Thread: Gold dollar modifications

I say pick up some American blades in the vintage era. Hone them up and you will be better off than any DG or Titan.
If you are wanting new I still recommend staying away from the Dovo's. The quality is just not what it used to be. Save a bunch of coins and opt for a nice custom blade in the 5 to 7 hundred dollar level. But that's if you really want something of top quality and looks and new. Finding those customs made by quality razor artisans don't happen much but you can find them once in a while.

So get rid of the china stuff. Buy real razors of vintage times and enjoy how it really works. IMO, A 12k is a great stone to have. All straight razor shavers should have one. they work great for touching up your razors when they need it. But if you're going to get into restoring razors, many razors, then buy a set of Shapton Glass stones and be done with it. And maybe a Gok 20k.

JMHO.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I say pick up some American blades in the vintage era. Hone them up and you will be better off than any DG or Titan.
If you are wanting new I still recommend staying away from the Dovo's. The quality is just not what it used to be. Save a bunch of coins and opt for a nice custom blade in the 5 to 7 hundred dollar level. But that's if you really want something of top quality and looks and new. Finding those customs made by quality razor artisans don't happen much but you can find them once in a while.

So get rid of the china stuff. Buy real razors of vintage times and enjoy how it really works. IMO, A 12k is a great stone to have. All straight razor shavers should have one. they work great for touching up your razors when they need it. But if you're going to get into restoring razors, many razors, then buy a set of Shapton Glass stones and be done with it. And maybe a Gok 20k.

JMHO.

Much truth there. But OP in post #6 specifically says he is saving up to buy a Dovo Bismarck, a $150 or so razor if you shop around a bit. I don't think he is going to be able to spring for a $500 or $600 razor, no matter how much better it is, until he is a generation or so along in his career development and making a lot more money.

I agree many of Dovo's offerings are pretty sucky, but it is definitely on a sliding scale. Their entry level razors are overwhelmingly sucky and in fact their absolute lowest quality razor, ironically called by them "Best Quality", has been awesomely sucky for a very long time. I know. That was the first SR I ever bought, several decades ago in fact, way before Al Gore invented the internet. The mid range and upper shelf Dovos are generally pretty good with only rarely a lemon amongst them IME. As for the Dovo Bismarck specifically, subjectively I think they are metallurgically superior to the original Bismarcks. YMMV and I could be technically wrong about that.

OP says he has been straight shaving for 8 years, apparently with two GDs and a Titan. He still hasn't scraped together enough coin for a Bismarck but he has been shaving the whole time. Stop that, Mr. Bumblebee! You KNOW you can't fly, and I have scientific evidence to PROVE that you can't, so GET BACK DOWN HERE AND STAY ON THE GROUND! I would say that on the price/quality scale he is in his personal niche and it has worked fine for him, and the alternative would be to not shave with a straight razor at all, though he clearly aspires to slightly loftier standards. You are going to find a LOT of guys just don't have the cha-ching power to rub elbows with the elites at the bespoke or artisan razor bar; and recommendations to toss their "garbage" (I know you didn't say that, and not really sure that you even imply that, so please don't read any animosity in there) razors are only going to confuse or amuse many budget constrained newbies. I don't even have any razor that cost me over $170. At the end of the day, one of my several vintage or Dovo Bismarcks, another vintage, or even a humble GD, give me a very good single pass shave, and my shave videos speak for themselves.

I HIGHLY recommend that any straight shaver buy at least one razor of the highest perceived quality that he can afford. It is a pleasure to own or hold or use a fine razor, nobody can argue with that. For some guys, that finest razor he can afford is a GD, and the arithmetic speaks for itself. I am sure there are guys on this board who are working for minimum wage or even out of work altogether. There are also guys making $50k or $500k a year, no doubt. My best years were just under $100k, and most of that went into paying debts incurred during years when I made a third of that. Now I am retired and I don't even think about buying a $1k razor. SWSMBO knows where I sleep and she would be hopping mad. I don't think I can even get away with sneaking a new Bismarck in the budget, actually.

I have heard several people say that Al Gore invented the internet, maybe it was said tongue in cheek and I should have laughed.

Just in case anyone actually thinks it's true.

"Some years ago, rightwing commentators accused Al Gore of claiming to have invented the internet. That accusation was false, the former vice president having actually said that he “took the initiative in creating the internet.” In other words, he helped set up the necessary legislative and regulatory framework that made today’s information highway possible".

-----------

"It is impossible to credit the invention of the internet to a single person. The internet was the work of dozens of pioneering scientists, programmers and engineers who each developed new features and technologies that eventually merged to become the “information superhighway” we know today.

The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late 1960s with the creation of ARPANET, or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET used packet switching to allow multiple computers to communicate on a single network".

https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-internet

Originally Posted by STF

I have heard several people say that Al Gore invented the internet, maybe it was said tongue in cheek and I should have laughed.

Just in case anyone actually thinks it's true.

"Some years ago, rightwing commentators accused Al Gore of claiming to have invented the internet. That accusation was false, the former vice president having actually said that he “took the initiative in creating the internet.” In other words, he helped set up the necessary legislative and regulatory framework that made today’s information highway possible".

-----------

"It is impossible to credit the invention of the internet to a single person. The internet was the work of dozens of pioneering scientists, programmers and engineers who each developed new features and technologies that eventually merged to become the “information superhighway” we know today.

The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late 1960s with the creation of ARPANET, or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET used packet switching to allow multiple computers to communicate on a single network".

https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-internet

Apologies for omitting the smiley, Steve. I like to poke fun at Technical Al.

Picked this up from our own classifieds, for under $50.



Far superior, to any Blaasmark. Just saying.

Originally Posted by outback

Picked this up from our own classifieds, for under $50.



Far superior, to any Blaasmark. Just saying.

Under 50 bucks? Tell you what, Mike. I’ll give you 55 $. Done

Wow under 50 bucks thats a very good buy, i give you 60, lets start the auction hahaha.
I was working on a boxing gym for not much money and i didnt save a cent, now i quited the job and i am studying for police so when i get the job i would be able to spend the money on nice razors and stones.

Originally Posted by outback

Picked this up from our own classifieds, for under $50.



Far superior, to any Blaasmark. Just saying.

"Far superior" might be a bit of a stretch, I think, especially for someone who actually likes the Bismarck form factor, but yeah, that is a good score. No argument on that point.