Gold Dollars..which is the best?

Well said, James. Very well said, indeed. Yet still...

There has always been room for the discussion of low level stuff here. I will not even venture into the area of cheap soaps. I think a more appropriate comparison would be brushes.

Now, as you rightfully said, a Gold Dollar is a decent razor (if you order enough, one will shave well out of the box, too). Yet they are frowned upon here because they are cheap, and do not always work that well.

And that is true. However, the same is true with Chinese import badger knots. You have Thäter and Shavemac on the one end of the spectrum. And something whacked together in some child slave labour sweat shop on the other. Whether sourced direct, or via a retailer like The Golden Nib, you will get Gold Dollar like stuff, only as a brush.

Now, where is the outrage? The FAQ entry? The PSAs? Why do the "artisan" makers of "custom" brushes not get told that the esteemed members of this prestigious forum deserve a proper brush?

Of course I have an explanation, but I'd really like to hear yours first. Not to stir things up, of course. I never do. Just to get some perspective on the double standards at work here.

Thank you, James

PS I find Gold Dollars disgusting. Just to be clear on this point.

PPS Subaru? Seriously? *harrumph*

No, I'd say you are wrong, RobinK.

Gold Dollars are not frowned upon because they are cheap.
You'll find plenty of threads around here celebrating low cost equipment and products.
Arko is but one such shaving related item that gets more than plenty of praise, despite its ridiculously low price.
And foul scent..

What they are frowned upon for though, is the fact that they will not all shave after a simple honing.
That is a fact.

Now, what does that do to a prospective straight razor shaver receiving such an item as their first attempt at this thing that unites us here?
It potentially drives them right out of here, and back to the horror that is a Bic..
No, not all of them, but we as a group would rather new straight razor users gets a tad better odds at succeeding in their venture into straight razor shaving.

If experienced shavers want to buy and use Gold Dollars, I say go for it.
He'll figure out what is what, no harm done. And very little money lost if it doesn't pan out.

But again, they are not the reason they are regarded as a less than stellar option around here.
It's all about the new wet-shavers.
Getting them off to as good a start as possible is important to me and a lot of us seniors on this forum.
And without even the slightest alterior motive, that's the beauty of not selling jack anywhere;)

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Originally Posted by Birnando

Arko is but one such shaving related item that gets more than plenty of praise, despite its ridiculously low price.
And foul scent..

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I like the smell of Arko...:shrug:...

Thank you for completely missing my point. Many do not work out of the box. I do not think you will find anyone who disagrees, probably not even the people who sell them with a 4000% markup.

But "doesn't work that well" and "cheaper than it ought to be" just don't cut it as arguments against them in my opinion. What about those cut-in-half-or-less "hones" sold by a banned member? Again, what about those China import $2 badger knots that barely work and shed?

You see, I'm all in favour of warning beginners. Only, I think singling out GDGDs is a bit odd. Do you not agree?

PS Arko is great. If you let it simmer in a saucepan, the miasma will go away, too. But what about that former self appointed quoadrophenic shill monster and its "artisan" soaps full of cheap scented oils? Seriously?

Gold Dollars are not singled out. There are quite a few razors on the do not buy list for the same reason as Brinando gave. It is just that they seem to be the most popular of these types of razors and get brought up more often as a consequence.

Arko oth can be easily lathered by a beginner and will provide a slick thick lather that will not hinder getting a decent shave. It does the job as it comes from the factory regardless if you like the scent of not. You can buy a more expensive soap and have the same problem with it, a scent you can't abide.

Even though James was driving a Subaru it could have been worse. He could have been driving a VW diesel made by well paid workers in a highly regulated country.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Gold Dollars are not singled out.

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Actually, Bob, they are. Check this out: Frequently Asked Questions - Straight Razor Place Library

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Originally Posted by BobH

There are quite a few razors on the do not buy list for the same reason as Brinando gave. It is just that they seem to be the most popular of these types of razors and get brought up more often as a consequence.

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Uh, yes. But, no. They are the ones most aggressively infringing on established vendors's territory, and SRP is taking good care of their own. Which is fine by me. As I said, I think Gold Dollars are an abomination. They are not, however, inherently inferior to the average "sight unseen" razor or other shoddily restored garbage which, horribile is dictu can sometimes be found even here in the WTB section.

Now, coming back to my actual question, what about those el cheapo brushes? Why is it acceptable to advertise those, but not Gold Dollar razors? Same QA problems, same (actually, much higher) likelihood of unethical working environments - yet no warning in the FAQ.

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Originally Posted by BobH

Even though James was driving a Subaru it could have been worse. He could have been driving a VW diesel made by well paid workers in a highly regulated country.

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Oh, God. Yes, Bob, that is an excellent point. As is this, this, or this.

The people who tout them often point to the cost vs razors that are properly made out of the gates instead of being like blanks which were pinned with little regard for geometry, warping, or the heel setup by ppl who are most likely in the dark about the logistics of straight shaving. By most accounts, the steel is hard and holds a good edge, but you need to invest time to make it so. Time to grind a blade, time to make new scales most likely, and time to put a bevel and ultimately an edge on it. To me, it ends up becoming an issue of it being cheap initially, but then it costs you all sorts of time to fix everything that is wrong with it instead of just honing and enjoying something like a nice $20 genco that was ground fastidiously with beautiful steel.. You basically are saying your time is not valuable to you. Only excuse /positive with them besides the utility once the work is done is it's a low financial risk way to learn how to repair blades with issues at the heel or toe/geometry issues.

It actually would be far more compelling if their factory sold raw blanks

Because gold dollar users/modders are like the vegans of our hobby. They constantly have to remind you they use/mod them (and hone on film usually) and they always find something to say about stuff not gold dollars that is ot and somehow about gold dollars... Or lapping film...

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Originally Posted by RobinK

Actually, Bob, they are. Check this out: Frequently Asked Questions - Straight Razor Place Library


Uh, yes. But, no. They are the ones most aggressively infringing on established vendors's territory, and SRP is taking good care of their own. Which is fine by me. As I said, I think Gold Dollars are an abomination. They are not, however, inherently inferior to the average "sight unseen" razor or other shoddily restored garbage which, horribile is dictu can sometimes be found even here in the WTB section.

Now, coming back to my actual question, what about those el cheapo brushes? Why is it acceptable to advertise those, but not Gold Dollar razors? Same QA problems, same (actually, much higher) likelihood of unethical working environments - yet no warning in the FAQ.

Oh, God. Yes, Bob, that is an excellent point. As is this, this, or this.

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Originally Posted by kcb5150

Because gold dollar users/modders are like the vegans of our hobby. They constantly have to remind you they use/mod them (and hone on film usually) and they always find something to say about stuff not gold dollars that is ot and somehow about gold dollars... Or lapping film...

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Quite right, sadly.

I just had this brilliant idea... Since the forum software is capable of merging new threads into one canonical thread, how about a thread "The GDGD Society - a self help group"? And leave it at that. Everyone happy.