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Making a DE blade holder for your GEM razor

ajsaxs

ajsaxs

Have you ever wished you could use your favorite DE blade in a SE razor?

Here is what I've come up with:

MATERIALS: 2 SE blades, epoxy and a little patience.

STEP 1: Carefully remove the spines from both blades. Do this by gently, by prying the spines away from the blades with a small screwdriver or knife. Try not to bend the blades or damage the spines. Pry them away only enough to get the blades out.

STEP 2: Carefully place the blades together face to face. This should be a tight fit without space between the faces of the blades. Flip the blades arround and try to get them to match perfectly. If the blades are bowed or bent start over.

STEP 3: Apply a THIN coat of epoxy from the sharp edge right up to (NOT BEYOND) the notch on the inside face of one of the blades. Lay a piece of paper on the area beyond the epoxy and stick the blades together face to face. The paper will keep the epoxy from moving toward the back of the blade.

Step 4: Keeping both blades together (and all edges even) slide the SHARP EDGE side into one of the spines. Make sure it goes all the way in and keep all edges lined up. Crimp it tight with pliers and remove the paper blotter from between the blades as the epoxy sets.

When the epoxy has set you're ready to go. Snap your favorite DE blade in half and carefully slide it into your new holder. The epoxy acts as a stop. Put the whole thing into a GEM 1912 style razor and start shaving.

This won't work with micromatics or non-1912 Every-ready razors.

What can I say... I really love my GEMS.
 
T

tom myers

I love my Gems too, but I guess I don't understand why I would want to go to all that trouble to make the adaptor and then have to snap blades in half and all that hazardous activity when I can get good SE blades and use them right out of the box.

I haven't tried your idea, so perhaps I shouldn't speculate on this, but another thing that occurs to me is that you are left with a relatively flexible blade, whereas one thing that makes the SE work so well is the more ridgid blade tends to quiet the chatter.

Perhaps I need a picture to show me what you are doing here, but will this adapter and blade fit properly in a bar razor? Can you post a picture?

Regards,
Tom
 
ajsaxs

ajsaxs

Sorry I can't post any photos. I don't do the digital photo thing.

As far as flexibility goes, I found the edge to be quite stiff. The blade exposure is small and the holder is twice as stiff as a single SE. It shaves really well.

Variety is the reason for this whole exercise. I've shaved with GEM, PAL, TREET, and PELLA blades why not tap into the huge variety of DE blades?
 
_JP_

_JP_

A neat idea, but my concern would be getting consistent blade exposure. What I'm referring to is the relation between the blade guard, blade edge, and flip down cover on the head. All of that has to be in the correct alignment for the razor to function as designed. Snapping blades in half can result in different widths.

I just realized something. The GEM has stops that the sharp edge of the blade lines up with, so my concern is pretty much moot. But did you ever try just loading in a half blade without your holder?
 
Last edited:
homh

homh

A job well done on your innovativeness and looking at ways to make your GEM experience better. But for me, it seems a lot of work for not a lot of reward. I am well-satisfied with my Treet blades. I just like the idea of using a single-edge blade in a single-edge razor.

Thanks for informing everyone about your work on this.
 
SamCracker

SamCracker

It took me awhile to figure out what you where doing. The blade holder would be reusable, a one time effort to make. Then it struck me , isn't this what they do with some shavette straights? Very interesting idea. :thumbup1:
 
Haiku

Haiku

ajsaxs said:
Have you ever wished you could use your favorite DE blade in a SE razor?

Here is what I've come up with:

MATERIALS: 2 SE blades, epoxy and a little patience.

STEP 1: Carefully remove the spines from both blades. Do this by gently, by prying the spines away from the blades with a small screwdriver or knife. Try not to bend the blades or damage the spines. Pry them away only enough to get the blades out.

STEP 2: Carefully place the blades together face to face. This should be a tight fit without space between the faces of the blades. Flip the blades arround and try to get them to match perfectly. If the blades are bowed or bent start over.

STEP 3: Apply a THIN coat of epoxy from the sharp edge right up to (NOT BEYOND) the notch on the inside face of one of the blades. Lay a piece of paper on the area beyond the epoxy and stick the blades together face to face. The paper will keep the epoxy from moving toward the back of the blade.

Step 4: Keeping both blades together (and all edges even) slide the SHARP EDGE side into one of the spines. Make sure it goes all the way in and keep all edges lined up. Crimp it tight with pliers and remove the paper blotter from between the blades as the epoxy sets.

When the epoxy has set you're ready to go. Snap your favorite DE blade in half and carefully slide it into your new holder. The epoxy acts as a stop. Put the whole thing into a GEM 1912 style razor and start shaving.

This won't work with micromatics or non-1912 Every-ready razors.

What can I say... I really love my GEMS.
Click to expand...

I'm rather intrigued by this, but I have to confess, I can't picture what you've done here:

I understand prying off the spine, but I don't understand what you mean by sticking the blades together "face to face" what is "face-to-face"? I also can't understand what you are doing with the paper or how the epoxy acts as a "stop".

I guess it's a lack of imagination on my part.
 
ajsaxs

ajsaxs

The two blades are bonded together and crimped into a single spine. This is done in reverse, with the sharp edges inside the spine.

The paper keeps the space between the blades, from the notch to the blade ends, free of epoxy. If the epoxy moves into this area, you won't be able to slide in a half DE blade and the holder will not work.

I've shaved a whole week and can't find any fault yet. It shaves very close and comfortable. Three shaves per DE half for me.
 
Haiku

Haiku

ajsaxs said:
The two blades are bonded together and crimped into a single spine. This is done in reverse, with the sharp edges inside the spine.

The paper keeps the space between the blades, from the notch to the blade ends, free of epoxy. If the epoxy moves into this area, you won't be able to slide in a half DE blade and the holder will not work.

I've shaved a whole week and can't find any fault yet. It shaves very close and comfortable. Three shaves per DE half for me.
Click to expand...

Right, got it, thanks very much indeed. At the moment, my only source for SE blades is the 'net, and it's great to know I can use a DE blade if need be. :thumbup1:
 
dilly-b

dilly-b

I stumbled across this thread and now that I have a 1912 on the way it looks like I have found a way to use up my stock of DE blades! :laugh: With many of us still trying to stretch a dollar, I think this thread is worthy of resurrection!

here is the link to the pix: GEM DE blade pix
 
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