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GEM Days 2b/14: 1914 – Mon 18 Nov 2024
- Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts - Papa Eld with Declaration Grooming B3
- Razor: Ever-Ready 1914
- Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
- Lather: House of Mammoth – Mood Indigo
- Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Mood Indigo
Second luxury shave with the loud 1914. I forgot to mention the handle on these during the first luxury shave this morning. These are tiny (as in short) hexagonal handles that are sometimes called golf-pencil handles. On my model, it seems to be solid brass and quite heavy, giving the razor a lovely balance which lets you guide the entire razor with just holding the neck of the handle in the nook of your index finger.
These golf-pencil handles are divisive. I’ll talk more about them when we reach the 1924/MM24 schism tomorrow.
Mindigo was my first Mammoth soap and it’s just lovely. Great SLS.
This was shave four of my run through all 14 generations of GEM-style razors:
1906-1953: GEM 1912/Star Cadet/Junior/Damaskeene- 1914-1927: 1914 ← We are here
- 1924-1933: Shovelhead
- 1930-1932: Micromatic Open Comb Gen 1 (Bumpless baseplate)
- 1932-1941: Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2 (double-edge Micromatic GEM blades)
- 1940-1943: Micromatic Clog-Pruf
- 1945-1946: Micromatic Clog-Pruf Peerless
- 1947-1950: Micromatic Flying Wing/Bullet Tip, with guiding eye until 1948, with plastic knob in the last year
- 1949-1953: GEM Jewel/Streamline/Ambassador (The beginning of the end IMHO)
- 1950: New GEM Feather Weight, renamed to “Slim-V Flat Top” in 1953, British version sold as “Natural Angle” by Ever-Ready
- 1955-1958: GEM V-Slim “Heavy Flat Top” (G-Bar, shiny chrome), New V Natural Angle Heavy Flat Top (E-Bar, less shiny nickel)
- 1958-1965: Push Button
- 1965-1973: Contour
- 1973-1979: Countour II (The last GEM razor)
Monday, November 18, 2024
- Preshave: Proraso Green Preshave
- Brush: Zenith 506U XS Horse 🐎
- Razor: Thiers-Issard 188 7/8 ‘Coq et Renard’
- Lather: MacDuffs Old Strathcona
- Postshave: Naissance 702 Witch Hazel
- Postshave: Epsilon Blue Mediterranean
- Postshave: Nivea After Shave Balm
Excellent shave with the Thiers-Issard, even though there was some slight irritation late in the shave (maybe a slight reaction to the soap?).
Have a good evening!
Monday, November 18, 2024: FLS
- Brush: Grizzly Bay - v24 Fanchurian 26mm badger
- Razor: Chiseled Face - Titanium Legacy Razor
- Blade: Personna - Lab Blue (3)
- Lather: Barrister and Mann - Roam Two
- Post: Barrister and Mann - Roam Two Aftershave splash
- Post: Ginger’s Garden - Unscented AS balm (+ menthol)
- Frag: Barrister and Mann - Roam Two EdT
Easy shave with Roam Two this morning. I really love this scent.
Also, damn, this razor shaves really nicely. I’m glad I picked it up.
November 18, 2024
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Brush: Brad Sears Arley 26mm Super Badger
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Blade Holder: Gillette Super Adjustable 109 (Black Beauty) Gold O-4
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Blade: Astra Superior Platinum (1)
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Lather: Saponificio Varesino - Desert Vetiver - Soap
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Aftershave: Saponificio Varesino - Desert Vetiver - Aftershave
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Fragrance: Hermès - Terre D’Hermès Eau Intense Vetiver - Eau de Parfum
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
The earthy and woody nature of vetiver is another scent that I thoroughly enjoy. Like all SV scents (IMO), Desert Vetiver is extremely well done. A beautiful blend.
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November 18, 2024
- Brush: Wolf Whiskers - “Gianmaria” w/26mm Maggard SHD
- Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
- Blade: Bolzano Superinox (Germany) (6)
- Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen - Soap
- Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Petrichor - Aftershave
- Post Shave: Goodfellow & Co. - Face Lotion - Kelp & Sea Mineral
Nice shave. Still auditioning this knot for this handle. I’m quite torn. It’s a nice knot, but ultimately I do love using synths most of the time. I have some “nice” badger knots and I hardly eve use them, so no point in adding another one.
