GEM Stainless Steel blade question

**Viseguy** · 05-04-2011, 08:43 PM

Are all GEM stainless steel blades coated? I have two sets of blades, one from the recent B&B bulk purchase, which I know are coated blades, and one that I bought from AmericaRx. Both blades look alike: both say "GEM" on one side of the holder and "Stainless" on the other, and both blades are the same size. The carton from the bulk purchase says "coated"; the package from AmericaRx does not (see pic below). I'm trying to figure out if these are the same blade, or if one may be coated and the other not. Or, for that matter, if there is possibly any other difference between these two blades.

The reason I ask is that the blades from AmericaRx feel sharper and smoother to me than the ones from the bulk purchase -- well, I've only tried one of the bulk purchase blades so far, so I'm basing this on that one blade, which could be a fluke. Your thoughts?

**Wil Dorenbos** · 05-05-2011, 12:22 AM

There are also uncoated Gems, Pella has those too. But I believe the Personnas in your picture are coated.

**HoosierTrooper** · 05-05-2011, 03:57 AM

The blades in your picture are the same as the ones Walgreens sell. This has come up before and I don't think anyone knows for sure. I can't tell any difference between them but some guys prefer one over the other. It would be interesting to know for sure if the "Walgreens" blades are PTFE coated or not.

**Viseguy** · 05-05-2011, 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by Wil Dorenbos

There are also uncoated Gems, Pella has those too. But I believe the Personnas in your picture are coated.

I think you're right. None of the uncoated blades sold by Pella exactly match the dimensions of the Pella coated blades, product #121-3 (which look to be the same as the ones in the B&B bulk purchase -- same carton). According to the Pella website, product #121-2 has a shorter length (38.9mm vs. 39.6mm for the coated blades) and a slightly greater width (19.8mm vs. 19.6mm). Product #121-22 and #121-122 (same blade) have a longer cutting edge length (39.6mm vs. 38.8mm for the coated blade). Both of my comparison blades are exactly the same size. Circumstantial evidence, of course, but it suggests that the GEMs in my picture above are the coated ones.