Hi folks,
Been shaving my head with DEs for years. The shinier the better!
Well, I just picked this razor up at a boot sale, knowing basically nothing about vintage razors. It was cheap, and I like the ornate handle, so “why not?”, I thought.
However, I tried a DE blade in it and it didn’t fit. Does anyone know the name for the blade this accepts? I assume it takes a SE blade, but a standard one looks too skinny.
I’ve seen people on the Internet talking about “Gem” blades. Not much comes up for that when I search UK suppliers, so I wonder if there’s another name for them?
Maybe you can’t get them any more…
Any advice? I’d like the give it a spin.
Cheers
It doesn’t shave as close and indeed you can nick your skin if the angle is too vertical. But in my experience, it’s really easy to use and get right from the start.
Apologies, that site isn’t very well optimized for browsers with dark mode - didn’t see those were out of stock. FWIW, I got myself a 100-pack once I got my first GEM razor and it’s still not empty. These are really sturdy and hold up for a long time… the downside is that there’s not much variety in blades, but the blade quality makes up for it.
Are you stropping those blades to make them last longer?
Nope. They are in general a bit more sturdy since they are thicker than DE blades.
I see.
And one more question, sorry, how is this kind of razor around the ears? Is it possible with the added bulk?
No worries! It sure is possible around the ears, but I mostly go with the grain or across at most. I bend my ears down a bit so it can reach every hair.
Thanks for all of your answers. I ordered the blades just today!