spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Aug 4, 2015 11:06:17 GMT -6
The Gem Junior/Junior Bar Lather Catcher was one of the first, if not the first, razors to use and be marketed with the spined sheet steel blade that became the "modern" Gem style SE blade. Most people look for ways to fit modern blades in the lather catchers originally designed for wedge blades. Being somewhat of a contrarian, I tried a wedge blade in my recently acquired Gem Junior. To my surprise it fit perfectly. Probably not all that surprising, when I think about it. The Junior carries a 1900 and a 1901 patent and strongly resembles earlier lather catchers designed for wedge blades. Introduced around 1906, the spined blade was undoubtedly a response to the success of the Gillette DE razor/blades, and there may have been some urgency to quickly bring a product to market, thus a modification of an existing design. In addition, spined blades were probably not universally available at first, so the ability to use wedge blades would be a plus, although I cannot find this mentioned in any of the period advertising. Was the 1912 the first razor designed from the ground up to use spined blades exclusively? This morning I shaved with the Junior loaded with a wedge blade. It was a smooth shave, similar to other wedge blade LC's. I found it to be slightly more aggressive than when used with a modern blade. If ASR discontinues SE blades, I'm ready. --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 Aug 4, 2015 13:05:46 GMT -6
Very interesting! I would have thought that the wedge blade would have been even less aggressive.
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spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Aug 4, 2015 18:32:31 GMT -6
Yes, it seemed odd to me as well. I can think of a couple of possibilities.
In the short time I've been honing my own wedge blades with lapping film, I think I've gotten pretty good at it - I can put a pretty wicked edge on a blade, going all the way down to .3 micron film - possibly even sharper than a modern blade.
Also, if you look closely at the picture, the wedge blade I used has a bit of a "smile," that is, the corners have receded slightly from being honed. Since the Jr uses blade stops rather than adjustment screws, the curves on the ends of the blade edge result in the blade edge being further forward over the comb than a spined blade with a perfectly straight edge.
At any rate it was a pretty good shave.
--Bob
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RocketMan
Gem Star
RazorAddict
Welcome To The Sharp Side!
Posts: 4,167
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Post by RocketMan on Aug 9, 2015 23:30:50 GMT -6
These are a lot of fun to shave with using the wedges. It's great to see folks using these razors as originally used.
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