Thread: Modified Gold Dollar

With so many good razors up for sale in the classifieds (for only a little bit more money than a GD), I just don't understand why anyone would take a risk with a GD.

I understand the reasoning behind getting a cheap razor to practice on, but if the razor is of poor quality, you are not going to learn how to hone with it because you will never know if what you are doing is right or wrong (because the blade will not get to where it should be, nor will it feel like a quality razor). Sure, you will be able to practice the motions, but if that's all you are concerned about, there are plenty of alternatives you could use to practice rolling the blade in your fingers and moving your arm back and forth. Just my opinion, of course, but I really don't understand the logic behind rewarding mediocrity. My money goes towards craftsmen who make (or made) quality goods.

Its cheap, you don't get a razor from the classifieds for 6-16$ shipped to you. Its new, its big, the blade doesn't look too bad. If you ruin it, you won't be missing it, or you can buy a new one anytime. The steel is not bad, it can take a better edge than the beginner honer can put on a razor. By the time he can max out an edge on a GD, he won't be sharpening GDs. So I see a lot of ration in getting a GD for learning. Yes, it looks cheap, feels cheap, and the grind can be off, and can be warped, but if you get a good one, than you have a satisfactory shaver. I have sharpened 3 new Dovo razors lately, and the grind was worse on 2 of them then on the 208 GD I have. And the were 100$ razors, not 14$.

Like many others, I bought a GD out of curiosity. Surprisingly, it honed just fine and is a good shaver. I kind of get a kick out of using it remembering what little I paid for it. Perhaps more than any other issue on the forum this is a "YMMV" situation. Would I recommend one to a newby? No.

I picked up a gold dollar 6/8 just for something cheap to practice honing.

When the blade closes, a bit of the toe sticks out through the scale nearest the monkey tale.

I'm going to get a slice picking up the thing if I am not careful.

Might rescale it after I become competant in honing.

It looks like the Gold Dollars are pretty inconsistent in most respects, I bought a 6/8 207 for honing practice and I've managed to get a pretty good edge on it.
Sounds like you might get some rescaling practice from it too, good value if you look at it that way.

They're not the best made razors at the best of times, it must be said..!

They've got a very square heel which you need to grind off with a dremel. If you don't it'll stick out the scales like that and slice you.

The one I got was the same and I rounded the heel profile off to match a DOVO of mine. That made it easier to hone and stopped the heel poking out the scales.

Do you have any pics? Id just like to confirm the problem before recommending you take a dremel to the blade...!

I bought a 200 a while back and it delievered a great shave.

I believe all that has been said elsewhere on this forum about the Gold Dollar razors. Of course if they are inconsistent in metallurgy, inconsistent in grind, and inconsistent in what other things they are inconsistent in, it stands to reason the occasional one could be very good. I'm sure they are better than some of the other Third World products, as one of their US dealers says. But both are undoubtedly better than a sharpened mussel-shell.

I can think of legitimate arguments for their being a valuable acquisition. If, like me, you are basically monocular, one eye for long range and one for short, with binocular vision none of the time, you might want a low-investment way of finding out if nevigating a straight razor around your face is really feasible.

But that isn't why I bought one from China and one from the US. It was to establish that I could get an important straight razor through the Saudi customs, which I now know I can.

With the Gold Dollar you can't be sure what you will get, as what has been said above is correct ( I have a half dozen of these ). You should not consider that you are buying a razor, but rather a razor kit. The blade may need some finishing, and I always expect to rescale them. If you have some experience making scales and more importantly reshaping and honing blades you can get a good shaver. That being said I would not recommend them as a first razor that your learning to shave with, but as a project they can teach you a lot.

I've got one of these gold dollar razors, it is my first ever straight edge, and it's not as bad as everyone makes out. All the criticisms are correct, yet I have been shaving my own face with one of these for a month now and am able to achieve good results with the razor. The edge isn't straight, the handle (scales I believe they are called) are flimsy, the grinding work is terrible, yet I can get my face shaved quite well after sharpening the thing myself.

After a few years, and a few different razors I'll probably come to believe they are terrible to shave with. But right now, and as a beginners razor, they are great. Especially for the $3.90 total I paid on ebay. And that's shipped from Hong Kong to Australia.

Welcome to SRP ausbros !

Thanks Glenn24.

I have two Gold Dollar 66 razors, but I didn't really buy them to shave with. It was mostly to find out if straight razors would find their way through the Saudi Arabian customs (which they do) before buying any that mattered more. The US one, from starshavingsupplies on eBay, cost $8.58 plus shipping, and one direct from Hong Kong was $6.53 with free shipping.

I am well aware that they are of uneven quality. Mine had a well ground hollow and bevel, the latter being narrow and of even width. The edge didn't strike a scale, and the heel didn't protrude. I doubt if they are ever made of inferior metal, since a steel with 1% of carbon is about as cheap as anything except structural mild steel, and is perfectly good for the job. Heat treatment isn't exactly rocket science. The only fault I can really see is that the grinding of the shoulder is quite bad. You couldn't hone it with any of the tang extending over the hone. This is something you could fix with a dremel tool and stone if you really wanted to.

Clearly it's a gamble, but one hardly worth paying over $40 to get out of. A razor for beginners? Well up to a point. The saving is negated by the purchase of at least one stone, and the person who hones a razor needs to know what a good razor edge is like. There is a lot to be said for shopping around till you find a good old razor which may be better with as little work, or a shave-ready one from SRP Classifieds or eBay.

I really don't buy the "cheaper for beginners" argument.

So you spend $8 on the blade, then you have to have it ground, rescaled and honed which sets you back another $50. So now you have a $60 razor which still isn't as good as a DOVO BQ and cost you the same, because it won't hold it's edge as long (in my experience) and there's no zip or zing to the shave.

The last thing I used my GD for was trimming wallpaper when I redecorated my spare room, and it worked very well for that!

If you send it away to be sharpened by someone, then sure it's going to be costly, and no longer a cheap option. But learning to sharpen the thing is part of what I've found enjoyable about the whole straight shave idea. Of course, if I did send it to a pro, it'd come back a whole lot sharper than I can achieve, but where's the fun in that?

The quality is terrible - I could see that the second I pulled it out of the box - but this crap little razor that everyone hates, has after 15 years finally made me actually want to shave every day rather than every week like I always have. It's also made me want to upgrade to something better. Which is how I found this forum in the first place.