Originally Posted by
Steve56
There are several reasons to go the Gold Dollar route.
One is when you want or need multiple identical razors say for comparing finishers, tomo nagura, and so on without putting wear on a 7-day set or matched pair of more valuable razors. I’ve used multiple GDs to do these kinds of tests many times, but always confirm the results on a higher quality razor. But they can keep wear off better razors.
When you order, you always order several because of the failure rate and shipping is usually free or cheap so why order just 2-3? Then of course you need to at least begin to hone them to identify the duds.
Another reason is to test metal polishing techniques, materials, stones and so on. You normally wouldn’t mar the finish on a fine razor to see if the latest batch of uchigumori scratches steel, but with a Gold Dollar there’s no problem. Granted you could use a cheap knife or tool to test for scratching.
I use one if I travel by air with checked luggage - no need to worry about losing the W&B Ottoman Egyptian and Royal Windsor, and if you leave one in a hotel room there’s no need to go back for it.
If you’re meeting fellow SR people in your travels or non-SR wet shaving folks, a ‘fixed’ and properly honed Gold Dollar is usually a very welcome gift.
Remanufacturing new blades is not common among straight razor users, but if you go to the kitchen knife forums you’ll find that thinning, re-grinding, and polishing blades is an everyday kind of thing. If you have a foot in that world, you have the tools and techniques to make fixing up most Gold Dollars fairly easy though not always as quick as I’d like because a razor is more fragile than a knife because it’s thinner.
Lastly, this is a hobby, at least to the lengths we go to, and you do many things just because it’s kind of fun. I like to hone, and if you have a fistful of Dollars, you’ll get your fix.