No... I meant you'll be able to improve on the coti edge that you put on it. They will get very keen, but you have to learn your stone and work with it
No... I meant you'll be able to improve on the coti edge that you put on it. They will get very keen, but you have to learn your stone and work with it
No... I meant you'll be able to improve on the coti edge that you put on it. They will get very keen, but you have to learn your stone and work with it
Oh right, yeah i was starting to get a feel for the stone and felt how to work the razor into it to get the best but i still felt one side needed a bit more work, i tried but i couldn't get it quite the same as the other, it's hasn't really affected the outcome but it did bug me that i wasn't able to hit that sweet spot like i did the other side, you know when you really feel that edge being sharpened up but like you say with time i'll figure it out.
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- #64
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bluefoxicy
I would totally buy one of these for a 13 year old. This seems silly. I had a pocket knife when I was 13 and I can stab someone in the face with that; a round-point isn't going to work too well for stabbing people in the face.
Good score though. I'm definitely going to grab one later to toy with, see how I can hone it up.
What's with the other issues? Just a tap with a hammer to straighten the tang? Burr on the heel or something?
If you have not done it lately, Seraphim, maybe you ought to re-post your notes and diagrams on lining up the tang. I suppose on tidying up/thinning down the heel for easier honing, too.
I do not think that either is particularly necessary. Certainly there is nothing about the former that interfers with honing or shaving. We are talking about the tang bending off of the blade, as I understand it, not the blade itself being bent, much less warped, in anyway. I think some folks have managed to break their DA/GDs in two trying to straighten them in a vise. I think razors are tempered to be rather stiff and brittle. The fact that one might break in beading I do not think is any kind of a flaw, per se. But GDs seem inexpensive enough to me to take a chance on losing one every once and a while if a misalignment is bothersome.
Someone with more experience would know much better than I would, though.
It is arguably "better" to pare down the thickness in the heel so that the spine can be an effficient guide/helper in honing, but I think with the right touch and technique the as manufactured heel is not a big impediment to an excellent honing. (Hope I am using the word "heel" correctly.) I do not know, for instance, whether Ken Rup generally bothers to adjust that part of a GD blade from the stock ones he receives or not. He may now. I do not know that he always did, and in my experience Ken can really hone a razor and I cannot imagine that anyone has more experience with DA/GDs thane LKen does, even Seraphim!
I've had a look at Mr. Parko's Gold Dollars...is there a huge, noticable difference in the quality between the different numbers? Or is it just the aesthetics that vary?
I'm thinking of getting one, to practice honing and stropping, before I get the Offenbach from stripec30
A 100. 200, or 208 will all be about the same. The 74/84 is a bit more troublesome usually. Same great edge can be had with all though!
I have a 108, 208 and Gold Monkey.
The 108 is the smallest. It is shorter, narrower and lighter. The blade appears less machined and finished. It is the only GD I have, though, that has an actual spacer. The others have the "spacer" molded as part of the scales.
The 208 appears as the most finished and polished of the three.
The Gold Monkey is the "big boy" of the trio. Less finished, and sporting a misaligned tang, it is a large and heavy shaver.
Seraphim
Is the 200 much different than the 208 beyond heavier scales and etched logo? Does the blade seem to justify the higher cost?
The 108 is the smallest. It is shorter, narrower and lighter. The blade appears less machined and finished. It is the only GD I have, though, that has an actual spacer. The others have the "spacer" molded as part of the scales.
The 208 appears as the most finished and polished of the three.
The Gold Monkey is the "big boy" of the trio. Less finished, and sporting a misaligned tang, it is a large and heavy shaver.
Seraphim
Is the 200 much different than the 208 beyond heavier scales and etched logo? Does the blade seem to justify the higher cost?
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bluefoxicy
What about the 300 with the pretty purple looking scales?
The Mysteryrazor 200s have no blade etch.
The two 200s I got direct from the factory did have the blade etch.
The two 200s I got direct from the factory did have the blade etch.
They are all the same.
The scales are all cheap, light and flimsy, they simply come in different colored plastic.
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bluefoxicy
Interesting. The 300s are like $29 from Parko. :|
I think the 200's and 300's have a slightly higher QC bar than others. In my experience, the 208's are good, but the 66's and 77's are not suggested.
