Thread: Gold dollar

I have 3 quality razors. A Dovo and Ralf Aust I bought new. And I bought a boker and the gold dollar simply to practice technique before putting quality razors that I spent good money on to a stone. I don't want to shave with it. I simply want to sharpen my technique before my shaving razors need to be honed. Thanks guys

Originally Posted by Donboblo

I have 3 quality razors. A Dovo and Ralf Aust I bought new. And I bought a boker and the gold dollar simply to practice technique before putting quality razors that I spent good money on to a stone. I don't want to shave with it. I simply want to sharpen my technique before my shaving razors need to be honed. Thanks guys

good plan... I learned the basics on a GD before I hit up my expensive razors too....

Originally Posted by Donboblo

I have 3 quality razors. A Dovo and Ralf Aust I bought new. And I bought a boker and the gold dollar simply to practice technique before putting quality razors that I spent good money on to a stone. I don't want to shave with it. I simply want to sharpen my technique before my shaving razors need to be honed. Thanks guys

That's not a bad idea but how are you going to know you did a good job? You could be a great honer, it still wouldn't be a good shave. You may get discouraged I know I did. Spent hours on it so I could even hone it... Still sucked. It does make improve your stroke though because after 1000 strokes you get pretty good and after 1000 it still sucks... Haha

Originally Posted by Donboblo

I have 3 quality razors. A Dovo and Ralf Aust I bought new. And I bought a boker and the gold dollar simply to practice technique before putting quality razors that I spent good money on to a stone. I don't want to shave with it. I simply want to sharpen my technique before my shaving razors need to be honed. Thanks guys

If this is what you want to do, then do it & enjoy it.

My opinion for your situation & many others who are in the same situation as you, is this;

You have "3" quailty razors with "known" edges,, meaning, you are shaving with them & not complaining about the results. You know that eventually the edge/results/shave will start to degrade. Select a finisher & learn to "maintain" the edges on the 3 known edges that you have; maintaining is honing & it is a much simpler process than running a problem/unknown edge through the honing progression. Maintaining the edge can be as simple as 10 to 20 light strokes on the finisher, strop & your back to that comfortable edge that you know.

After you have maintained your 3 good razors for a few months,, then take one of them & drop it to the 8K or even 4K level,,, then put it back through your same finisher. You now have a standard to compare with, that you created.

I can attest that spending days or weeks on a problem razor, when I first started, did not make be a better honer,,, it was just stubborn stupidity on my part, it wore me out mentally & I put it away for 3 years,,,,, got bored one day & finished it to a good shave in 45 minutes.

Your technique can only be sharpened, if your technique is good to begin with.

Build a good technique first,,, JMO......

why bother it wont teach you how to hone a real razor ,, but then again why hone when you first start , its cheaper and you get much better edges from the guys who know so you can concentrate on learning to shave at your early entry good luck with the RSO tc

Everyone who replied has good advice. But it's really up to you who's advice you go with. I would however have a pro honed blade to compare my work too. when I started I acquired many razors off the Bay and at antique stores in my area. I cleaned them all and sent them to a real pro in my opium. when I got them back I started my journey to straight razor shaving. When I felt comfortable I ordered the stones and watched the videos by the pros . I practiced on the less expensive razors. these were less expensive but not less quality. I had found names like Henckel boker double duck all for less than 40 dollars each. now they were ruff but the cutting edge was ok so when the edge got to where I could shave with it without crying I thought I was on my way . I don't know what the gold dollar razor cost or how it compares to other brands. I would not buy one because I read the post here and listen to members on which not to buy. I hope you have good luck with your chore ahead of you.

Originally Posted by Donboblo

I have 3 quality razors. A Dovo and Ralf Aust I bought new. And I bought a boker and the gold dollar simply to practice technique before putting quality razors that I spent good money on to a stone. I don't want to shave with it. I simply want to sharpen my technique before my shaving razors need to be honed. Thanks guys

If you can't get a good shave after honing a gold dollar you will not know if it is your skills or the razor. You are better served using a razor you have shaved with one you know can hold an edge and did not cost a fortune or is a favorite. Practice with that and shave. You will know if it is skill rather than GD luck.

Good luck! I think there is plenty to be learned from working with a GD. You're gonna want to get a DMT to go with it.

So Gold Dollars and their brother Chinese razors have been around for some time. They are really more of a razor kit than a ready to shave razor, with all kinds of issues, due to quality control.

Occasionally you can get a good one with few issues, that can easily be made to shave and occasionally you will get one that is beyond repair.

This is why they are not recommended, as a new honer generally does not have the experience to diagnose the problems and make the repairs, so it can be honed. Worst case you are out the cost of the razor that can be as low as 2-3 bucks.

There are tons of videos and tutorials on repairing and honing the GD. Typical issues are thick spines, bent spine, crooked edges, thick stabilizers that keep the heel off the stone, thick poorly shaped heels, occasional bad steel and limp junk scales.

Do some research and maybe you will get lucky? Once you get it dialed in, they can be honed.
Enjoy…

Originally Posted by Euclid440

There are tons of videos and tutorials on repairing and honing the GD. Typical issues are thick spines, bent spine, crooked edges, thick stabilizers that keep the heel off the stone, thick poorly shaped heels, occasional bad steel and limp junk scales.

And if you do get lucky and end up with a decent blade, you may find that the blade extends below the scales, putting both you and the blade at risk.