Razor Shave Off... Vintage GEM (Wilkinson Pall Mall) vs Modern GEM (Blackland Sabre)

Out of curiosity I wanted to see if a vintage GEM razor could still be as good, if not better than the modern GEM type razors that are starting to be produced with today's better technology and exotic metals. I received a Wilkinson Pall Mall on loan from a member @imatabor and wanted to throw it up against my first GEM razor, the Blackland Sabre. Even though the Pall Mall was not designed to use the GEM blade, the blade will fit and work quite well in it. I've had a few shaves with the Pall Mall and quite a few in with the Sabre. So I've gotten acquainted with both rather well.
For this comparison the Pall Mall will have a GEM blade that has #4 shaves on it and the Sabre has a GEM blade that has #8 shaves on it. Both are the SS PTFE coated ones and neither show signs of slowing down. They actually get better with each shave. I'm looking at getting in three rounds where each razor shaves one side and then switching and alternating the next round to get a decent measure on each side.

Hardware for this 1st rd. showdown:
1. PannaCremma Labdano soap
2. Maggard 26mm synthetic
3. Alum Bar
4. DG Astringent
5. Manetti & Roberts Rose Water
6. Humphreys Citrus Witch Hazel
7. Wholly Kaw Jamestown Gentleman A/S Splash

Ding! Ding! Round 1:
Got my shower on this morning, hot towel press and went to work. Got a good load (30-40 secs.) and lather with the PannaCremma soap and the Maggard 26mm Granite synthetic. Can't put a scent characteristic on the Labdano, but it is pleasant. Put the brush to my face and had a luscious, creamy, protective lather in about a minute, couple of paint strokes from the sideburns to the center of my face and I was ready. Sabre on the left, Pall Mall on the right. Also, 2 days hair growth.

Pass 1 WTG N-S= started the Pall Mall on the right side with medium length strokes that were smooth and easy. Good blade feel throughout the stokes. Have to rinse frequently as the lather and hair accumulate quickly. Cleared the face and neck halfway to the chin. There is definitely an audible feedback that tells you it is working. Excellent first pass. Real comfy and efficient.
Pass 1 WTG N-S= started the Sabre on the left, also with medium length strokes that were just buttery smooth. Hardly any blade feel and quiet as a whisper, but could see the reduction of the whiskers nicely. Also need to rinse the Sabre often, but it's a quick and easy clear. Also cleared the other half beautifully. Left just a tiny bit more hair than the Pall Mall, but it took down quite a bit. Nice, clean pass.
Cold water rinse, relathered......

Pass 2 XTG/ATG hybrid L-R, R-L on neck, S-N on face= the Pall Mall started it and it was just going to town on this one. The audible feedback is just music to the ears. Started on the neck from R-L and it cleared the stubble quickly and efficiently. Worked the right side of the Adams Apple with a bit more care, as the blade is completely exposed as compared to the Sabre's which is fully enclosed. It can bite if you're not careful. Just below the jawline went S-N to the side burns, middle of the ear. Just an excellent pass. Cleared it all with a couple of stragglers along the jawline. Quick touch with soap, and grabbed the rest with a semi j-hook pass. Gone. All of it.
Pass 2 XTG/ATG hybrid L-R, R-L on neck, S-N on face= and the Sabre picked up where it left off. The XTG pass on the neck and throat were practically thoughtless. The smoothness of the Sabre with the fully enclosed blade was almost OneBlade like, maybe better. Maintaining the angle is easy as you clear out the hair. On the ATG pass from the jawline up it was remarkably smooth and again very quiet. Again, it left nothing but a straggler or two on the chin, quick grab of soap and full buff on the chin, hasta la vista, baby.

Cold water rinse, and grabbed the alum. A quick pass on the right side and just a tad bit of feedback from the jawline and a small section near the Adams Apple, a little to zealous on me trying to clear that area out. That's on me. Alum pass on the left, just a tad on the chin and done. Quick minute as I cleaned the brush, razors and sink top. Astringent, Toner, W/H and the A/S Splash with just a bit of quench, superb finish. Started faceturbating, a BBS finish all around, with just the slightest bit of irritation on the right side where the Pall Mall was. Didn't last long, 15-20 minutes. I think that I will adjust the aggressiveness on the Pall Mall razor to get it to equal to the feel of the Sabre. The irritation could have come from a little to bit of an aggressive setting.

Both razors gave a wonderful, refreshing, smooth and efficient shave of the highest order. But I will give round 1 to the Sabre for feeling a bit smoother and perhaps felt more forgiving. As I said, an adjustment to the setting on being less aggressive on the Pall Mall and things could be different. Round 2 coming up next......

