Thread: Modified Gold Dollar

Hi Mrmiguelruiz,

Welcome in from the dark, it's nice to meet you.

The link you gave is from a site called growleymonster, it belongs to a member here - CrescentCityRazors. He's our resident Gold Dollar guy so you might be in luck.

Welcome to the forum. My PC says the site linked to is not secure.

Bob

Originally Posted by Mrmiguelruiz

I would like to introduce myself since it is my first post, although i have been reading this forum for years and acquired a lot of knowledge from you all.

My name is Miguel, i am from Spain and i have been shaving with a straight razor for 8 years.

I have been thinking of thinning out the spine of al gold dollar, and i came across this site in wich a member of the forum gives a great and detailed explanation of his process.

I leave the link here not knowing if im breaking a rule, if so, forgive me for that.
The Basics of Gold Dollar Modification

In the process, he uses a 3d printed block to grind the hollow further up the spine.
I can't find the blueprints anywhere, so if any of you have them or anything similar as well as some advices i would be so greatful
Thank you in advance

That's a page from my site. I don't have files unless they are on my site, but just create your jigs from your own vision, and refine them by trial and error.

You can thin the spine easily enough without a jig. First set a preliminary bevel to establish that the edge is parallel to the spine. Easiest if you hone it straight, with no smile. Then protect the edge from further reduction by "taping" the edge with a thin piece of steel, like from the lid of a food can folded over and trimmed into a rectangle that of course leaves the spine exposed. You could use tape but you would have to change it a LOT. Anyway with the edge verified to be parallel to the spine, now you can hone the spine until it is at your target thickness. You will have a flat and very wide bevel face on either side of the spine and ideally you don't want that.

Generally when we speak of higher or lower on the blade, we mean with the razor horizontal, edge down, spine up, "show" side toward you. Scales or tang toward your right hand side, nose or toe of the razor to the left. The upper edge of your newly worn face on the spine needs to be preserved. It will be your spine, for honing purposes. The lower edge needs to be ground away, recreating a rounded spine and reducing the amount of steel in contact with the hone so that edge and spine both wear in normal proportion to each other in routine honing. You can rough that in with a dremel and sanding drums, or go straight to hand sanding. Fold a bit of sandpaper over the spine and pinch it between your fingers, with the spine always toward your hand, edge always away from it, if you don't want to end up going to the emergency room for stitches. Start coarse, gradually progress to finer grits, finish at 2000 grit and if you like, you can go for a mirror polish with a progression of diamond pastes from 3µ down to .1µ. The three finest grades are also useful in honing to an ultra sharp edge but that's another topic.

That is all really a lot of work for a $4 razor. If you are looking for something fun to do, go for it. If you just want to save a few dollars and end up with a better shaving razor, it's false economy because your several days of work are worth more than the razor you could buy, with better geometry.

I have several Gold Dollars in my rotation, and currently I don't think any have deliberately thinned spines. With my current honing and maintenance regimen, they shave wonderfully, pretty much as good as my several Bismarcks. Thinning the spine is more useful if you only use synthetic or natural stones instead of lapping film and most importantly the three stage balsa progression, but you can still get a great shave from an unthinned GD honed to 12k or on a Jnat. In other words, a thinner spine on that razor is nice to have but not really necessary for a shave.

What is necessary or at least desireable, on most GD razors and in fact on many, many razors, is reprofiling the heel. This has been discussed here and on other forums as well. There may be an article on that, on my website. "Fixing" the heel is simple and can be done without power tools in an hour, and makes the razor easier to hone properly. Your first modification to a GD should be to round the heel and maybe reduce the stabilizer so it does not intrude into the honing plane.

Do you have other razors besides your Gold Dollar? What model is it? Do you have more than one? Are you already shaving with it?

If you really want to thin your spine, go for it. Design your own jig or just do it by hand and eye. Hope you have a backup razor or two. Don't go below 16.0 degrees bevel angle. 16.5 to 17.0 works very good. Below 16.0 and as with many razors, the edge becomes noticeably more fragile and more difficult to hone properly. A Gold Dollar P-81 or a 208 have natural bevel angles of between 18.0 and 18.5 degrees. A GD66 usually about 18.5 degrees. Most "better" razors have bevel angles as received from the vendor of about 16 to 17 degrees, the usual "sweet spot".

Welcome Miguel. There is are some pretty good threads on restoration here, and scale making.

Thanks for your replies , i do have 2 gold dollars and a titan.
I have removed the stabilizer on all 3 and they shave ok
I hone them myself up to 8k and chromium oxide then bare leather.
I am saving money to buy a bismark but for the moment i have to stick to what i have.
Do those 2-3 degrees make a big difference?
Do you think the improvement is worth the work requiered? I think not?
Maybe getting a naniwa 12k would be a better choice.
Again thank you all.

