GEM Contour II razor - SMF (2024)

As you already know, I'm fond of the Gems, too. Others must be, too, since you can easily get shave-grade blades at so many stores. They can't all be buying these blades to cut up cocaine or scrape paint off their windows, since the hardware stores have cheaper versions of these blades.

On eBay, you can get a whole sackful of Gem razors for the price of one popular Schick injector razor.

Feather might make such a blade, but if so, it is likely to be for dissection, so not altogether suitable for shaving.

There is an all-metal Gem razor very similar to the Contour II:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 6559755170

Another alternative is the Micromatic, with a longer handle and a twist knob to lock the cover onto the blade.

Those are the two kinds I mainly use these days. Novegi just returned my spares of both kinds, so PM me to let me know which one you would like. I don't recommend shaving with the Gem Junior I just sent.

We all just missed this one. It's also the answer to SmokingJoe's question:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 5611675939

Is this method of shaving really that obscure and unpopular?

No wonder I missed that auction, it was under Gillette, Mach3. I think I have another Contour II on the way from a Big auction I paid so dearly to win. In the mean time I will be finding yet another use for crazy glue.

I would like to find or create the type of Schick razor catalog on safetyrazors.net, but for GEMS listing all models from beginning to end. By the way I just win a very old and beat up GEM from Ebay that takes the straight razor type blades. They usually sell for a bit, but this one had a very worn handle. I have been after one for a while and this one will hold me over until I get a one in better condition.

Be careful with these blades. My understanding is that the hardware grade blades are not intended for shaving.

Pauldog wrote:As you already know, I'm fond of the Gems, too. Others must be, too, since you can easily get shave-grade blades at so many stores. They can't all be buying these blades to cut up cocaine or scrape paint off their windows, since the hardware stores have cheaper versions of these blades.

On eBay, you can get a whole sackful of Gem razors for the price of one popular Schick injector razor.

Feather might make such a blade, but if so, it is likely to be for dissection, so not altogether suitable for shaving.

There is an all-metal Gem razor very similar to the Contour II:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 6559755170

Another alternative is the Micromatic, with a longer handle and a twist knob to lock the cover onto the blade.

Those are the two kinds I mainly use these days. Novegi just returned my spares of both kinds, so PM me to let me know which one you would like. I don't recommend shaving with the Gem Junior I just sent.

I use either GEM or Treet blades. I wonder if they are all made in the same place. My local drugstore, Eckerds, stocks GEM, DE, and injector blades. You can also purchase them online:

http://www.nationwidecampus.com/aspweb4 ... tegory=604

http://www.medichest.com/Americansafetyrazor.html

There are other online sites that are cheaper. If you are looking to try a GEM, then let me know. I can loan you a razor along with some blades to try out.

This link below gives a little chronology of GEM/EverReady razors.

http://home.earthlink.net/~gillette_collector/id1.html

The Gem, Treet, Blue Star, Pal, etc. blades are all made by American Safety Razor (ASR), who also makes Personna. Most of these names were once separate companies that got merged gradually since the early 20th century. ASR even owns the Burma Shave name now.

The Gem razor is the direct descendent of the original Star safety razor that used a permanent blade. The length and width of the blade is the same, the blade will fit in the head of many of these ancient razors, and it may even be possible to shave successfully with some of them. (Themba: if you get curious about this, I suggest caution in testing my theory! Or wait until I get too curious to refrain from testing the theory on my Superior or Ever-Ready razor. I have gotten as far as sliding a Gem blade into the head of the Superior and looking at it.) My impression is that the disposable blade was made to be "backward compatible" with some of these permanent-blade razors, before they were superceded by the razors made for disposable blades.

Gordon, it may be worth trying a modern stainless Gem blade, especially when you have a few days' growth. I think they shave pretty smoothly. I can recycle my used ones into my paint scraper.

Joe L, go over these posts and you will see that we are carefully differentiating between scraper blades and shaving blades. The Gem blades for shaving are almost as easy to find as Mach 3 blades.

Themba, I think you can get better prices for these blades. They cost less than that in "brick-and-mortar" stores.

Whats the difference in the "stainless steel" GEM blades and the regular
"Blue star" blades?

Blake

SmokingJoe wrote:Whats the difference in the "stainless steel" GEM blades and the regular
"Blue star" blades?

Blake

There are at least two non-stainless versions of this blade, and the "Gem Blue Star" is one of them. The Pal blade is another, and that one is blue in color except for the edge, just like the old Gillette Blue Blades.

My guess is that the main difference is that the stainless will last longer. The non-stainless version could be sharper. I recently acquired some "Blue Star" and some Pal non-stailness, so I can compare them eventually with the stainless ones I always used before.

Are you asking about the blade or are you telling himto get a life?

themba wrote:Hey Pauldog, what kind of life do you get from your GEM/PAL/Treet blades?