Purchasing A Vintage Single Edge Razor in New Zealand

A common progression in the world of traditional wet shaving is to go from double edge razors to single edge to eventually trying a straight razor (otherwise known as a "cut-throat"). This is not of course required and you can start anywhere you please, trying all or only one or two. I myself am currently in the "single edge" or SE phase, I have acquired a couple of vintage straight razors, but have not purchased the other accessories like strops or hones. I still use my DE razors quite regularly, but find an SE to give the closest and most comfortable shave.

The Razors


If you want to give shaving with an SE razor a shot, you're in luck! Sort of. Single edge razors often outnumber vintage DE razors in both online auction listings and antique stores in New Zealand. There are four basic brands most commonly found here:

Gem
Ever Ready
Valet
Rolls

Occasionally you might see Star or other brands, but these above four are basically what you are most likely to find. What you are unlikely to find however, are shave worthy blades for any of them. But more on that later. First let's break them down brand by brand.

Firstly the Gem and Ever Ready. Gem is a trademark/brand used by the American Safety Razor Co. along with Ever Ready. In fact they are interchangeable, a Gem is an Ever Ready is a Gem. The variety of razors available under the Gem and Ever Ready brands probably doesn't come close to Gillette, but there is still plenty to choose from. If you are buying from an antique store or on trademe, the most common model you are likely to come across is the Gem or Ever Ready 1912, so named for the patent date stamped on the base of the razor head where it screws onto the handle. The blade is held in place by means of a spring loaded door opened and closed by means of a tab on the razor head.

Next is the Gem Jewel or Ever Ready Streamline.

This is actually fairly rare on eBay, but often found once in a while on trademe, which given the smaller user base, indicates a greater concentration of them here. I have not seen one in an antique store yet. There are referred to as the Cadillac of SE razors. Hefty, solid, thick chrome plating and a super smooth shaver. I would NOT recommend these as a first SE though, they work extremely well once you have a handle on SE shaving, but will probably leave a first timer with a terrible impression of SE shaving. In fact these are so dangerous that should you see them for sale, immediately send me the link or store address and I will, at great personal sacrifice remove them from the market.

Those two are the most commonly found Gems/Ever Readys in New Zealand. But by no means are all. Rarer here but common as muck in the US are the Micromatics. The Micromatic Open Comb being favoured by SE shavers that like an aggressive razor.

Another razor, and perhaps one of the most commonly found vintage razors in New Zealand is the Valet Auto Strop. A marvelous piece of engineering and minimalism. The mechanics of this razor are not hidden away, the cogs are laid bare and always give me the impression that the razor is missing a piece. Beware though! Valet razors while one of the most common vintage razors to be found in New Zealand are one of the hardest to acquire blades for and not all models will accept the same blades.

The Autostrop A model will  accept a modified Gem SE blade
The Autostrop B model will  accept a modified Gem SE blade
The Valet Autostrop VB1 and VC1 models will  accept a modified Gem SE blade
The Valet Autostrop VB2 and VC2 models will ONLY accept the Feather SE (with cut outs) blade
The Valet Autostrop VC3 and VC4 models will ONLY accept the Feather SE (with cut outs) blade
The reason for the later models only accepting the Feathers (assuming of course you don't have vintage NOS Valet blades) is that unlike the earlier models which you slid the blade into a spine that held it in place, the later models had a flap that opens up with nibs in place to secure the blade once closed, the Feather SE blades with the cut outs are the only modern blades that can match up to the nibs.

Rolls Razor
The Rolls is a very early safety razor, that takes a honable, stroppable, reusable, wedge blade. They are typically found on trademe and in antique stores as a complete set, with case, hone, strop, stropping tool and handle. I have very limited experience with the Rolls, and since the information has no real New Zealand specific caveats or addendum I will hand this one over to the badgerandblade wiki that has a very comprehensive guide to the Rolls. The clear advantage of a Rolls over Valet/Gem/EverReady in New Zealand is of course the lack of need to replace the blades which the others require ordering online as they are simply not available (to my knowledge) in New Zealand.