2018 Gold Dollar Mod Competition

[David]

It is with great excitement, that we present the 2018 B&B Gold Dollar Mod Competition!

The objective of this competition:

Contestants have until July 1, 2018 to procure a brand new, carbon steel Gold Dollar straight razor(or several), and transform it from a dysfunctional, mass produced pile of steel into a sharp, gleaming work of barber art! (ZY's or the new gold dollars are also acceptable as long as they have a round point and no thumb notch from the factory).

There will be two classes this year, Unlimited and Novice. The Novice class is OPEN ONLY TO FIRST TIME MODDERS. If you have previously done any type of alterations to these razors please enter in the Unlimited Class.

Both classes are encouraged to post pictures and discuss your progress in this thread. At the end of the competition, there will be an official entry thread for each class where the membership will vote to pick the winners!

The winner of the Unlimited Class will receive this beautiful Tony Miller Heirloom Old No. 2 strop with handles and genuine linen!

The winner of the Novice Class will receive this 160 piece dremel accessory kit!
View attachment 880240


To enter this competition, contestants must meet the B&B 45/50 rule by the last day of the competition, and as always, please abide by the TOU.



Mod responsibly- always wear the proper protective gear when using power tools.

Gentleman, start your grinders, and...

 

[Polarbeard]

I wish everyone the best of luck and I'm looking forward to seeing all the fantastic razors.

 

[Ice-Man]

Count me in, and good luck to all......

 

[sfeile]

Can't wait to see what everybody comes up with this year. Good luck to all!

 

[Ice-Man]

Can't wait to see what everybody comes up with this year. Good luck to all!

Are you not joining in

 

[sfeile]

Are you not joining in

Not this time around. Too much other stuff going on.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I'm not in. I'm on a ship for at least the next three months but I can't wait to see the entries in both classes. Nice prizes this year! But remember, everybody wins, and you will be making your own trophy.

 

[Billski]

I'm not in, but I'll be watching this thread.

 

[ZigZiglar]

Forgive me if I sound rude or my tone is off (genuinely no intention of either one) but there is almost no information in this thread whatsoever. What are you all talking about? It sounds interesting but I have no idea what is expected here. Can someone elaborate? Thanks in advance!

 

[Hoka Hey]

Forgive me if I sound rude or my tone is off (genuinely no intention of either one) but there is almost no information in this thread whatsoever. What are you all talking about? It sounds interesting but I have no idea what is expected here. Can someone elaborate? Thanks in advance!

https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/search/20317996/?q=Gold+dollar+mod&o=relevance&c%5Btitle_only%5D=1&c%5Bnode%5D=95

Basically an annual competition to see what can be done with a Chinese straight razor known for good steel, and variable quality control that costs around 6-8.00.

 

[David]

Forgive me if I sound rude or my tone is off (genuinely no intention of either one) but there is almost no information in this thread whatsoever. What are you all talking about? It sounds interesting but I have no idea what is expected here. Can someone elaborate? Thanks in advance!

It's a competition we have every year where cheap ~5 dollar razors are modified into beautiful shavers. Check out this thread for past competitions.

 

[DeathKnell]

I'm in!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Claudel Xerxes]

Awesome! One of my favorite B&B events!

 

[ZigZiglar]

Ahhh... thanks for the links, fellas. Looks exciting.

 

[Slash McCoy]

O

Ahhh... thanks for the links, fellas. Looks exciting.

Oh yeah its great fun! These razors kinda suck in stock condition but there is nothing wrong with the steel. With a bit of work you can make them hone nice, shave nice, and look nice too. Honestly while my favorite new production razor is the Dovo Bismarck, I would put one of my modded GD razors up against a Bismarck, even a vintage one, any day. You can do a lot with these clunky chunky Chinese razors to improve them. I think the biggest mistake most new modders make is starting with only one or two razors. I recommend getting st least ten of them and doing them together in a batch. Then you won't be afraid of messing up your only GD and you will still have plenty if you do trash a couple or threeple.

If you read the threads from previous competitions you will get some idea of the potential in these crude hunks of steel.

 

[Seraphim]

One entry per contestant, or can we enter multiple razors?

Asking for a friend....

 

[David]

One entry per contestant, or can we enter multiple razors?

Asking for a friend....

Your friend may enter as many razors as he likes.

 

[GearNoir]

Anxiously awaiting to see what y’all come up with!

 

[6Cuda6]

Not in (so guys the hotels nor TSA would be to happy with me) but subscribed!! Cant wait to see all your handy work!

 

[mr_houston]

I’ll play — Novice Class.

I got a chance to grab 5 GDs from @forefather a couple of months ago at cost, and was impressed that these things could actually be honed up.

My goal is to make one into a fairly classic style razor. I’ve got a dremel, a belt sander, a coping saw, hones, and the misc. small tools.

Here is the result of my first grinding. I did the thumb notch / bevel removal first to see if I could even do it. Then squared off the end a bit. I took a bit off the top of the spine, esp at the toe end - I want it the look like a straight blade instead of a smiler.

I spent a long time grinding the sides of the spine. Seems like I took off a ton of steel. First round was to just thin the over-wide spine on the belt sander. The second round was to flatten the sides of the spine for the sake of an even bevel. This was done on a DMT-like plate and a 1k hone. Round 2 took a couple of hours — grind, test, grind, test etc. I never got it perfect, but good enough.