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As you might recall, I picked up a Gem Clog-Pruf a week or so ago and posted a couple of early questions. I've had it for a week now and thought I'd comment on my (albeit brief) experience so far.
I've shaved 5 times with it this week, each with the same blade. This is unheard of for me - I usually chuck a blade after 2 or at most 3 uses, but they do seem to have a longer life than my usual DE blades (most commonly Rapira in the pink and blue wrapper).
My first shave was, as you'd expect, pretty rough and not a little scary - that said, I completed the three passes without too much blood. There seemed to be a lot of blade exposed and the blade itself felt rougher than I was used to. I daresay that Max's (mstrunck's) advice to strop first would help with the latter problem. The former has simply been a question of getting used to the feel of the razor - although I would say that Dick's point about the corners of the blades being shielded has provided a degree of comfort that I simply can't give myself the same injury I did using the R41.
My face was still a bit tender for the second shave so I made do with two passes. The finish was patchy and rough, but I didn't do myself any additional harm. The blade itself still felt somewhat rough.
I skipped a morning to allow some recovery time before going for the third and fourth shaves on consecutive mornings. My technique had definitely improved - I was able to shave against the grain without wincing on the third shave and the fourth (a two pass experiment) was an altogether smoother affair - although sadly not smooth enough that I'd be happy to leave it at two passes every day.
There then followed a Sensor shave (rushing and needed to cut corners) before coming back to the Gem this morning. Today's shave was easily my easiest and I really feel that I've found my feet with the razor. I'm not quick with it yet, but I don't feel that I'm taking an inordinate amount of time either. I have been tempted during the week to go back to a DE, but I think that sticking with it for 5 shaves has definitely helped me to find a rhythm that I would probably have struggled with if I'd chopped and changed.
In summary, my impressions of the razor were good at first - it's a great looking thing and really well made - and, with practise, the performance has come to match it.
I'm going to go back to my EJ89 for the weekend's shaves as I'll be interested in the contrast in closeness and experience between the two, but will switch to a new SE blade for next week and again have a few consecutive shaves to see if I can improve further.
Thanks to all for the helpful replies I received - I can see why these razors attract fans. I might possibly count myself amongst them, but I'll give it a few weeks first to see if it's a fad or a conversion!
Stu
I've shaved 5 times with it this week, each with the same blade. This is unheard of for me - I usually chuck a blade after 2 or at most 3 uses, but they do seem to have a longer life than my usual DE blades (most commonly Rapira in the pink and blue wrapper).
My first shave was, as you'd expect, pretty rough and not a little scary - that said, I completed the three passes without too much blood. There seemed to be a lot of blade exposed and the blade itself felt rougher than I was used to. I daresay that Max's (mstrunck's) advice to strop first would help with the latter problem. The former has simply been a question of getting used to the feel of the razor - although I would say that Dick's point about the corners of the blades being shielded has provided a degree of comfort that I simply can't give myself the same injury I did using the R41.
My face was still a bit tender for the second shave so I made do with two passes. The finish was patchy and rough, but I didn't do myself any additional harm. The blade itself still felt somewhat rough.
I skipped a morning to allow some recovery time before going for the third and fourth shaves on consecutive mornings. My technique had definitely improved - I was able to shave against the grain without wincing on the third shave and the fourth (a two pass experiment) was an altogether smoother affair - although sadly not smooth enough that I'd be happy to leave it at two passes every day.
There then followed a Sensor shave (rushing and needed to cut corners) before coming back to the Gem this morning. Today's shave was easily my easiest and I really feel that I've found my feet with the razor. I'm not quick with it yet, but I don't feel that I'm taking an inordinate amount of time either. I have been tempted during the week to go back to a DE, but I think that sticking with it for 5 shaves has definitely helped me to find a rhythm that I would probably have struggled with if I'd chopped and changed.
In summary, my impressions of the razor were good at first - it's a great looking thing and really well made - and, with practise, the performance has come to match it.
I'm going to go back to my EJ89 for the weekend's shaves as I'll be interested in the contrast in closeness and experience between the two, but will switch to a new SE blade for next week and again have a few consecutive shaves to see if I can improve further.
Thanks to all for the helpful replies I received - I can see why these razors attract fans. I might possibly count myself amongst them, but I'll give it a few weeks first to see if it's a fad or a conversion!
Stu
