The Thing that Gets Me with the OneBlade..I have Used it..Folks are Paying Hundreds for a Razor that Uses a Feather SE Blade that a LOT of the OneBlade Users Don't Care for..Including Me..Its Junk..2nd Thing..A Lot & I Mean a Lot of Folks are Using a Modded Gem Blade because the Razor was Designed around a Junk Blade..
Now..No One But No One Can Tell Me that Spending All this Money on a Razor then Using a Modded Blade isn't Friggin Bizarre to Say the Least..Oh Yeah..Greatest Razor on the Planet..Wait Till I get the Old Scissors Out & Make a Blade to Fit it..Give Me a Break..
Nuff Said..
Billy
Informal, and completely unscientific, polls were taken on two separate shaving forums asking OneBlade users who had used the GEM and Feather which blade they preferred. By a very wide margin, something like 4 or 5 to 1, OneBlade users preferred the Feather.
I also prefer the Feather, by far (!), and I am the one that came up with the mod for clipping the GEM to fit properly.
I think that a lot of guys that like the GEM more, feel that way because they're so used to using that particular blade in almost every vintage non-injector SE out there. They are used to its qualities and characteristics, like the fact that its much cheaper, and can be used for many more shaves. But...
Feather makes the sharpest blade on the planet, bar none, and the sharper an edge, the faster it will degrade = less shaves per blade. In my experience, the Feather will give the closer, longer lasting BBS shave. The Feather FHS is also smoother. The GEM takes a couple shaves to smooth out, whilst the Feather is smooth as butter right out of the wrapper. And you have to consider who the OneBlade is being marketed to; cartridge users with money to spend that want that perfect BBS shave when they haven't learned technique. If I was a cart user, and my first shave with the OneBlade was with a fresh GEM, which is about as smooth as a porcupine's arse in its first use, I would have returned the razor and demanded a refund!
In sum:
Feather FHS: Smoother, sharper, more expensive, edge degrades quickly (2 shaves in my experience)
GEM PTFE: Cheaper, holds an edge longer (4-6 shaves in my experience), very rough/not smooth first shave or two, not as sharp
For me, the clear winner is Feather cause it's smoother and sharper. The GEM could only win if I cared about spending money on blades, which I don't.
But, I'm glad I have the option of mod-ing the GEM in case the Feather is ever discontinued, and well, having extra options is just good... Ultimately, though, what makes the OneBlade special is not the blade, but rather its unique, innovate design and top of the line materials that come together to give a top tier shave in the easiest and safest possible manner.