Thread: Gold Bug ~ Friodur ~ Engström ~ Greaves ~ W&B > finally done :-)

May we please see pictures of the W&B too?

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

May we please see pictures of the W&B too?

Here you go Lee

I don't think the owner is willing to part with his Gold Bug That razor is just amazing. A full hollow singing blade. I love that sound when I strop. Haven't seen many like that one either....

Originally Posted by Maximilian

Here you go Lee

I don't think the owner is willing to part with his Gold Bug That razor is just amazing. A full hollow singing blade. I love that sound when I strop. Haven't seen many like that one either....

Hehe... I think it is probably better that way. I promised SWMBO that the Engels I picked up from you was the last "major" razor purchase I would make. Of course, that was last year... end of last year.... but last year nonetheless.

I can't believe how many times I have come back to look at that Gold Bug today. Got any pics showing the wedge?

Originally Posted by Shangers

I can't believe how many times I have come back to look at that Gold Bug today. Got any pics showing the wedge?

Thank you!
Max has already shipped the razors, and the only remaining pre-Max pictures I have on hand of the Gold Bug are pretty awful. But, a poorly-taken picture is way better than none at all, I say. I love this razor.

This shot is the closest I have to the blade wedge in profile. I will post a clear dead-on blade profile close-up when the re-scaled razor arrives. This shot was taken several months ago when I was trying to learn how to take light box pictures and learn white settings, against a black background. The color and exposure are honestly screwed, but at least I got the focus correct.

The razor width is either 13/16ths or 7/8ths, and is the most paper-thin profile of any wide blade I've ever used. The spine isn't much over 1/8 inch, the bevel is so narrow it's almost invisible. As Max said, it makes a very prominent (and pleasant) metallic singing sound when being stropped. The razor originally arrived to me via eBay dead mint, never even honed, for around $65.

Originally Posted by FatboySlim

Thank you!
The razor originally arrived to me via eBay dead mint, never even honed, for around $65.

You got a great price then, but after Max's work, I doubt we will find even a mediocre Gold Bug on the 'Bay for that price for a long time. Anyone ever notice how after Brad, Max or Glen post some great restore, the maker they restored starts going for higher dollar.... C' est la vie, I guess.

The razors arrived over the weekend, here is requested close-up of the blade profile of the Max-ized Gold Bug:



Having had a few days to really look over Max's finished work very closely, I have to say I'm even more impressed than the pictures he posted. If you've seen Max's finished restore pictures and wondered if they are just idealized representations done with clever lighting, they are not. In hand, they are at least as impressive. I couldn't be happier with the fit and finish work.

The thing the picture doesn't easily convey is that this Gold Bug must have been a challenge to rescale because the blade of the razor itself is so thin and light. With the blade being both light and wide (13/16ths), finding a scale material that would fit and be much better than the stock scales, yet would still balance, had to have been difficult. Even with the added 3rd pin, the micarta Max used here is featherweight, yet very rigid and snug. The fully-opened razor actually balances along it's length on my fingertip at the pivot pin, like a scale. Very cool.

One last thanks, Max.