Thread: Razor to learn honing?

Does anyone know places to get razors to practice honing. I don't want to spend a lot, but don't want something that will be in bad shape. I would appreciate any direction.

Thanks

I would try a Gold Dollar. They are inexpensive and will both shave and hold an edge. Personally I love mine. I have had my 209 for two years, sharpened it once and it is one of my best shavers, but that is just my opinion.

Have you tried eBay or a local antique shop (look for something with even hone wear or barely any? I agree the GD is a cheap option, but it could end up being discouraging, when you don't get good results. They're hit or miss as far as correct dimensions. Maybe there is someone close to your area here on SRP that would be willing to show you how to hone a good razor? May save you some time and frustration.

A Gold Dollar can be a real pig that needs a lot of work, and I'd be very wary of starting on one. A lot of them need the shoulders ground down, for example. I'm a newcomer to honing and I've bought a Gold Dollar, but it's as a challenge for when I think I'm good enough - mine needs some Dremel work, and one side just doesn't have a bevel at all.

What I'd do is surf eBay and look for something cheap that looks like it's got a decent straight edge, with no obvious frown, smile, or tapering of the blade, and not too much hone wear on the spine - I see such razors going for modest prices all the time.

Either or. Ive bought some old vintages that looked ok but were much more work than a GD. The GD will have plenty of steel though and no hone wear when you start. The vintage you could get one almost shave ready. GDS can be honed without grinding anything if you know how. The 200s(red scales are much better than the 66s. My first new Dovo was much worse than any GD i have ever seen. Crooked spine, short at the toe. Try a few of each!

I agree you should check out the local antique shops first. That way you can see what you are buying. Maybe work a deal for a lot price. Antique shops access EBay too and may have “interesting” pricing concepts. Avoid any razor with inferior steel to practice on. Good luck, happy hunting.
Mike

Originally Posted by scotishcavalir

I would try a Gold Dollar. They are inexpensive and will both shave and hold an edge. Personally I love mine. I have had my 209 for two years, sharpened it once and it is one of my best shavers, but that is just my opinion.

Originally Posted by Oscroft

A Gold Dollar can be a real pig that needs a lot of work, and I'd be very wary of starting on one. A lot of them need the shoulders ground down, for example. I'm a newcomer to honing and I've bought a Gold Dollar, but it's as a challenge for when I think I'm good enough - mine needs some Dremel work, and one side just doesn't have a bevel at all.

What I'd do is surf eBay and look for something cheap that looks like it's got a decent straight edge, with no obvious frown, smile, or tapering of the blade, and not too much hone wear on the spine - I see such razors going for modest prices all the time.

Originally Posted by bill3152

Either or. Ive bought some old vintages that looked ok but were much more work than a GD. The GD will have plenty of steel though and no hone wear when you start. The vintage you could get one almost shave ready. GDS can be honed without grinding anything if you know how. The 200s(red scales are much better than the 66s. My first new Dovo was much worse than any GD i have ever seen. Crooked spine, short at the toe. Try a few of each!

Have you ever asked yourself why there is a huge "Closed" thread about Gold Dollar razors on SRP ????

These posts are why...

The "Discussion" about these razors is a never ending round and round and basically gets old fast...

These razor are hit and miss, over 50% of them have issues that require starting the honing cycle with a dremel which might not be such a great starting point..

One person saying they are junk because they got a bad one, and one person saying they are great because they got a good one, is exactly what fuels these posts..

It has been our custom here at SRP to not deal with this, we simply take the posts and toss them in with the huge dead thread where people can go to read the endless mindless continuing argument of the Chinese razor...

Here is more info then you ever really wanted to know about a $2 razor http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ld-dollar.html


Glen - Senior Mod SRP

Originally Posted by binder

Does anyone know places to get razors to practice honing. I don't want to spend a lot, but don't want something that will be in bad shape. I would appreciate any direction.

Thanks

There is no such thing as getting something for nothing - you will have to pay one way or another. If you don't want to spend money you have to spend time to educate yourself how to tell good razor from a bad one. Buying as-is razors you can't see in person, and even if you can see them in person, is always a gamble, but you can increase the odds in your favor.
For vintage razors your best bet is to go to the ebay101 thread, and then look for highly reputable brands such as boker or case - they virtually never left the factory with issues, so all you have to worry about is abuse by previous owners, and that's what the ebay 101 thread would teach you how to detect.
You can also play the roulette with gold dollar razors, but buying 10 of them still doesn't mean you'll get a single good one, it could be 10 from a terrible batch. It's up to you.