I received a Gold Dollar 208 direct from China tonight. After removing the oil coating the razor, I honed on my 4000, 8000, 12,000 water whetstones, and finished on 0.5 micron CBN on a nano cloth strop. Did not need to do anything to the razor, other than go right to honing. The last Gold Dollar I got needed to have the stabilizers ground down so that the edges met the hone, but this time all was well with the geometry of the razor. The razor is "crazy" sharp. I tell you with all the criticism on these boards about the Chinese razors, I'm just blown away with the quality of Gold Dollar, at least in terms of being able to take a keen edge. As to whether they can hold the edge, is another story yet to be told from my experience.
I noticed that one can buy the Gold Dollar razors in quantities of 10 or 20 (or even higher) at ridiculously low prices (like as low as $7.70 each for the 208) on AliExpress and eBay. I'm considering buying a quantity to just hone and sell, just for fun and to keep busy. I'm really enjoying this honing hobby, and getting into the dynamics and science of sharpening razors and knives. I'm finding the hobby relaxing, almost meditative, and something I can do that does not require much exertion since I can't move my limbs much anymore. Selling the honed razors could provide a subsidy for the expensive whetstones, CBN, and nano cloth strops... It would be nice to break even.
I've got a few Titan razors on order from AliExpress. It will be interesting to see how those razors compare to Gold Dollar in my hands.
I also received my second Dovo last Friday. Its a 255831. I just stropped it up on the 0.5 micron CBN/nanocloth strop, since it came "shave ready". I'm in the process of comparing the Gold Dollar 208 (above) to the Dovo 255831 with as many comparisons that I can do (visual, microphotos, hanging hair test, etc). Any other comparison tests that you guys recommend?
I'm also on the lookout for a few vintage straight razors at a reasonable price. "antiquestraightrazor" on eBay had a few absolutely beautiful mint condition vintage razors (a "Drees" and a "Stempler" both Solingen razors) that went off at prices that I could not justify. In corresponding with him (he is in Italy), he deals only in high quality vintage razors, most still unused and some still in sealed condition. I've noticed that there is a high demand for his auction offerings, based on the number of bids his razors get. I'm hopeful I see one of his that I want, and can get it at a reasonable price. He has a Losenbeck Solingen that is at $105 right now. Hopefully, is stays under $125, so I can consider buying it, if not I will be continuing to look for a couple of vintage razors.
For anyone who is interested, I also purchased a KME sharpening system for knives. I originally bought the unit with ceramic stones, but have since added Chosera whetstones, kangaroo leather strops, and CBN slurries. This system is just short of miraculous in terms of the kind of edge it can put on my wife's kitchen knives. Anyone interested in knife sharpening should really consider the KME sharpening system, in my opinion.
Life is wonderful!