Interesting and I really like the look of that Wilkinson Pall Mall.

This is a neat idea and a fun read. Looking forward to round two!

Those are two lovely-looking razors and have fun with the challenges.

By design (see the patent history) a GEM razor frame , unlike a DE, is nothing more than a blade holder. There's no bending or contorting of the blade to add stability, holding the blade secure at the proper cutting angle is pretty much all that is required. While you might prefer the weight and balance of a modern razor like the Sabre or Rocnel -- and I'd love to have one -- there really isn't much you can do to improve upon the design of a Clog-Pruf or 1924 (or whatever level of aggression you prefer) as a pure shaving tool.

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Round #2:

Quick List of items used:
1 B & M Seville
2 RR 28mm Beehive
3 DG Astringent
4 Manetti & Roberts Rose Water
5 Humphreys Citrus Witch Hazel
6 RR New York A/S Splash

Switched up the sides with the Sabre on the right and the Pall Mall on the left. Also adjusted the roller guard in trying to get as close to the Sabre in terms of smoothness while still maintaining good cutting action. The guard was far more forward, with the GEM blade being almost completely behind the guard itself. Got ready, showered up and went to work.... Plus, almost 3 days worth of growth.

Pass 1 WTG, N-S= started with the Sabre on the right and it just went from n-s with just an amazingly smooth pass. No skipping or jumping from the razor as it glided down my face. The GEM is holding it's edge brilliantly. This is shave #10 on it, and it still cuts smoothly and efficiently.
Pass 1 WTG, N-S= got the Pall Mall on the left and almost instantly it was not as aggressive feeling as the first shave. The pass went smoothly from ear to my neck and the GEM as well here is just as good. Completed the pass while adjusting the angle some, a bit more shallower as it was cutting but did notice that I had a little more hair left. Perhaps a result of backing out the aggressiveness a bit.
Cold water rinse, relathered.....

Pass 2 XTG/WTG hybrid L-R, R-L on neck, S-N on face= the Sabre just keeps doing what it's doing, period. Just a smooth and efficient razor that glides effortlessly. No matter which direction, once the angle is achieved it performs flawlessly. I believe the rigidity of the blade and high the Sabre keeps it there is a huge key on how it performs. The passes from S-N are just sweet. No skips, hops, pulling or tugging on the whiskers and very quiet on the right side. Had 2 spots with a couple stragglers, cleaned them up with a quick buff on the chin, done.
Pass 2 XTG/ATG hybrid L-R, R-L on neck, S-N on face= went right to the neck for an XTG pass from ear to throat, and had to go over it a couple of times on the left side. Adjusted my angle a bit to try to compensate but it still left a few hairs and a few patches that were a little rough. I lost some efficiency to the Pall Mall as I had adjusted it earlier in trying to make it smoother, a la Sabre like. I did not want to readjust it though, but did a lot more touch ups and buffing to get the desired finish and feel I wanted. I could feel my face was irritated and slightly tender feeling once I was done. But no hairs and smooth to the touch.

Cold water rinse and went right to the alum. Started on my right and there was a smidge of a tingle right on my chin, nothing to complain about though as the rest of my face was great with no ooohhs or aaahs during the alum pass. The left though was a different story. Instant feedback on the neck and about halfway up the sideburns. The alum was kicking my rear end. I knew though that it was going to bark, just not as much as it did. Finished the alum pass and went right into clean up of the razors, brush and sink area. Got the astringent, toner,witch hazel and a/s splash on and got some mighty bold quench in. Thankfully, the irritation did not last to long, and subsided within an hour and a half. The software kicked in most certainly in aiding to relieve my irritation and slight burn. Smooth BBS shave, but somewhat at a price on the left side.



I'm going to go one more round, just to see if I can fiddle just a little more with the Pall Mall settings on getting a good compromise on smoothness, efficiency and aggressiveness. The setting was just to mild today and I paid the price for it. The Sabre though is just as smooth and efficient as it gets. Took care of 3 days growth in 2 passes with minor buffing. And the GEM just shines. Now I know why there are so many fans of this blade. It is a workhorse of a blade, and smooth to boot. It just works beautifully. One more to go......

This has been an interesting read. Thank you for taking the time to both conduct the experiment and provide the feedback!

With that said, I really like the look of the PallMall, but as you stated it is not a GEM razor by design. This could be affecting the outcome of the experiment. It's not quite apples to oranges, but it seems to be maybe an apples to crabapples conmparison.

As such, I offer you the opportunity to use an actual vintage GEM razor. I have a 1924 Ever Ready Shovelhead or a GEM G-Bar. Your choice. I am happy to loan one to you for as long as is needed to complete another round of experiments and provide an apples to apples comparison.

