Antiquestore find: Two GEM's

[JEEP]

I found this box while roaming the shelves of a local antiquestore:





Experience has taught me that one should always open small boxes found in places like antiquestore, as they often contain treasures forgotten about by even the owners of the store - so I did - this is what I found:











Two GEM SE's and a pack of GEM SE blades. The razor on the left is a Micromatic and is marked with patent no. 1739280-1773614 the right one has no numbers, but is marked Brooklyn, New York.
Both are in fair condition, with only minor scratches on both and i little brassing on the right one.

I paid D.Kr. 150 (approx. $ 25) for the lot. I have no idea if that was too much.

I know nothing about SE's. Are these good shavers? How old are they? Can you still find good blades for them? I use Derby Extras in my DE's. Can anyone reccommend a similar SE blade?


Regards.

Jakob

[Dustinl]

Jakob, nice finds! Is the razor on the left a twist to open?



DL

[AsylumGuido]

Jakob, nice finds! Is the razor on the left a twist to open?



DL

Yup. All Micromatics are TTO's. I have been told that the open comb Micromatics are the best of the Micromatic family. The other is an heavy ornate handle model 1912 and is an excellent shaving tool.

[thirdeye]

Nice finds Jakob, a couple more for the rotation... That 1912 is a great shaver for sure.

[JEEP]

I am still not sure whether I am going to use them. It all depends on the availability of blades.


Regards.

Jakob

[paul.c]

Awesome Find!!

[nrek619]

nice score!!!!! you will use them........you will..........

[JEEP]

I will. But where to find blades?


Regards.

Jakob

[blade08]

Very nice Jakob.

[Bertilak]

I will. But where to find blades?

They use simple SE (single edge) blades which are widely available, although not with as big a selection as DE blades. You can usually find them in big grocery stores, chain drug stores, etc. They are also available from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Gem-Personna-S...6104093&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Single-W...6104868&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Treet-Super-Si...105035&sr=1-12

And as I have recently learned they give a darn good shave. I will probably keep one in my regular rotation.

[SepticTank]

I will. But where to find blades?

I saw some Ever Ready brand blades just last weekend... now if I could only remember where I'd offer to get them for you if you don't turn up any locally - something like GBP1.29 a pack (I think there were 3 or 5 in the pack)

[tom myers]

Obviously Jakob, most of us can't address where you can find blades in your country, but I would suspect they would be available locally. The ones we find here are mostly made by American Safety Razor and are sold under the "Gem" name. There is also a "Treet" blade which, I believe, is made in Pakistan. I have heard from others that the Treet is a good blade.

I hope you are successful in finding some good blades. That 1912 razor is one of the best shaving tools available.

Regards,
Tom

[JEEP]

SepticTank: That would be awesome, thank you.

I have been searching around a bit; it seems that SE razors has never been common here in Denmark. The only SE blades available are crude industrial/medical grade blades. What I am looking for is good Internet sources.


Regards.

Jakob

[JEEP]

Just ordered som Treet and GEM blades from the UK

Now begins the waiting game.


Regards.

Jakob

[JEEP]

I cleaned and polished the razors this evening:








The 1912 has some brassing and a few scratches, but is othervise in great condition. It is a beautiful razor








The Micromatic had some spots of rust which cleaned off nicely. Only inside the hinges of the head is there stil a little rust that I cannot reach.

When were these razors made. The 1912 was made from 1912 I guess, but how long? When was the Micromatic made?


Regards.

Jakob

[Bertilak]

I cleaned and polished the razors this evening

Hey, they cleaned up nice.

I can't say when those razors were made but the following might help: http://shaveworld.org/shaveworld_web...dium_info4.htm.
Here are sample (low res) pages: http://shaveworld.org/shaveworld_web/samplepages.pdf

I am considering buying it but I just bought the Krumholz Gillette book http://www.heart.net/~krumholz/catalog.html#books and the Dale Justus' Razor Blades Cyclopaedia CD (must email mailto:[email protected]) and feel guilty about buying all that literature.

In a month ot so I'll get over that guilt and buy it.

[JEEP]

Thank you for the links. It looks like I have to go shopping for some litterature


Regards.

Jakob

[Bertilak]

Thank you for the links. It looks like I have to go shopping for some litterature

Good. The first thing you can do after that is tell us how to date the various GEM/Ever-Ready razors!

[D.Irving79]

you rang.

[Bertilak]

you rang.

Can you tell me when this was manufactured?