With top brand vintage razors, the price on second hand is pretty reasonable for most. There are some that sell for big money, but the average razor is very affordable. It kind of depends on what you want. If you just want a really nice shaving razors at a decent price there are a lot to choose from out there. Watch the classifieds, nice stuff for very reasonable prices pretty regularly.

Yeees i also like filarmonicas, i am always looking at national sales but they seem to be overpriced and very bad shape under 150

Originally Posted by Mrmiguelruiz

Thanks for your replies , i do have 2 gold dollars and a titan.
I have removed the stabilizer on all 3 and they shave ok
I hone them myself up to 8k and chromium oxide then bare leather.
I am saving money to buy a bismark but for the moment i have to stick to what i have.
Do those 2-3 degrees make a big difference?
Do you think the improvement is worth the work requiered? I think not?
Maybe getting a naniwa 12k would be a better choice.
Again thank you all.

Given your honing equipment, yes 2 or 3 degrees is quite significant indeed. With synthetics or lapping film to the 12k or 1µ level followed by lapped and diamond pasted balsa progression in three parts: .5µ, .25µ, and .1µ, properly used, then the difference is much less.

What models of Gold Dollar razors do you have? If you have the very basic entry level #66, two of them, well, you may as well sacrifice one for the cause, but honestly I really feel like you should up your honing game first before trying to do a total modification including spine thinning. It is a much more advanced skill set than honing, so you really need to max out your honing first, if you expect to have seriously awesome results. Also, what model Titan do you have? The cheapest Titan is actually the best, and it is claimed to be RHC60 and has fairly thin and light wood scales and no bolsters or other extra and clumsy excess weight. The steel is if anything, better than a GD. The higher priced Titans have big heavy clumsy scales with huge flat spacers and bolsters like a pocketknife. The steel is harder but actually too hard and very chippy if you don't know what you are doing when honing it. I actually prefer the GD208 or the GD P-81, or maybe the GD800 over even the HRC60 Titan.

The Dovo Bismarck is one of my favorite current production razors and you will like it a lot. Everyone should have one of these very hand friendly razors. Several other European makers use the same design and probably the blanks are all forged in the same factory. If well honed, it is a joy to shave with. Use your current cheapies to develop your honing skills and when you get your Bismarck you will be set for life, with a quality razor and three very viable backups or rotation members. Another option not to be overlooked is an American vintage razor. These were mass produced in huge numbers and LOTS of them are still around, going for chimp change. Genco, Ontario, Little Valley, there are about 20 brands to watch for, and my favorite of them all is the Union Spike. IF YOU KNOW HOW TO PICK THEM, you can find them on fleabay for as little as $10 in need of honing, or about $40 shave ready. You might want to keep an eye out for a likely Genco or similar, for right now, and don't try to do any mods on it other than a heel fix if necessary.

My honing style is rather controversial but it has given absolute newbies the ability to put an incredibly sharp edge on a razor on their first or second attempt, with less than $100 worth of equipment. See my website. I have been meaning to post my Method here on the forum but have been sort of busy.

CrOx after an 8k stone used to be regarded as a good edge. Now, we can do a LOT better than that. I would never shave on a CrOx edge. It simply isn't sharp enough for my taste. A 12k edge isn't sharp enough for my taste. You can do much, much better, but obviously you CAN shave with it. If you are that strapped for cash, instead of a Naniwa 12k, consider 1µ lapping film and the pasted balsa progression exactly as directed on my site. Maybe stop with the film and become skilled with that before investing in the balsa setup. There are ways to eke out a superior edge on the film if you get the right stuff and use it the right way.

Be patient and take your time putting your kit together. If you are in a hurry you will get stuff that later you will find inferior and a waste of your money. Think twice, buy once. Getting gear that you will always be satisfied, whether it is expensive or not, is cheaper than buying this and that and this and that to accomplish the same task.

Thank you, a lot of information there from a wise man, i might try to find an american razor in good shape.
I am satisfied with my honing, i am not an expert on it, by any means, but i dont do it bad either, ill consider the film to see where i can get with it.
Best regards

I say pick up some American blades in the vintage era. Hone them up and you will be better off than any DG or Titan.
If you are wanting new I still recommend staying away from the Dovo's. The quality is just not what it used to be. Save a bunch of coins and opt for a nice custom blade in the 5 to 7 hundred dollar level. But that's if you really want something of top quality and looks and new. Finding those customs made by quality razor artisans don't happen much but you can find them once in a while.

So get rid of the china stuff. Buy real razors of vintage times and enjoy how it really works. IMO, A 12k is a great stone to have. All straight razor shavers should have one. they work great for touching up your razors when they need it. But if you're going to get into restoring razors, many razors, then buy a set of Shapton Glass stones and be done with it. And maybe a Gok 20k.

JMHO.