Thread: How many shaves on a straight razor before the edge needs a refresh?

Oops. Sorry for stepping in it.

Gold Dollars are a little more sensitive to the finishing hone IMO, but with a good edge they should shave very well. How long is a question that I’d like to answer, but that would require shaving with a GD more than I’d like. Maybe some day. QC is their biggest problem these days but the 66s and 666 Gold Monkeys have been quite good. They still all seem to have that thickening of the edge at the heel which is a PITA, but otherwise they’ve been quite decent. How good they are made seems to be more of an individual razor from a particular batch kind of thing. If you get good ones, order some more quickly from the same vendor, lol.

That said, they’re really not that much fun to shave with, but most of that is the scales. If you have some decent donor scales that fit laying around or can make your own, you’ll be surprised what a difference that makes. In the end, they’re just a 13/16 half hollow about like any other,

Originally Posted by slim6596

Oops. Sorry for stepping in it.

Naw, you did not step in it. Subject has been done to death in the past with the majority coming down on the thumb down side of things. Then again Yugos get very little love too.

Bob

Well, my list is this, then:

Second quality vintage razor
Good strop (Tony Miller, maybe)
Either quality lapping film, pasted balsa strips, or beginners set of hones

Originally Posted by slim6596

Well, my list is this, then:

Second quality vintage razor
Good strop (Tony Miller, maybe)
Either quality lapping film, pasted balsa strips, or beginners set of hones

Check out the BST here for razors, nice ones come up often at good prices, and the people selling them are good folks and knowledgeable.

Originally Posted by slim6596

Will a quality vintage razor shave noticeably better shave than this Gold Dollar 1996?

I'll bite. The question is very subjective and depends on your preferences and exactly what you mean by "better" shave. It's like questioning whether a quality vintage razor will shave noticeably better than a Dovo Special. Or a Boker King Cutter. In general, some will, some won't. The edges of my own Gold Dollars shave my face as good as most quality vintage razors of the same general style, yeah. This is my observation, and not necessarily relevant to you or what you could expect.

Most of the Gold Dollar razors have a rather thick spine, and so a more obtuse bevel angle than the average razor. This may actually be to your liking, or it might not. The shave is to me just a bit different. A finer bevel angle as a general rule will cut more effortlessly but of course that means also that it will be more eager to cut skin if you are careless. The difference might be a good thing for you, might be a bad thing, might be a who cares thing, or might go pretty much unnoticed. It's all on you, the shaver and the judge of your shave. I don't feel deprived, shaving with a 1996, though I admit my favorite razors, apart from my own regrinds of GD66 that I used to do, are #2 Bismarck style razors, both new and vintage. But I don't notice an appreciable difference in shave comfort and closeness. But that's me. I also have a weakness for many American vintages particularly the Union Spike. Again, the final result is more or less the same.

Another reason that YMMV is that whoever hones your razors might be more skilled in one than the other, or looking for a different sort of edge. A poorly honed Gold Dollar is a pretty poor shaver. A poorly honed Genco is, too, but maybe not QUITE as bad due to the better geometry. Variable, subjective, and YMMV.

It has been suggested, usually without empirical testing, that a Gold Dollar will not keep it's edge like the typical $150 razor or an equivalent vintage. On this I am not qualified to say for certain because my razors do not get dull, due to my post shave maintenance with .1u diamond on lapped balsa. I can only guess that some vintage razors would, some wouldn't, keep an edge longer, and that the GD would be about average. Well, an $8 razor OBVIOUSLY is made from inferior steel, right? It makes sense but is not necessarily true. The steel itself is only a small part of the cost of a razor. GD steel is not Best Swedish, but actually isn't that bad. Objective testing should be done before declaring that it is inferior and to what degree, and how edge longevity is affected.

For practice and experimenting with things other than shaving, a low cost, expendable razor is a good thing. But since it is probably the exact same steel, maybe go with a 66 instead of a 1996. The grind quality has improved a bit lately and they make very effective fodder for just trying "stuff".

Don't listen to the fans or the haters. Listen to yourself. I say if you are curious about the GD 1996, get one. It is cheaper to try one than to try a new high end soap. Way cheaper than to try a new silvertip brush. If you are not so curious then don't. You won't be depriving yourself. Lots of good vintage razors out there looking for a home. And there is a certain security in following the road more traveled.

Shave #80 and still going. Not fresh and delivering ‘baby dolphin butt smooth’ shaves, but still kicking out DFS every time. It isn’t tugging (yet), and the edge shows some wear toward the toe, but the middle of the edge is straight and clean. I’ve been trying for 10 shaves/month, or 30% duty cycle to keep the test going, and the razor was honed on May 24th 2019, so it isn’t too far from 1 year at 30%. Not too shabby. This is a really nice user grade razor that I got from Stefan (mainaman) to be a user, and boy it’s sure done that. I’ll post in 10 more shaves if it’s still going, and I believe that it will be.

Here are some stats: 200 passes across my face (2 passes plus a half pass cleanup), 8000+ passes across suede and leather, and 120 passes across canvas or linen.

Your Filly is definitely at the high end of the "user grade" category. I wouldn't mind having a set of them!

Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors

Your Filly is definitely at the high end of the "user grade" category. I wouldn't mind having a set of them!

I’m working on it!

Originally Posted by BobH

... Then again Yugos get very little love too.

Bob

Did you hear about the gang members with a Yugo????


They were involved in a push by shooting.