Thread: Gold Dollars..which is the best?

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

Originally Posted by BobH

Gold Dollars are not singled out.

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

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

Not all no. In fact only a handful.
The dubl duck I have left is on its way to the same gentleman so that I can truly evaluate it.
I bought it as shave ready and it seems far from it to me.

I do use decent shaving cream (castle forbes), strop (Neil Miller), brush(vintage opal silver tip) in case anyone wondered or thought that I'm a cheap skate in general.

That is probably the source of a certain level of disappointment. You can make an edge behave thousands of different ways good or bad depending on the tools and the ppl using them. If he was the one who made the gd shave to your liking, he should be able to hone the dd just as readily. Those are a breeze to max out.

Originally Posted by kcb5150

That is probably the source of a certain level of disappointment. You can make an edge behave thousands of different ways good or bad depending on the tools and the ppl using them. If he was the one who made the gd shave to your liking, he should be able to hone the dd just as readily. Those are a breeze to max out.

Im hoping so. I'll be sure to share my experience with this when it returns.
Im not sure how true this also is but he has mentioned that blades can be damaged by some machining in restoration or honing by people not following the process by hand.
Im also hoping that my DD isnt scuppered should this be the case..it does look to have been slung at a machine of some type at some point in its life by all the feint uniform marks on the blade.