Another newby looking to join the Straight Razor Society

[imatabor]

With the kind of shop you apparently have, and after a bit of time here, you may want to re-think your stance on razors from China. Many here have learned that a Gold Dollar razor from China can be turned into shaving art with the right tools and a bit of elbow grease. Sounds like you have both!

Think of the Gold dollar as a blade blank. Take a look at these threads:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/330994-Gold-Dollar-Competition-2013
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/382385-Gold-Dollar-2014-Competition
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/454290-2015-B-amp-B-Gold-Dollar-Mod-Competition

There is some amazing craftsmanship on display in these threads.

 

[fuzzymuzzle]

It is certainly a tempting notion, to procure cheap "blanks", then let your imagination go where it may.

Having been exposed to tooling from China, e.g., precision grinding vises, machinist's squares, parallels and 1-2-3 blocks used in milling setups. I've seen both good and poor craftsmanship. But, I have not seen alloyed steel come out of China that could hold a candle to that of German, Japanese or American steel.

Do the Gold Dollar razors take and hold an edge well?
I know that if I gift a straight razor to a friend or relative, I'm also going to be the one who will be honing it.

Most of my kitchen knives are Shun, my knives for hunting and processing meat are '40s era Randall or '60s era Case or L.L. Bean. Dad taught me to be picky about my edged tools.

 

[WildWest74]

Do the Gold Dollar razors take and hold an edge well?

From what I have heard and experienced, yes. I see it posted often that the GD66 is probably the best blank canvas, and I am using one to create my Road Agent's Razor.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Do the Gold Dollar razors take and hold an edge well?

From what I have heard and experienced, yes. I see it posted often that the GD66 is probably the best blank canvas, and I am using one to create my Road Agent's Razor.

I've never heard any complaints of being difficult to hone, or not holding an edge very well from the gents on here that hone for fun, nor from the ones that get a few bucks for honing. I've not manged to dull the edge on the couple of GD's I have so far. The biggest complaint I've seen is that they take some time to get the initial bevel set, but after that they are not really any different to hone than other straights.

 

[fuzzymuzzle]

The biggest complaint I've seen is that they take some time to get the initial bevel set, but after that they are not really any different to hone than other straights.

One of the reasons I chose a 800 grit Chosera. Prefer to tape the spine, make fast work setting the bevel, then pull the tape and go to the 3,000 - 8,000 - 12,000, etc. I do have a lot of patience when it comes to fine tuning and polishing the edge.

I'm also fortunate enough to have a wife who lets me keep all my stones, towels, loops and what-have-you by the kitchen sink. Could it be because her kitchen knives are always clean and sharp?