There was talk about GEM razors and specifically their Micromatic line on the lemmy and the discord these past few days, and I realised that I haven’t used mine in a while, I was busy going down the straight razor rabbit hole. So I decided to do a tour of all five generations of Micromatics in a week.
Right to left, in chronological order: (OC[MM)OC] gen 1, (OC[MM)OC] gen 2, Clog-Pruf gen 1, Clog-Pruf Gen 2 “Peerless”, Flying Wing/Bullet Tip
We start today with the first, the gen 1 MMOC/OCMM/Ockmock, and a fresh Personna GEM blade. This brass rake is the razor that I’ve used when I did my 100 shave on one GEM blade (hence the “GEMturion” title), and it’s my most used razor. By now, I’m virtually guaranteed a great shave using it, and today was no exception.
The chonky, 30mm Motherlode is a pillowy soft lather monster and looked comically large in the narrow Eclipse tub.
I’ve been wanting to use Eclipse ever since my Raconteur shave a few days ago. Each of those two scents reminds me of the respective other. Rich, warm tobacco, leather, and oud, Eclipse is a comforting blanket on a cold day. Entropy Man leans in the same warm tobacco-leather direction, but with sweet plum that takes it in a playful direction. Gratiot League Square completes a wonderful leather and tobacco-themed morning shave.
This reminds me that I’m a MMOCwhisperer. You could argue that the Gen 2 has better blade alignment than the Gen 1 but, really, the MMOC is a design that offers little for improvement. The TTO mechanism is quite elegant.
You could argue that the Gen 2 has better blade alignment than the Gen 1 but
That should only be true if you use spineless GEM blades. With modern GEM blades, the blade bumps are without function as far as I can see.
The TTO mechanism is quite elegant.
The pinnacle of safety razor technology IMO, and a beauty of engineering. It’s a mechanism actuated by a single degree of freedom, acting on two degrees of freedom, never jams and works for nearly a century without maintenance or disassembly required. Hard to beat.
The only reason I own a Clog-Pruf is because I mentioned once that I wanted a razor with that mechanism, but had no interest in a MMOC. Someone introduced me to the Clog-Pruf, with the same mechanism but a friendlier shave.
I wanted a razor with that mechanism, but had no interest in a MMOC.
I haven’t tried a Clog-Pruf because the MMOC has always been good to me. That mechanism is worth having no matter what the razor. Whoever designed it had a very good day at the drawing board. @djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social is spot-on; a beauty of engineering.
The Clog-Pruf is a great razor, but it’s not actually that different a shave from the MMOC. I’m not sure why one has this great reputation and the other is described as the razor from hell when they are very similar and both great. 🤷♂️
Micromatic 1/7
There was talk about GEM razors and specifically their Micromatic line on the lemmy and the discord these past few days, and I realised that I haven’t used mine in a while, I was busy going down the straight razor rabbit hole. So I decided to do a tour of all five generations of Micromatics in a week.
Right to left, in chronological order: (OC[MM)OC] gen 1, (OC[MM)OC] gen 2, Clog-Pruf gen 1, Clog-Pruf Gen 2 “Peerless”, Flying Wing/Bullet Tip
We start today with the first, the gen 1 MMOC/OCMM/Ockmock, and a fresh Personna GEM blade. This brass rake is the razor that I’ve used when I did my 100 shave on one GEM blade (hence the “GEMturion” title), and it’s my most used razor. By now, I’m virtually guaranteed a great shave using it, and today was no exception.
The chonky, 30mm Motherlode is a pillowy soft lather monster and looked comically large in the narrow Eclipse tub.
I’ve been wanting to use Eclipse ever since my Raconteur shave a few days ago. Each of those two scents reminds me of the respective other. Rich, warm tobacco, leather, and oud, Eclipse is a comforting blanket on a cold day. Entropy Man leans in the same warm tobacco-leather direction, but with sweet plum that takes it in a playful direction. Gratiot League Square completes a wonderful leather and tobacco-themed morning shave.
This reminds me that I’m a MMOCwhisperer. You could argue that the Gen 2 has better blade alignment than the Gen 1 but, really, the MMOC is a design that offers little for improvement. The TTO mechanism is quite elegant.
Boltzmann++;
That should only be true if you use spineless GEM blades. With modern GEM blades, the blade bumps are without function as far as I can see.
The pinnacle of safety razor technology IMO, and a beauty of engineering. It’s a mechanism actuated by a single degree of freedom, acting on two degrees of freedom, never jams and works for nearly a century without maintenance or disassembly required. Hard to beat.
++ Indeed
The only reason I own a Clog-Pruf is because I mentioned once that I wanted a razor with that mechanism, but had no interest in a MMOC. Someone introduced me to the Clog-Pruf, with the same mechanism but a friendlier shave.
I haven’t tried a Clog-Pruf because the MMOC has always been good to me. That mechanism is worth having no matter what the razor. Whoever designed it had a very good day at the drawing board. @djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social is spot-on; a beauty of engineering.
The Clog-Pruf is a great razor, but it’s not actually that different a shave from the MMOC. I’m not sure why one has this great reputation and the other is described as the razor from hell when they are very similar and both great. 🤷♂️
Interesting! I think I do find the MM24 and Pushbutton more enjoyable.
I never really clicked with the Pushbutton (hehe). I thought it’s a fine shaver, but so are most GEMs.
It’s the favourite GEM of Semaj, Wyze0ne lauded it on discord the other day, and now you. Clearly I should good it a second chance
This setup looks fantastic. I’ll have to try it out soon.
It’s a really nice setup, you’ll enjoy it!