Which kind of synths are your favourites?
This one gets used the most - https://maggardrazors.com/products/maggard-razors-shaving-brush-knot-24mm-synthetic?
This one is a close second. It’s softer and has less character, but I still love it https://apshaveco.com/products/24mm-synbad-fan-synthetic-knot
I also have a Stirling “2-band” synthetic that lives in my suitcase which is enjoyable.
GEM Days 2a/14: 1914 – Mon 18 Nov 2024
- Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts - Papa Eld with Declaration Grooming B3
- Razor: Ever-Ready 1914
- Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
- Lather: House of Mammoth – Almond Leather
- Aftershave: Declaration Grooming – Fake Yellow Light
- Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Gratiot League Square
This is shave three of my run through all 14 generations of GEM-style razors, and I have reached the 1914.
The 1914
This is an odd little razor, with a very small top cap compared to all other GEM-style razors. Even though it bears some similarity with the 1912 on the outside, it represents a completely different mechanism. Unlike the broad leaf spring that’s bent just so that it can push on the spine of the blade and the top-cap individually (the 1912 blue print, which we will see revisited in the Jewel, the Feather Weight, Heavy Flat Top, Push Button, and both Contour and Contour II), the engineers at ASR/GEM/Ever-Ready must have felt like two separate degrees of freedom deserve two separate springs. Also, the top cap disengages fully from the clamping spring when open, which means that you don’t need to exert force to keep the top cap from closing during blade changes. Very much quality of life improvements compared to the 1912.
This image shows both the two-winged spring (blue 1) pushing the spine to firmly align the blade with the blade stops at the bottom and the leaf spring (red 2) clamping down the top cap (now fully disengaged). This design would be able to compensate for a much larger blade width tolerance than the previous single spring design because the two actions of clamping and aligning the blade are no longer coupled. A downside of added complexity and almost certainly increased manufacturing costs to simplify blade loading and offset the problem of reduced blade width. A real concern in an age where customers have habit of sharpening their blades to extend their life.
Someone must have decided that this design is too complex, and we’ll look at how tomorrow’s 1924 “Shovelhead” gets the same two benefits with fewer pieces to assemble.
Little sub trivia: Both of these razors are favourites of u/Old_Hiker’s, and he sometimes observes the patent day on march 24 for the 1914.
The shave
Almond Leather + Fake Yellow Light + Gratiot League Square is a sweetish, smooth leather progression that I keep enjoy m enjoying. It’s almost like a single set in my mind by now, and while I like playing with new combinations, I keep coming back to this one. 👨🍳😘.
The 1914 is fun. With crackling loud toast buttering sounds and unmistakeable blade feel, the it’s nothing complicated about it. The right angle is obvious, and the geometry makes it easy to maintain it. Ever-Ready was great at creating ergonomic products.
The timeline
1906-1953: GEM 1912/Star Cadet/Junior/Damaskeene- 1914-1927: 1914 ← We are here
- 1924-1933: Shovelhead
- 1930-1932: Micromatic Open Comb Gen 1 (Bumpless baseplate)
- 1932-1941: Micromatic Open Comb Gen 2 (double-edge Micromatic GEM blades)
- 1940-1943: Micromatic Clog-Pruf
- 1945-1946: Micromatic Clog-Pruf Peerless
- 1947-1950: Micromatic Flying Wing/Bullet Tip, with guiding eye until 1948, with plastic knob in the last year
- 1949-1953: GEM Jewel/Streamline/Ambassador (The beginning of the end IMHO)
- 1950: New GEM Feather Weight, renamed to “Slim-V Flat Top” in 1953, British version sold as “Natural Angle” by Ever-Ready
- 1955: GEM V-Slim “Heavy Flat Top” (G-Bar, shiny chrome), New V Natural Angle Heavy Flat Top (E-Bar, less shiny nickel)
- 1958-1965: Push Button
- 1965-1973: Contour
- 1973-1979: Countour II (The last GEM razor)