If this intrigues you, shoot me a PM with and we can work out the details. No worries either way, just an offer.

That's very generous of you my friend. Let me get this done and i will send you a pm shortly. But you are right, the Pall Mall was not designed for the GEM blade so it is an unfair comparison. Stay tuned.....

Round #3

Got the 3rd shave in yesterday evening with both of these razors. And it was the absolute best of the 3 so far. But, before we start a quick run down on what was used.

List of software used:
1 RR Mudder Focker
2 RR F-400 XXL 34mm
3 DG Astringent
4 Humphreys Witch Hazel Citrus
5 RR Acqua A/S Splash
6 CK ONE Summer cologne

Again, switched up the sides with the Pall Mall on the right, the Sabre on the left. Also adjusted the roller guard on the first 2-3 strokes to dial it in and get it to a good compromise between aggressive and smoothness while keeping it efficient. I believe I got it just where I like it. Got my shower and prep on and dug in. Had a days worth of growth for this round.

Pass 1 WTG, N-S= started with the Pall Mall and adjusted it incrementally as I said and had this thing singing on each pass. Smooth, efficient and just enough blade feel to let you know it was working. Excellent feedback on this pass as it removed the hair effortlessly but with good audio and feel.
Pass 2 WTG, N-S= got the left side going with the Sabre and it was as expected. Smooth, efficient and a quiet pass. Definitely no audio with this razor but it mows down the stubble with ease. Even though it's mild, it still cuts efficiently. Both sides really felt good, but I'm chasing better......
Cold water rinse and relathered.

Pass 2 XTG/ATG hybrid L-R, R-L on neck, S-N face= this pass is where this razor shines with the GEM blade. The neck was just an amazing smooth pass as the blade rode across without an issue. I cleaned up a couple spots around the throat and chin and a little extra buffing around the jawline as I felt a straggler or two. BBS, no nics, cuts and most importantly zero irritation.
Pass 2 XTG/ATG hybrid L-R, R-L on neck, S-N face= as good a pass as it gets. I don't think you can get a smoother shave. South to North pas is just sweet. Just a hint of a whisper as it was cutting what was left. I have to say that the GEM blade is just fantastic in the Sabre. Quick touch up on the neck and jawline and zero nics, cuts or irritation. Done.

Cold water rinse and right to the alum pass. Ran it across the face and jawline, around the chin. Zero feedback from either side. Ran it from left to right on my neck and just a slight twinge and feedback on the right side of the Adams Apple. But everyplace else was uneventful. Finished cleaning up both razors and area. Rinsed off the alum, dried off my face and got my quench on. The astringent and aftershave splash gave a real good finish with not much burn at all. It was an excellent finish to an excellent shave.

What do I think of the 2? These are both excellent razors that give excellent shaves paired with a GEM blade. Although the Pall Mall was designed to use wedge blades, the GEM works very well in it. Plus given that the roller guard is adjustable to bring more or less blade to the skin, you can fine tune the shave characteristics from mildly aggressive to a more aggressive feel and shave. I got it to a point that it was very close to the Sabre in shave quality and efficiency, but could not get it to feel as smooth as the Sabre. Plus with the blade exposed it felt a bit more drag on the face as opposed to the SS cap on the Sabre. The Sabre edges it out when it comes to the overall smoothness of feel while shaving. The Pall Mall definitely has more blade feel and is super efficient. If a more aggressive feeling shave is wanted, the Pall Mall does it in spades with the GEM blade. I think you can't go wrong with either one, depending on the type of shave you prefer. The Sabre is a smooth, mildly efficient razor that gives you an irritation free shave with relative ease. The Pall Mall will give you an efficient and smooth shave, but with more feel of the blade and a bit more aggressiveness. Adding in that you can adjust that feel by moving the roller guard gives you an adjustable razor in a sense. I think the Sabre is easier to use, especially if you prefer a milder razor. The Pall Mall takes a little bit more of a learning curve to get it to your particular liking. But once you do, it's an amazing razor capable of BBS shaves as good as any out there.

The Sabre is easier to dial in and get a comfortable shave. It can be a daily driver from a complete noob to a seasoned shaving vet very quickly. I still have yet to nic or cut myself with it. The Pall Mall is just a bit more aggressive and requires a bit more attention. Once dialed in, it's a very good match to the Sabre in giving an excellent close and irritation free shave.

I give the edge to the Sabre because it just felt smoother in my opinion. It felt a little easier to maneuver around the contours of my face and neck and practically gives me irritation free shaves every time. But, I love the shaves that I've gotten from the Pall Mall. So much so that I'm on the search for this same one. Can't lose with either one, but the Sabre does it a bit easier and smoother for me.