Ever ready as my first SE - Noob questions

G

gthe

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Hi all,

Sorry if these have been answered multiple times. Thinking to buy my first ever SE. A vintage ever ready 1912 seems a low cost option and i like the idea of trying it. Since i am in UK i can see that the most common sold in UK are the "Made in England" ones with the pattern in the handle. Any advice for what to look for and what to avoid? Most of them in the auction site seems to have some minor scratches and are in the range of 10 to 20. Is this a decent price for a razor that can still shave or i am looking at faulty ones that are only collectables and cannot hold a blade due to defects?

Also, what is the aggressiveness level in these razors? I am used to do daily shaves mostly with a Rockwell 6c in R4 or every other day with R5.

Thanks,
George
 
Hi George - You've done your research well and very much come to the right conclusion. Yes, £10-£20 is right for a 1912 and the British ones seem to fair very well in terms of appearance after 80+ years with most coming up really well with little more than a light scrub with liquid soap.

Your search should be pretty simple: look for Made in England. Most British that you're likely to find came post-WW2, so '40s mostly with a regular (heavy) handle and into the '50s often with a lightweight aluminium handle. Check pictiures of the comb. Look that it has a hook at each side of the comb and that will be pretty much all you need to check in terms of whether it will actually work as a razor.

Happy hunting!

Aggression? Generally more than a double edge razor, certainly in terms of apparent fierceness. The GEM/Personna blade is seethingly sharp from the off and often folks say it mellows and becomes a lovely shave after two or three full shaves, going on to 7, 10 or more shave depending upon your face. When you start shaving with one, you'll probably feel like it's right to have the handle almost parallel to the face, but if you angle the handle more to get the cap more like parallel to the face you'll find a must smoother shave.

Good luck!
 
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'12's are great shavers, I have several, if it has good blade stops and it doesn't look like it's been stepped on, get it. Make sure you use blades made for shaving, GEM, Treet, Blue Star, etc, not hardware store scrapers.
GEM, Ever~Ready, and Star 1912's are all the same razor and plentiful, get several! (y)
 
Good razors those British 1912s.
All of mine where less than a tenner, but rather dirty and without a box.
They usually always clean up nicely though.
Look for obvious damage (see Paul's advice above) and you will be OK.
Forget 30 degree angles or other DE habits and just ride the cap.
And get proper blades (GEM from Connaught).
Beautiful shaves will be the result.
 
gthe said:
Hi all,

Sorry if these have been answered multiple times. Thinking to buy my first ever SE. A vintage ever ready 1912 seems a low cost option and i like the idea of trying it. Since i am in UK i can see that the most common sold in UK are the "Made in England" ones with the pattern in the handle. Any advice for what to look for and what to avoid? Most of them in the auction site seems to have some minor scratches and are in the range of 10 to 20. Is this a decent price for a razor that can still shave or i am looking at faulty ones that are only collectables and cannot hold a blade due to defects?

Also, what is the aggressiveness level in these razors? I am used to do daily shaves mostly with a Rockwell 6c in R4 or every other day with R5.

Thanks,
George
Click to expand...
What’s been said before, George. It’s heartening to read someone who does their research and brings something to the table. You’ll enjoy the ER 1912s. Of course, that opens up the Ever Ready rabbit hole…
 
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