Thread: Where to start?

I would not recommend a factory Gold Dollar with which to begin honing. However, you can buy them from hobbyists who have corrected the basic geometry and honed them for $20-ish, and those would be fine. They're not that much fun to shave with though compared to better built razors.

Even a corrected one will likely have an overground heel, but that is not uncommon even among decent razors (overground centers are fairly common too). A lot of them smile. But if you're going to hone razors, you have to learn to deal with common razor grinding imperfections. I have a fist full of Gold Dollars (see what I did there?) that I use for test razors and the ones with decent geometry and straight(er) edges are about 20% of them.

But there are some advantages to learning to hone on a corrected Gold Dollar. Being a heavy razor with a heavy grind, a Gold Dollar is also less sensitive to too much pressure, which almost every new honer applies I believe. And considering the bevel angle is always too steep, you don't need to worry about spinewear, a thinner spine is actually a good thing.

I would advise that you not begin with a wedge or full hollow razor since hollow edges flex quite easily and wedges may need layers of tape. Once you can get a good edge on a half- or quarter-hollow blade, then you can take on grinds that require lighter pressure or a different technique.

Cheers, Steve