won this on ebay.did i do good?

1st i'll say i got in to DE shaving a little over a year ago and now im focused on the "collection" (AD) aspect of it. This is my first collection purchase after an unsuccessful trip to the antique store today.

it was titled:

2 GEM SAFETY RAZORS IN STORAGE CASE 1 GREEN TIN 1 BOARD PAT 1912 ERA

i hope this link works for the picture: http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages...84,608735596,608735604&formats=0,0,0&format=0

with shipping i ended up paying $15.80. for two vintage razors my noob mind says thats a good deal. they do look a bit rough but i've seen some great threads on cleaning old razors here. it appears they are also SE razors, which i can live with. i do plan on cleaning them up and trying them out one day.
i also have no idea if about GEM. never heard of them.

nonetheless my first vintage buy! woo hoo

(im not sure they are actually from the 1912's tho)

update: just won this too!!: http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages...37502920,537502951&formats=0,0,0,0,0&format=0

its a

VINTAGE EVER-READY GOLD SINGLE EDGE RAZOR

apparently im a SE guy and didn't even know it lol. he was asking $15 OBO i offered him $8 and he accepted. best part...free shipping. and i remember someone on here saying any razor for $8 ya cant go wrong. again not really familiar with this either. and honestly didn't think he would accept 8 bucks!

I'm not usually into the SE's, but those look damn nice, boxes included. I'd have jumped on the purchase for that price for sure.

Gem is a single edge razor that uses these types of blades



1912 was a patent date, and though the razor itself may not be from 1912, it could well be a "1912 type".
I'm not a single edge guy, and I'm sure that there are those who are more familiar who will chime in shortly.

The Single Edge razors seem to go for cheaper than the Double Edge razors do, particularly the vintage Gillette DE's, but it seems that you got a pretty good deal as far as I can tell.
The cases for the Gem razors always seemed to be more rugged than the later Gillette models, and seem to be more available.

Looks like a great find! Congrats. I'm sure someone will know more about them.

*wipes sweat from brow* i already feel better about the purchase. i figured it was a SE cause one of them still as the razors in the case. im a DE shaver myself but im always willing to try new things.

SE razors are a lot different, but once you get the hang of them, they work REALLY well and the blades last much longer.

sychodelix said:

SE razors are a lot different, but once you get the hang of them, they work REALLY well and the blades last much longer.

Click to expand...

thats good to know. although i did just buy 35 more DE blades. but my plan is to clean these up (scrubbing bubbles or baking soda and a toothbrush) and at least try them out. so i can say i've used them, then induct them as the first 3 to my collection. and who knows. i may enjoy the SE shave

regularfella said:

You did great! Those are very fine razors. There is a group of us who find that GEMs give a phenomenal shave. Be sure and head over to the SE forum and say Hi!

Click to expand...

SE forum you say...i think i'll do that

You'll like using an SE. I switch up regularly and the SE always gives me a great shave.

maxman said:

You'll like using an SE. I switch up regularly and the SE always gives me a great shave.

Click to expand...

great! im looking forward to the whole process. cleaning and disinfecting my first vintage razors and then using them! agghhgaahhh can hardly wait!

Yep, a very nice purchase - I like SEs and I have several of the various "1912" variations, which all work very well with modern SE blades. One caution - when you buy blades, make sure you get the genuine shaving variety from a shaving supplies vendor - there are a lot of blades made of the same pattern for other uses like paint scraping etc, and they're not sharp enough for shaving.