First SE shave

honismart

honismart

Messages
33
Location
Plymouth
Hi all,

Today I took the plunge and tried SE for the first time with a GEM Micromatic TTO Bullet Tip I acquired on impulse from the bay.

Lucky really as reading about the SE razors since I guess an open comb may have put me off. Anyway, after ordering I decided I needed some blades so got 10 GEM from Connaught.

The parcel with the razor arrived Friday, a full 9 days after ordering (it did come from Washington state, and according to the tracking info, got to Kentucky in three days then vanished into the care of Citipost uk).

Anyway, I cleaned it yesterday, although it looked fine but you never know then this morning complete with three days of growth I loaded up a blade, eventually. I managed to drop it out of the razor twice whilst trying to operate the TTO mechanism.

Lathered up with Proraso white, swallowed hard and had a completely uneventful, comfortable and close shave.

Two passes one with then one against, and a touch up under the jaw line was all it took. No nicks, cuts or even weepers. I presume my experience with DE must have paid off. Finding the correct angle seemed so much easier than I remember the early days of DE shaving, aided to a great extent by the amazing rasping sound as the whiskers were mown down by that thick rigid blade.

I can't say I am going to give up the DE razors after just one shave, but I will certainly be keeping the SE. The bullet tip/flying wing seemed to suit me really well with the GEM blade, which was lucky.
 
I had my first ever SE shave last night (See SOTD)

As per you experience, completely uneventful. Very efficient and very comfortable. I will never give up my DE collection, but it will be part of my rotation in the future..

Now, I just have to master the PAL adjustable injector..........
 
Unfortunately the bullet tip isn't my favourite shaving razor but that closing mechanism is a work kinematic art.

Anyway folks plenty of other SE's that are also worth trying.
 
The bullet tip is a great looker - I recently had mine gold plated by Steve. It's a bit milder than some SEs - the only one I can't get on with is the Open Comb Micromatic - too harsh for me. The old Ever Ready SEs are all pretty good whether open or closed.

I'm sure Norfolk Dick will be along soon to give us the benefit of his extensive knowledge.
 
Another convert. Pick up a trusty 1912 for peanuts on Ebay - still my favourite SE razor. I have no irritation using an SE at all so I've ditched DE altogether now.
 
Greetings

I'm late to this thread I don't know how I missed it . It's always great to hear of fellow wet shavers getting on well with SE's.

I think the thing we tend to forget is their success is (IMHO) due to the use of a rigid blade, a blade with no flex, I believe if the Muhle R41 used such a blade it would be a really good razor.

A thin flexible DE blade needs quite a bit of restraining to stop it flexing during the shave ie a top cap that presses down on the blade and constrains it. With a Straight razor the blade is rigid (other than within microscopic amounts ) and nothing is required or used to prevent flexing. With SE'e the guard bar or comb bar is just a safety device and little more, it does nothing to prevent blade flex as there is none; it simply stops the blade digging into the skin deeper than the bar/comb.

I love the great majority of SE razors but obviously some more than others, the two I like least are the GEM Contour II and the Ever Ready Streamline, my favourites being the GEM OCMM and the GEM 1912 Damskeene.

My view of the Micromatic Bullet Tip/Flying Wing is that it is the finest of all the mild/mildish GEM's and as Antdad said the opening closing mechanism on all three Micromatic models is a work of art.

Best Regards
Dick.
 
Well I have had a couple more shaves with the bullet tip, the last one of which did leave some irritation. I think I have had got a little blasé about using it with the first experience being so good. I definitely know that I was more hurried and probably didn't prepare as thoroughly.

As I said, I bought the razor pretty much on a whim. I just liked the way it looks so 'space age' and streamlined. I knew nothing about the opening mechanism but as has been said it feels and looks great especially compared to the functional, but much less impressive Gillette 'flop' (for want of a better word).
 
Always nice to see someone else enjoying SE razors. I've used them all this week, the OCMM at the start of the week and a Streamline later. All shaves have been excellent. The good news is that you can still pick up a 1912, OCMM or Clog Pruf on eBay for not much money.
 
Been using my Gems exclusively for the past couple of weeks rotating a 1912, an OCMM and a Bullet tip. The last two days I've been using my newly acquired Push Button Gem. What a great little razor to use. I put it up there with my other top two, viz a Schick I2 Hydro-magic and a Gillette President. I'm looking forward to trying out a Clog Pruf (very kindly PIFed from Johnus on this forum), and am looking around for a Featherweight to complete a nice little group of Gems.
 
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