantage I see so far to the 1912 Gem razor is the gadget looks so “steam punk” old school cool.

 

[sardonicus87]

I'm pretty simple (and lazy). No soap, no lather, no cream, etc.

Just water and these bad boys, Bic Sensitive Shaver—single blade, disposable, no lube strip. Back when I had a mohawk, this was the only razor I could shave with that wouldn't rip my scalp to shreds. My hair is both thick and coarse, and these could handle everything from that heavy duty job, to sensitive things like shaving around my nips without cutting my areolas. Always got everything baby smooth.

 

[Briar Lee]

I'm pretty simple (and lazy). No soap, no lather, no cream, etc.

Just water and these bad boys, Bic Sensitive Shaver—single blade, disposable, no lube strip. Back when I had a mohawk, this was the only razor I could shave with that wouldn't rip my scalp to shreds. My hair is both thick and coarse, and these could handle everything from that heavy duty job, to sensitive things like shaving around my nips without cutting my areolas. Always got everything baby smooth.

View attachment 261018

Every atom of that Bic razor was engineered to be made by the millions by machines and deliver a close, comfortable shave.

But in it’s own time, so was the 1912 Gem razor and it’s the same, basic gadget, but with a replaceable machine made blade.

Maybe when my hollow ground Pal blades arrive my 1912 Gem razor will work better.

But I doubt it will ever equal a disposal Bic. The Bic blade is much thinner and a computer and trials worked out all the tiny details to make it shave close but not cut skin.

The world always makes a better mousetrap.

 

[Flatfish]

The postman just brought me 10 of these for $4

View attachment 259129


Any advice on how to shave with a old, heavy, 1912 patent Gem razor?

Soak the beard in an abundance of warm water. A good minute at least. Don't skimp on this stage.

Lather up. Soap or cream with a brush is best.

Then using no more than the weight of the razor, shave with the grain.

Then lather up and go against the grain.

Shave slowly, not like the man in any advert on TV.

Should you nick yourself. Cold water is the first place to start. If that fails stick you finger on it for a while. Or use an alum block.


This is most of my stash.

 

[Chasing Embers]