First shave with a Gem Micromatic

I recently purchased a silver tone standard Gem Micromatic on eBay for less than $10.00 including shipping. It looks like it was rarely used. I picked up a package of generic double edge blades from CVS, and carefully started my first shave. I have heard so many stories about how aggressive this razor is, and how it can be a blood bath, I started shaving very gently, letting the heavy weight of the head do the work.
Two passes, one with the grain, and one against the grain, and all I can say is Wow! probably the closest shave I have ever had. I can't tell I ever had whiskers, definitely a BBS shave, even with cheap blades. No irritation whatsoever.
Without a doubt, this razor is very aggressive, and I can imagine with improper technique, it could do some serious damage. I have several dozen razors in my collection of 50 years, and nothing even compares to the close shave I received with this razor.
I simply used a hot towel to soften my whiskers, used some generic hand cream and smoothed it all over, then lathered up with standard bar soap. The shave was effortless, and one thing I noticed is the sound of the blade cutting the whiskers is somewhat louder than with DE blades, making it easier to tell if it's cutting well.
All these years, I've been using a variety of razors from classic Gillette's to Murkur's, Atra's and some other high end, and off brand low end stuff just for fun. Never have a received a finer shave.

Wonderful, wonderful razors.
There are a bunch of top quality, built to last SE razors available for bargain prices like your Gem MM.
You should check out the SE forum. Lots of people there willing to share the love.

I've never heard of using hand cream to soften up hairs before. I'm amazed the shave was so good with that and regular bar soap!

The inexpensive skin cream (similar to jergens) allows the razor to glide smoothly. The bar soap is basically end remainders of various kinds of bar soap left over and being too small to use. I simply break them up, put them in a cup of water, leave them a few days to dissolve, and then form them into a cake. I have a round cookie form that is perfect for forming just the right size for my shaving mug. It works surprisingly well, and I have been doing it for years. When I finish, it looks pretty much like a commercial cake of shaving soap, similar to Williams. Sounds like a hassle, but it's in reality, very easy, and only takes a few minutes to do.

Congrats on your MMOC shave. They are great, very cheap shavers.

Interesting, I recently acquired a Gem MM in the wild, I have cleaned it up, but haven't used it yet. I think I will try it after reading your comments.
Thanks

These razors are so good and so cheap. They are a much better value than vintage DEs.

Wow really? Hmmm I guess I can try it out if its that cheap. Thanks!

Hmm.. I bought a GEM 1912 a few months back for about $2.00 I haven't used it yet as I was concerned with the quality of the CVS blades. Your post has inspired me to grab some of the CVS blades and give it a try.

The SE blades I purchased at CVS were the only ones they had. Walgreens had the same ones. Even with the internet, the limited availability of a nice selection of blades seems to be the biggest problem.
I read several posts on other sites where people used blades from American Safety Razor that came in a box of 100. They said they received a good shave with them. One person said they've been using some cheapie industrial blades from the hardware store, and still received a good shave.
In spite of the name American Safety Razor, they are not sold as blades specifically for shaving. I ordered some on Amazon at the dirt cheap price of $6.14 for a box of 100, and they should arrive today. After I try them, I'll do another post on how well they work.

The SE blades arrived today from Amazon. The package is labeled "American Line" - Single Edge Blades. Says nothing about shaving. The side of the box says American Safety Razor as the manufacturer.

I removed one of the blades and compared it to one of the blades from CVS. The blades are identical, both marked "009 RD." Even the tool marks on the top of the blades appears the same. Looks like they were manufactured on the same machinery.

Loaded the American Line blade into the razor and gave it a shave. No difference, same close shave as with the CVS blade.

The photos are:
The CVS black box of ten blades for $4.59. Box says American Safety Razor Co. on the end.
The blades side by side: left one CVS, right one American Line
The American Line box of 100 blades for $6.14.

One thing I wanted to mention. As I've gotten older, I've noticed that my beard is not as heavy as it once was. I would describe my whiskers now as medium. I am a fairly aggressive shaver, don't have sensitive skin, and rarely get razor burn. This micromatic might not work as well for someone with a heavy beard, tough whiskers or sensitive skin without having some razor burn, weepers etc. Especially shaving against the grain. It does remove the whiskers well, but probably a thin top layer of skin also.

Using the micromatic with the SE blade setup, I did notice that the angle of the blade vs the skin is much more important than when using a typical Gillette DE razor. I seems that an angle of about 20 to 30 degrees is the sweet spot for this particular razor, and it is much less forgiving than my DE razors when shaving with an incorrect angle. I think with a little more practice, I'll get a BBS shave with the micromatic with less a less aggressive effort. When I say aggressive, I mean I do apply some pressure to the razor head pressing it against the skin in areas that are a little difficult to shave well.

Awesome DonMac! Thanks for all the great info here!

Interesting as those would be much cheaper than DE blade... Do you know if those are Carbon or Stainless Steel?

The MMOC gets a bad rap. I think maybe people try to shave with it like a DE. At that angle it probably would be a bloodbath. They can give great shaves and are available in excellent condition for not much money. It's my favorite of the Micromatic line.

blankd said:

The MMOC gets a bad rap. I think maybe people try to shave with it like a DE. At that angle it probably would be a bloodbath. They can give great shaves and are available in excellent condition for not much money. It's my favorite of the Micromatic line.

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That is my thought exactly. Just for experimentation, I tried using the ER 1924 with the blade at a 45degree angle and I had one of the worst shaves of my life. It is my favorite razor but I have to use it properly. Same with the MMOC, with the right technique it can be just as smooth as any.

For an extensive selection of SE blades look here.

Luc said:

Interesting as those would be much cheaper than DE blade... Do you know if those are Carbon or Stainless Steel?

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The "009 RD" marking and the fact that there is no mention of stainless on the packaging indicates that they are carbon steel.

--Bob

welcome to the gem club.there are several sweet gems to collect.i love all of mine.enjoy the shave

With the Micro you let the Razor do the work. You just guide it where you want it to go. I love mine.

As for those SE Blades the ones we ordered on a B&B Bulk Purchase a few years ago were labeled the same way except with Green print.