Thread: About the Gold Dollar razors

Hi all,

lately there has been much ado about the Gold Dollar razors. We've had some lengthy discussions about these razors among site staff and decided to do the following:

1) merge all GD discussion threads into 1 master thread.
2) publicly state that we do not consider these razors good value for money.

Point number 1 is being handled by one of our senior mods and will be done over the next day(s) or so. Point number 2 is what this announcement is about, and I want to take the time here to explain why we are doing this.

SRP is a site dedicated to the art of straight razor shaving and getting the best shave possible. We are not about getting the cheapest shave that is still somewhat acceptable. For some people (for example those primarily into it for the economics / ecological angle), a straight razor is simply a means to an end. There is nothing wrong with that, and if that is your motivation you will get a lot of good info here. More power to you. However, this site is about 'the means' and not 'the end'. Or rather, our 'the end' is getting a great shave, and that is the goal that we work hard to promote. We are into it for the love of the shave and getting the smoothest shave possible.

We've debated long and hard about whether we should speak out on this or not. The biggest drawback is that we don't want to be seen as endorsing some products and bashing other products. It was felt that if we do that, we go down a slippery slope, considering the number of vendors here and the fact that some of our site staff are vendors themselves.

Otoh, we feel that people should be able to feel confident that if they find information here on SRP, they should be able to trust it and be confident that they're getting good information that was given with the ideal of the perfect shave in mind.

Just recently we've had 'arguments' with a vendor who called us elitists because we told him he was not allowed to start a vendor thread for his pakistani razors. He felt that not everyone was looking for the perfect shave, and that some people were happy enough to settle for less if it meant saving money. That member is gone now, along with his razors.

In case anyone thinks the same: this has nothing to do with elitism. For as low as 30$ you can find good razors in our classifieds. If you can hone and know what to look for, ebay can be a treasure trove. Even the low cost razors can be surprisingly good. Wapienicas are among the finest shavers around and I remember when I could buy them NOS at 9$ a piece.

We feel that Gold Dollar razors do not fall in that category, however. They are maybe not outright junk like zeepk razors (only an opinion), but neither are they quality razors made from high quality steel, and we feel that we need to mention that we don't consider them to be in the same league as the other razors that are discussed here. They are just cheap, and their one saving grace that keeps us from giving them the 'zeepk' treatment is that they apparently shave to some degree.

I don't think for a second that everyone will agree with our assessment, and no doubt there will be people who think it unfair that we speak out in public like this. That is too bad. The most important thing from our point of view is that anyone should feel confident that if he gets information on SRP, it was given with the idea of getting a fantastic shave as the primary objective, and not just with the idea of the cheapest acceptable approach to facial hair removal.

In all fairness, this site, like all fora, is about the community.

Without a community, there is no traffic for Vendors and Advertisers.

The Forum management needs to look out for the best interestes of the site. To maintain what they are about, and to uphold their good name.

Takes a long time to build a good reputation and very little to lose it.


Well done sir. Thank you for continuing to make this a top tier site! It is appreciated!

Can we also get an official declaration about how poorly Williams soap performs?

Now, Now, Williams does have "Tallow" I wonder how many guys know that..and it Uber's nicely, I know you know that Seraphim..I used it exclusively for years, until I found all the high dollar stuff....I agree about the Zeepk's. I once found a guy here locally selling Straight Razors and Coffins on Craigslist, Yes, my RAD know's no bounds.
When I met up with him, to my horror, they were all Zeepk, I said, Thanks, but no Thanks. I think you have to draw the line somewhere. I appreciate the fact that we have people willing to make a list of razors to avoid. If it wasn't for that, I may have bought them, and have been aggravated later. I don't have any Gold Dollar's, I was never interested, maybe good instincts., I do have a Wapi though....Good Shaver......

Thank you Bruno...

So, will people who actually do get good shaves and good results from Gold Dollar razors be allowed to post their results as well?

Originally Posted by Seraphim

So, will people who actually do get good shaves and good results from Gold Dollar razors be allowed to post their results as well?

Speaking as a somewhat embittered new member who recently had rev 1 & 2 of his "first shave" style thread pulled without explanation (until I specifically asked a mod) because I mentioned my brand of razor, and noted where I happened to have bought it, I'm assuming no.

