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Post by palmettoman on Dec 24, 2014 2:05:04 GMT -6
I know the holidays are busy. I just joined here but I did say I had a lather catcher on the way. Well it arrived! Christmas came a day early. I have a few pics but couldn't figure out how to post them. My eBay link follows... m.ebay.com/itm/281532045434Not really concerned if I did good or bad. I am happy. I'm a history nut and a ratty piece of kit always has a home with me. Someone has to love misfits. I have a Gem Junior. Clean, with a stropper? The handle is hollow and ends in six sides. The stropper is also six sided and fits snuggly on the handle. My everyday blades fit well once the "ear" is down. No wiggle. It came with an old Gem Double Life blade and I wish I could find a blade like this one. It's heavy duty, big, gravitas, or whatever means "business" term you can come up with. Tomorrow I have to play Santa for my niece and nephew but I'll be trying this lady out first. Weird, all my razors have been its and now this one is a female. We Tango in the morning.
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Post by PJGH on Dec 24, 2014 2:49:55 GMT -6
Swish! I just scored one myself, a slightly older one with a wooden handle.
Enjoy ...
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Post by wchnu on Dec 24, 2014 5:47:11 GMT -6
You are going to love that razor. I have one that Dave Irving gave me. It is packed away along with most of my razors, but is one of my favorites. That is also a great price. Looking forward to how you like the shave. My guess is that you will love it!!!!!
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Post by mjclark on Dec 24, 2014 6:26:25 GMT -6
Absolutely brilliant! And with the stropping attachment too! You must be very pleased My 100 year old French lather catcher shaves as well as any SE that followed, so I'm sure you'll enjoy this one...
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spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Dec 24, 2014 10:48:57 GMT -6
Very nice! It appears that the plating is in exceptionally good condition. The bar that goes over the blade is very susceptible to brassing. It's also somewhat unusual to have the stropper still with it. Great price, too!
I wish eBay sellers would learn how to focus their cameras.
BTW, the only way I have figured out to post images to this forum is to upload them to a photo sharing website (I use imgur), click on the "insert image" icon and paste the link.
--Bob
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Dec 24, 2014 11:05:58 GMT -6
Good looking razor! Let us know how you like it.
Bob, out of focus pix are a "do not buy" sign as far as I'm concerned. If the person taking the picture didn't know it was substandard when the picture was taken he surely did when he placed the ad. An out of focus pic can hide a great deal.
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Post by drumzalot on Dec 24, 2014 11:44:30 GMT -6
As an avid collector of lather catchers (and odd razors) you did fantastic! A super low price for an LC since many sell for much higher price. The Gem Junior/Bar LC is one sweet shaver you will NOT be disappointed. You don't have to lift the "New Bar" to install the blade.
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spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Dec 24, 2014 13:05:57 GMT -6
Bob, out of focus pix are a "do not buy" sign as far as I'm concerned. If the person taking the picture didn't know it was substandard when the picture was taken he surely did when he placed the ad. An out of focus pic can hide a great deal. Indeed it can. Or, it could be that the seller was listing a large number of items, and just didn't feel like taking the time to do it right. I've gotten some great bargains by taking a chance on blurry, poorly lit pictures and little or no description. I've also gotten burned a few times. --Bob
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Dec 24, 2014 14:39:02 GMT -6
It wouldn't surprise me if you bid on the blurry pic listing and no one else did because of the way I think. That might be a tactic to get a better deal, along with sniping so as not to draw attention to it. :-)
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Post by mjclark on Dec 24, 2014 16:46:01 GMT -6
I've gotten some great bargains by taking a chance on blurry, poorly lit pictures and little or no description. Me too! I have a lot of fun with the "ebay fuzzy picture poor description" gamble and have picked up some very desireable razors that way.
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Post by palmettoman on Dec 24, 2014 19:08:46 GMT -6
I think I got that razor because of the pictures and the odd ending time of the auction. 8 in the morning local time if I remember correct. I also got my fat handle Gem and an almost untouched 1912 in an auction with horrible photos. I paid as much in shipping for those two as they cost.
There was one other bidder that sniped it but I had an odd bid amount and I think time ran out before he could up it.
The razor shaves wonderfully. Angle and different blade placement was a bit odd at first. Not a big deal. Also it is a quiet razor. I can see myself shaving regularly with it. I got just as good a shave as with my 1914 with the same time and passes. Overall a 10 out of 10.
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Post by mjclark on Dec 24, 2014 23:52:33 GMT -6
The razor shaves wonderfully. Angle and different blade placement was a bit odd at first. Not a big deal. Also it is a quiet razor. I can see myself shaving regularly with it. I got just as good a shave as with my 1914 with the same time and passes. Overall a 10 out of 10. They got the geometry just right very early on in the design history with these razors...all the innovations since then have mainly been marketing ploys. Congratulations again!
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Post by palmettoman on Jan 4, 2015 0:51:01 GMT -6
So I have a question about my lather catcher. Not sure if I should start another thread so I stuck it here.
After being blown away by how this little beauty shaves my attention turned to the stropping attachment. A modern SE slips out and the older SE that it came with is to fat to fit without forcing it. So I'm guessing it is for one of the wedge blades unless someone in the past pried it open or crimped it to fit whatever blade they were using.
Am I correct or am I missing a step? If it is for the wedge blade then where do you find them. I know, I know... EBay but what do I search for? I've seen them in boxed set and in big lots of someone's shave "junk" but never alone.
Would I have more luck at a European eBay site (eBay.fr, ebay.de) and what would I look for? Straight are called Cabbage Cutters/Coupe Choux etc. Or are they just not out there?
I'm not looking to break the bank but it would be nice to have one or two to play around with. I haven't destroyed any straights yet so maybe I can get one shaving.
Any thoughts?
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Jan 4, 2015 2:03:35 GMT -6
If it's a GEM Junior or Junior bar they were designed to use spined blades according to Waits. Unless you use carbon steel blades I wouldn't bother trying to strop a blade. I entertained the thought of a wedge bladed razor a few years back and got myself a Rolls Razor and a bunch of spare parts for experimenting with. Now that Marcus walked me through it I'd do that razor again in a heartbeat if I had to choose again. The method we worked out is easy to do, relatively inexpensive to maintain, and best of all, easy. Basically it's cookbook. But be advised, a wedge blade shave is nothing like a factory spined blade shave. It's different is all, there is no better or worse here, just different with a different technique. A Rolls is a great way to learn how to produce a shave ready edge. You might also find that it's enough once learned. That's what I found out. A factory edge on a replaceable blade is extremely convenient. That reminds me, I need to get back to the Rolls for a month after my present blade is used up. I want to keep my skills with the Rolls maintained. Here's the link: theoriginalsafetytoo.com/thread/1452/rolls-razor-adventure
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Post by mjclark on Jan 4, 2015 3:49:05 GMT -6
So I have a question about my lather catcher. Not sure if I should start another thread so I stuck it here. After being blown away by how this little beauty shaves my attention turned to the stropping attachment. A modern SE slips out and the older SE that it came with is to fat to fit without forcing it. So I'm guessing it is for one of the wedge blades unless someone in the past pried it open or crimped it to fit whatever blade they were using. Do you have any pics? I would have thought that even the spine of an old SE blade was much thinner than a wedge. I have a spare French wedge blade which has an uneven bevel but shaves great, and you are very welcome to have it if you PM me
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