I recently ordered another ZY from Hong Kong to see if they were maintaining the standard and it arrived yesterday. The short verdict: like all Chinese-made stuff, the quality varies significantly.

My first ZY was a very well ground razor with zero issues - apart from the rather cheap scales - it honed up easily and has held a good edge for over 20 shaves. The spine was parallel to within 0.02 mm, which is as good as the old Sheffield grinders managed at their best. The latest offering looks unfortunately like a re-badged GD, complete with intrusive shoulders, poorly cut jimps and irregular spine thickness. As expected, the factory edge was sub-par and it took ages to establish a decent bevel (after I'd diamond filed the shoulders out of the way).

However, and it's a pretty big however, the edge I achieved on it was surprisingly good. after progressing through the hones (1000, 2000, 4000) I stopped honing at the 8000 grit level (all Shapton GS) and stropped, thinking I'd see if there was any sort of edge there, reasoning that if it's not there at 8000, it's not worth going on. The edge off the 8000 was a revelation: HHT passed with flying colours, not that that guarantees a great shave but it's a start. I shaved with it this morning and was very pleased indeed: there was no pulling, hesitation or anything that said further honing was needed. Just smooth sharp shaving!

I understand Gold Dollars treated the same way often give results like this too but we tend to shun them because of the set-up issues and generally poor out-of-the-box experience. This latest ZY is in the same category it seems to me, that is, potentially a very good shaver but effort has to be put in to get it there. I'd be interested to hear from others what their experience has been.