Holy moly micromatic!

**pablo_h** · 07-07-2009, 07:04 AM

I am a collector of GEMs, I have quite few 1912s, see below for proof :) .
I've just got into the micromatics.
I didn't start off on the right foot, I'm down to my last personna blade, so for my first MM shave I used a 3 shave old personna blade.
Everything went good until the first pass on my chin. I have tough stubble there so I think that did the blade in and blunted it enough to ruin all later passes.
Second shave I use some blade I normally can't stand, some carbon one that I hate in the 1912. I did OK in the MM, better than I remember it doing in the 1912, but still not a great shave.
Third shave I used my last new personna and had a three day growth as well.
WOW, it cut through like nothing else! I didn't seem to have to work as hard at it either. It's like a feather in a fatboy wound up to 11! Perfect for me.
Unfortunately I wasn't careful and I've had a few drinks before shaving so I got a couple of cuts, so I only did two passes. I also deciided why not face lather? why not use this soap I usually don't like? In other words a very haphazard and careless shave.
No ATG, no touchups like I have to do with every other DE or 1912. No j hooks or blade buffing like I usually have to do to get my chin smooth.
But, with those simple two passes (WTG, XTG), I have never ever got such a smooth chin and upper lip than I do now with just two passes WTG and XTG.
The offender in question is the 1929/30 clog pruf at the top right. I haven't tried the open comb 1929/30 version at the bottom in the centre yet.

**BEAR DEN** · 07-07-2009, 07:38 AM

The MM model was my first GEM. I was hooked ever since!

**Rolls-Royce** · 07-08-2009, 07:16 PM

I just had my first shave with a Micromatic today. It's an open-comb model, and I was a bit wary of using it after reading some of the negative comments that some have posted. But thanks to the positive posts from some of the diehard MM fans here, I wanted to give it a try. I did my normal prep and lathered up with Tabac, then fired up the MM loaded with a new Personna GEM. Wow, what a different experience from a 1912. Angle and pressure are definitely important with the MM, as it'll bite in a hurry if you aren't careful. But light slow strokes help with that, as you can feel it start to dig in and quickly adjust the angle.

The end result was BBS all over except for the base of my neck and the tiniest bit of irritation along the sides of my adam's apple. No nicks or weepers, and an overall great experience. I look forward to trying that again tomorrow!

**MrGuy** · 07-08-2009, 07:49 PM

Marvelous! It's always nice to see the stories about real men being able to tame to Micromatic.

I've also noticed they do need a little different angle then the 1912 models, I found that out backwards from what most guys have. I had to really try to get good results from the 1912's.
Pablo, that's a great collection you have! I'm sure you'll be able to track down plenty of nice Micromatics to add to it.

**pablo_h** · 07-09-2009, 05:59 AM

Well I just bought 200 SE blades, so I guess I'm sticking with GEMs.
I'm still taming the MM, the careless third shave gave me a few nicks, and the following shave didn't give me any new cuts, but opened up the old ones :(
It's amazing though that some people can't shave with a 1912 without getting cut (I've never been cut by a 1912), but they have no problem with the MM.
I'm the opposite, but to be honest, the cuts were my fault, and of course they are going to be troublesome and bleed no matter what I shave with now unless I lay off for a week.
The personna GEMs/TPs are definitely made for this razor though. I think I commented before how those blades were just OK in a 1912. They didn't seem that sharp or good in them, just passable. The MM definitely uses them in a different (sharper/better) way.
I even said before that a blade I hate in the 1912 was actually passable in the MM, in other words the MM is a great tool for the job, I just have to learn that tool.
On the other hand the 1912 came naturally and was on par with DE for me but simpler/better than DE as it was more milder.
Without a doubt though I want to be a 2 pass shaver so the MM trumps it in that regard as any 1912 or DE has required 3 -4 passes plus touch ups.

edti:
what do you call the type of handle that GEM used anyway for these types:

**MrGuy** · 07-09-2009, 06:13 AM

You should be very happy with your TP blades. Those are the ones I use the majority of the time. I must have missed when you said different blades work better for you in the 1912, maybe I'm going to have to make another week long challenge to myself and only use non GEM blades in a 1912 and see what happens.

**pablo_h** · 07-09-2009, 06:20 AM

In a 1912, I had my best results with a GEM blue star. But as I've said before I'm never going to try them again anyway, they rusted out before I got to use most of them as I left them in the bathroom medicine cabinet. So they rusted out while still in their box and packet. They did deliver a great shave though, but in the end they don't last as long as the personnas/TP, so I've written them off. I got 3 great shaves with a fresh bluestar, the personnas didn't start out so well but I got 5 good shaves out of a 1912 and a personna coated SS once I got used to them. They are rough on the first shave, corking and stropping helps I know, but when I lost track of days, shaving with a broken in personna on a 1912 seemed to last for a whole week. I had to think about how old that blade was and work out whether it's past it's use by date, it was that good.
No other blade came close, so the personnas are the winner as they were second best and don't rust out on the shelf. The personna/TP definitely aren't as comfortable in a 1912(edit: as a new blue star), but it's the MM that makes the personnas/TPs sing, so I see where your are coming from. But there's no blade that makes the 1912 a better performer than what you have already tried because the blue star is too easy to rust even though it does a great job in the 1912.

**82R100** · 07-09-2009, 07:10 AM

Mild thread hijack here: I ended up with 40 Gem Blue Stars bundled with a Gem Contour razor from the bay this week (I figured for $4 for the lot, I couldn't go wrong). I'll be taking delivery of a smoking pipe rack with humidor later in the week. My plan is to keep a packet of rice in the (de-)humidor and I'll keep my Blude Stars in that to avoid the rust. I always remove, dry and hand-strop whatever blade's in current use in the razor daily anyhow, so I'm hoping this will avoid the rust problems.

Have you tried Blue Stars in a Micromatic?

What do you think of my anti-rust plan?

- Chris

**MrGuy** · 07-09-2009, 08:20 AM

I haven't tried the Blue Stars, but the PAL blades I use on occasion do fine not rusting, until they get used. Any tiny amount of water left around seems to rust them up fast. I have a small (1/4 cup or so) Tupperware container that I'll fill with rubbing alcohol and drop the blade into that after the shave and pull it for the next shave. Ya, it's a total PITA, so the PALs don't get all that much use. Blades that I don't leave in the alcohol seem to get some amount of rust after use no matter how thorough I thought I dried them.
While I'm thinking of it, I don't remember ever using the PAL in a 1912, every other GEM style I have has been loaded with one. Maybe I'll have to try that combo tomorrow.

**82R100** · 07-09-2009, 10:57 AM

I've heard that some people just dip their razors in alcohol (maybe high concentration alcohol) then let them dry. That would seem to be more painless.