Originally Posted by Vulcan500rider

Speaking as a somewhat embittered new member who recently had rev 1 & 2 of his "first shave" style thread pulled without explanation (until I specifically asked a mod) because I mentioned my brand of razor, and noted where I happened to have bought it, I'm assuming no.

Time and place... this isn't it

PM a mod with issues and concerns like yours

EDIT: When I say 'we' I am speaking in name of SRP site staff.

@Seraphim: A simple question with a not so simple answer. Let's see if I can put words to it.

It is a good thing to speak of your experiences and to discuss them. However, without a frame of reference, it is fairly easy to fall into the trap of labeling something 'good' when in fact it is 'mediocre'. When I first learned to hone, I thought that at one point I was experiencing 'good' shaves while in fact they were just ok. I just didn't know any better. I didn't get a truly shaveready reference razor until I had been honing for a while (due to paypal hassles).

Several of our team have given these razors a try, honed them and shaved with them, and found them to be lacking. The consensus seems to be that they'll shave, but won't get an outstanding edge. Hence this thread.

What prompted this announcement were the recent threads by new people who promote their GD under the assumption that they represent what a good edge should shave like, and to show appreciation for the one who sold it. The deleted post mentioned by one of the poster above mentions that the razor was shipped 'shaveready but not stropped'. Without wanting to offend anyone, this statement alone makes it perfectly clear that this was not an informed opinion in a good reference frame.

We don't censor GD discussion. If we did, we'd just relegate them to the 'bad' list along with zeepk and the other junk. What we will do however, is to merge all the GD dicussion until now into 1 thread. And if people want to discuss it beyond that, that is fine too. What will not be fine is if people promote them as if they were high quality razors, because they aren't.

This is not to spite people. This is to insure that if something is discussed on SRP as being quality items, it should be true if we want to maintain the image of valuing quality shaving experiences. Most of our site team and many of the senior members try out the new things that find their way to the shaving world. We've tried the new eschers and cheap thuringer stones, the wapis, the double arrows, soaps and strops, etc. And I might as well mention we do this out of our own packet and not because we get free stuff.

Usually we find that some people like it, some people don't, and nothing is really below par. The GDs however were a disappointment.

I would also like to point out that this is not the first time such a thing has happened. A couple of years ago we had the same with the 'kamisori' brand iirc, which was not worth its price. Only it didn't cause a fuss then because there were not many members here, and those who were around there were mostly seniors who had a solid frame of reference. And the other thing is that there were no sellers backing it, or at least none for whom SRP played a role of any significant importance that impacted their sales.

Bruno,

I very much take your meaning, and understand where you're coming from. I am also not offended at how you place my comments--though in retrospect, perhaps what I intended to say was "honed, but not stropped"; I was awfully excited just to be trying a straight.

You may very well be right about newbs not knowing when they've had a good shave vs a mediocre; my frame of reference is a DE, and I know that the shave I'm getting is better than my DE with a decent blade. More importantly, though, this is why my opinion was in the Beginners forum; I know that I still have a LOT to learn about straights, and will probably experience much better shaves, but if moderating at this site is going to consist of mods exercising their power to "park" threads regardless of whether or not the thread actually violates forum rules, and without any form of explanation, that's completely unreasonable, and you should be prepared to lose members over it. Sure, you may lose mainly new people--but if I'm not mistaken, we all start as new people.

Just my .02

Thanks for the explanation Bruno.


Razors are at once both subjective (how does this razor feel, look, whatever to ME), and objective (is it well made, can it take a fine edge, etc.)

I find this article an interesting view on what I think often goes on in regards to Gold Dollar razors.

In the article, a world class violinist plays in a subway, and nobody bothers to even stop and listen. "Just some guy looking to make a few bucks playing in the subway...."

The same guy plays in Boston symphony hall, and people pay $100 a seat.


I think perhaps many times someone may approach a Gold Dollar with the expectation that it is cheapo junk. They may not spend the time to hone it up to the level they would have if it were a different brand of razor. Another brand of razor gets honed, and it isn't performing quite well enough, it usually goes back to the hones until it performs up to snuff. If a Gold Dollar fails the shave attempt I think it often gets simply dismissed as the fault of the cheap razor.


The Gold Dollar out of the box is an ugly beast.

A violin right off the rack most likely is not in tune either, but with a little effort, some beautiful music can indeed be made.