Thread: Sensitivity issues

I will remember that. I learned a similar rule for good coffee.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Yea, their site says it was honed “Professionally” so it probably was.

I’m not familiar with them so cannot comment on their quality, but it is not uncommon for a novice to use too much pressure and roll or break the edge.

Use lite pressure when stropping, the goal is to polish the bevel and edge.

Well, I can offer "professional" brain surgery but it doesn't mean I'm qualified. I'm not commenting on the vendor, just the term. It is popping up more and more and becoming as meaningless as shave ready when used by pretenders. This is what happens when beginners join here, ask questions, spew back plagiarized answers to seem competent, and within 3-6 months claim years and thousands of razors' worth of experience.

Utopian's suggestion of going to a shave meetup is an excellent one. We have them on occaison with a few members here in Vancouver BC, Canada and I can honestly tell you that that is where I learned the most about honing.

If I remember correctly, Utopian was up in our part of the province last year and one of our local guys here, Carlos (Cobre on the forum) met him downtown Vancouver at the hotel he was staying at and got some nice insight into honing techniques. If I am thinking of the right gentleman, apparently this Utopian fellow really knows how to hone! I wish I would have been able to make it downtown that day myself.

Gold Dollars can shave as well as any razor if honed and prepared properly by someone that knows what they are doing. I purchased mine off someone that specializes on selling them over at the Badger and Blade forum, Bill (known as Buca3152.) Based on my own first hand experience, I can tell you Bill knows what he is doing with those razors and fixes them up properly before he sells them. The edge as I got it from him was peerless.

I'm not convinced that the Gold Dollars do in fact hold an edge as long as some the vintage makes but there are some very experienced members on B&B who I know and trust that have used their Gold Dollars for quite a few months and they swear that the edge is still holding up just fine. I got mine when I was fairly new to the straight game so I suspect it was my own maintenance of the blade that ruined the original edge. I have since rehoned it and shaved with it a few times in my rotation and the edge is holding up quite nicely for now.

Originally Posted by Attila

Utopian's suggestion of going to a shave meetup is an excellent one. We have them on occaison with a few members here in Vancouver BC, Canada and I can honestly tell you that that is where I learned the most about honing.

If I remember correctly, Utopian was up in our part of the province last year and one of our local guys here, Carlos (Cobre on the forum) met him downtown Vancouver at the hotel he was staying at and got some nice insight into honing techniques. If I am thinking of the right gentleman, apparently this Utopian fellow really knows how to hone! I wish I would have been able to make it downtown that day myself.

Gold Dollars can shave as well as any razor if honed and prepared properly by someone that knows what they are doing. I purchased mine off someone that specializes on selling them over at the Badger and Blade forum, Bill (known as Buca3152.) Based on my own first hand experience, I can tell you Bill knows what he is doing with those razors and fixes them up properly before he sells them. The edge as I got it from him was peerless.

I'm not convinced that the Gold Dollars do in fact hold an edge as long as some the vintage makes but there are some very experienced members on B&B who I know and trust that have used their Gold Dollars for quite a few months and they swear that the edge is still holding up just fine. I got mine when I was fairly new to the straight game so I suspect it was my own maintenance of the blade that ruined the original edge. I have since rehoned it and shaved with it a few times in my rotation and the edge is holding up quite nicely for now.

That is really great to hear! I have hope that I will be able to put a good edge on it someday. thanks to the generous gift of a member, I may just have the tools to make that happen!

Originally Posted by tseppish

That is really great to hear! I have hope that I will be able to put a good edge on it someday. thanks to the generous gift of a member, I may just have the tools to make that happen!

But keep in mind, if your Gold Dollar was not modified at all from the factory (ie. one of the possible requirements is that the stabilizer needs to be ground down so that the razor sits on sharpening stones properly) you may need to get a pro to do that for you first.

Honing is a whole new rabbit hole with a very steep learning curve. I don't recommend that you attempt to fix up the edge of that Gold Dollar by yourself, especially if you are just starting out honing. Although you will not lose much financially by trying, it can turn out to be a very frustrating experience and might turn you off of honing completely. Which would be a shame.

Originally Posted by Attila

But keep in mind, if your Gold Dollar was not modified at all from the factory (ie. one of the possible requirements is that the stabilizer needs to be ground down so that the razor sits on sharpening stones properly) you may need to get a pro to do that for you first.

Honing is a whole new rabbit hole with a very steep learning curve. I don't recommend that you attempt to fix up the edge of that Gold Dollar by yourself, especially if you are just starting out honing. Although you will not lose much financially by trying, it can turn out to be a very frustrating experience and might turn you off of honing completely. Which would be a shame.

Agreed. I am going to start with a pasted felt strop board, and see how the edge looks after that (I can see the edge going awry without any aid, and how it realigns some after stropping). I don't want to rush into it until I have a good magnifier at the very least.

A pasted felt strop board can work (for a while) for maintenance of an already shave ready edge that is just starting to dull. But will not do for actual honing work. Some find the edges off of pasted media to be harsh, myself included. Don't do too many laps if you do try it. Generally 10-20 should be sufficient.

Aha! This is exactly the kind of wisdom I look for! I will definitely not try it on my new Griffon. I was also wondering if there is a need to protect the spine when using a pasted strop? I am hoping the edge won't start to dull for some time.

Originally Posted by tseppish

Aha! This is exactly the kind of wisdom I look for! I will definitely not try it on my new Griffon. I was also wondering if there is a need to protect the spine when using a pasted strop? I am hoping the edge won't start to dull for some time.

No need to tape the spine if using a pasted strop. You won't put any wear on the spine.

Taping is a very contentious issue. There are many for and against it with just as many reasons to justify their position. I prefer not to use tape at all but will do so for spines that have gold or elaborate decorations on them. Also, for wedge or near wedge razors, tape can greatly cut down on the honing time required.

When you are new to straight shaving, it is very easy to dull a freshly ready edge via poor technique or improper stroping. Make sure to keep the spine of the razor while shaving no more than one (max two) spine widths away from your face. When stropping go very slowly and focus on finishing your stroke in one direction before flipping the razor over and ALWAYS keep the spine in contact with the strop. These two areas are where most beginners will prematurely dull their edges.