New guy from jville nc

Im new to the straight razor scene. I have been shaving with one for less then2 month's. I bought the golden dollar to give it a try and now know you get what you pay for. I know my stropping my suck and might be the problem. So i used a black sharpie on the blade and blade edge to see where the leather is polishing and everthing seem really good. I have gotten pull from day one and just thought thats how it is. So yesterday i decided to move to a lite honing with a Arkansas stone (only stone i could find here) while some good stone, some long leather (to make strop blocks) and some croox come via amazon. After a lot of reading from this forum and a what the heck moment, i honed my first and only sr. Just a little, i could tell a huge difference when i shaved. still wont pass a hht but it never did out of the"shave ready" box. And words of wisdom or anyone from local area on here i would like to improve my honing skills and do it for real as a go to guy. Best of luck.

I have shaved with a de safety or 9 years so i know the jist of the old ways of shaving.

I doubt the stropping was the issue, as you said yourself probably the razor was not shave-ready.
If I were you I'd send your razor to someone with good honing credentials near you. Please don't waste your time and potentially your razor trying to hone it yourself, if you don't even know what a shave-ready razor feels like on your skill.

I don't think you are going to find the edge you need on "only stone I could find here".

A typical razor progresses through various grit stones to achieve shave ready status.
1k bevel set
3-5k refinement of bevel
7-8k polishing edge
10-20k finish or very high luster polish

You will find smoother shaves at each step in this progression.

Best to buy a shave ready razor from a member in the classifieds or a well respected dealer. Or as you have mentioned, find somebody near by.

Good luck. When you do shave with a properly honed straight, you'll know it.

If your going to call yourself a honemeister, you would think you've been doing this for a few years, and would have the stones and knowledge. Tc

It was a name not taken and a goal i wish to achieve thats why i picked then name. As for having everything i will on tuesday thanks to my prime membership

Hi and welcome. Sounds like you will have the tools but the skills take time and practice. Get a pro honing done on a quality razor for a benchmark. Then on a decent quality razor practice your honing keeping the pro honed blade for reference. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask any questions

Welcome to SRP ! Here is a PDF from the SRP library on honing and stropping that I found helpful when I was starting out. :gl:

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Originally Posted by honemiester

It was a name not taken and a goal i wish to achieve thats why i picked then name. As for having everything i will on tuesday thanks to my prime membership

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You are unlikely to find what you need at Amazon. Be careful where you put money in your quest to hone straight razors. Crox and a strop may maintain a razor but will not put an edge on a dull blade. As for stones, yes Amazin sells some basic ones most notably the Norton 4/8 and DMT 325 for lapping. You won't however find very many stones on Anazon over 8k and will likely desire a more polished edge.

Not sure you'll ever get a usable edge on a Gold Dollar. There are so many variations on the quality of the steel used to make this product that most will not bother with it at all. Better to pick up a used item in the classifieds or other sites that sell quality used SR's.

Welcome to the forum honemiester. You have gotten some good advice from our members.
My recommendation would be that you consider purchasing a nice shave ready straight razor from our classifieds.
And if you do that I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what a difference you will find as opposed to the gold dollar you currently have. Your GD is good to go as a letter opener and little else.
The user name you chose when joining us will cause you to catch some flak from our members who will think you are abusing that particular word by choosing it. However, if you did indeed choose that user name in the spirit of learning and eventually rising to a level as a quality honer I will respect your choice and I think our membership will come along as well.
Again, welcome to the forum. I hope you research everything here about honing and ask questions as you move along through what is sure to be a lengthy process. You have set a very high bar for yourself. Enjoy the ride.

So I took my first attempt at honing the GD not the greatest job but is was the best shave so far. I reset the bevel then honed to 8k and shaved from there. It is better now then out of box. Defiantly going to get something out of the classified to seewhat a real razor feels like. The only problem i had was getting an even bevel across the blade. No matter how many times i tried to set the bevel it alway seemed smaller on one end and smaller on the opposite end of other side. Toe on side a heal on side b. Is that something i did or somethingwrong with spine or just the fact that it is a GD. Any advice trying to learn. I have family scouring antique store and sendi g anything they find my way to hone my craft 9 so far.

Lay the razor flat and see what areas make contact. Might need rolling x or other honing gymnastics. Gd razors are known to be a little wonky with uneven grinding, warping etc and usually the heel needs work as well. It's the reason why we suggest starting with a decent quality good condition razor it is easier to learn with.

You may find similar issues with antique store finds with lots of hone wear or honed poorly and unevenly that require work to correct first before honing. Try doing some research on the geometry of razors will help with understanding some of the issues

Gold Dollars are notorious for warped blades and heel stabilizers that prevent the blade from contacting a hone correctly. Before setting the bevel with a layer of tape on the spine and using heel leading rolling x strokes, ensure that the stabilizer does not prevent the blade from contacting the hone properly . If it does, you may have to relieve the heel on a DMT as Glen does in his video on breadknifing at about 6:20 into the video. Some even resort to a Dremel or belt sander to relieve the heel stabilizer.

https://youtu.be/btrOjC0S2gM?t=380
And the rolling x stroke.
https://youtu.be/

Welcome honemiester. Gold Dollars are much more suited for someone that has already learned to hone. They can be made to shave well, but it takes a lot of work and expertise. I echo the recommendations to get a well honed razor, so that you will learn what they shave like. I like your nic, but be prepared to take a little ribbing for it!

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Originally Posted by honemiester

It was a name not taken and a goal i wish to achieve thats why i picked then name. As for having everything i will on tuesday thanks to my prime membership

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I hadn't noticed your pseudo. In any case, you should at least have written it properly then, i.e. meister, not miester :)