Story: I placed and order with Mr. Parko for a 66 through ebay. After waiting a very long time (these take a sloow boat from China, and spend a long time getting through customs...) the blade arrived. On arrival, I inspected, and found it ground off-center. Almost like a Japanese blade - only both sides hollow. The grind was such that if you lay the blade and tang down, on one side the edge almost touched the surface, while on the other it was the tang thickness away from the surface. Totally off-center ground.
I contacted Mr. Parko (he has an exchange policy...) and he agreed to replace it. After a couple back and forth emails, he stated that the 66's and 77's both tended to have this problem, and would send me a 208. I shipped the 66 back, and a couple months later the 208 arrived. It's now one of my top 3 edges.
I like the smile. I have a W&B 3/4 ground 5/8 with a similar smile, and now have a W&B full hollow 6/8 with a smile as well. Of all my (8 or 9) shave ready blades, these three are my favorites.
Story: I placed and order with Mr. Parko for a 66 through ebay. After waiting a very long time (these take a sloow boat from China, and spend a long time getting through customs...) the blade arrived. On arrival, I inspected, and found it ground off-center. Almost like a Japanese blade - only both sides hollow. The grind was such that if you lay the blade and tang down, on one side the edge almost touched the surface, while on the other it was the tang thickness away from the surface. Totally off-center ground.
I contacted Mr. Parko (he has an exchange policy...) and he agreed to replace it. After a couple back and forth emails, he stated that the 66's and 77's both tended to have this problem, and would send me a 208. I shipped the 66 back, and a couple months later the 208 arrived. It's now one of my top 3 edges.
I like the smile. I have a W&B 3/4 ground 5/8 with a similar smile, and now have a W&B full hollow 6/8 with a smile as well. Of all my (8 or 9) shave ready blades, these three are my favorites.
That is not a grind problem, it is the bent tang issue that has been often mentioned.
I recently got a 200, and the tang on that was nice and true.
I've always been a fan of the edges these can take. Thanks for sharing your experience as well.
I recently got a 200, and the tang on that was nice and true.
I've always been a fan of the edges these can take. Thanks for sharing your experience as well.
I recently got a stainless gold dollar from mysteryrazor, in curly maple. (link)
Only used it once; but the first impression of the edge was very good. Anything that cuts a month worth of stubble, effortlessly - is good enough for me.
The very first first-impression of the straight wasn't perfect tho; it smelled funky, might be the wood finishing, or the blade oil. The wood was perfectly good, but the woodcraft wasn't; one side of the scale was almost too thin, the other a bit on the thick side. A couple of spots where the coating was applied too thick & ended up uneven. A couple of stains on the blade, from the surface coating I think.
But overall I'm happy with it; it's not perfect but it still has charm. I like curly maple. I like the very nice 40$ pricetag
Only used it once; but the first impression of the edge was very good. Anything that cuts a month worth of stubble, effortlessly - is good enough for me.
The very first first-impression of the straight wasn't perfect tho; it smelled funky, might be the wood finishing, or the blade oil. The wood was perfectly good, but the woodcraft wasn't; one side of the scale was almost too thin, the other a bit on the thick side. A couple of spots where the coating was applied too thick & ended up uneven. A couple of stains on the blade, from the surface coating I think.
But overall I'm happy with it; it's not perfect but it still has charm. I like curly maple. I like the very nice 40$ pricetag
I recently got a stainless gold dollar from mysteryrazor, in curly maple. (link)
Only used it once; but the first impression of the edge was very good. Anything that cuts a month worth of stubble, effortlessly - is good enough for me.
The very first first-impression of the straight wasn't perfect tho; it smelled funky, might be the wood finishing, or the blade oil. The wood was perfectly good, but the woodcraft wasn't; one side of the scale was almost too thin, the other a bit on the thick side. A couple of spots where the coating was applied too thick & ended up uneven. A couple of stains on the blade, from the surface coating I think.
But overall I'm happy with it; it's not perfect but it still has charm. I like curly maple. I like the very nice 40$ pricetag
Nice razor. I like the maple scales. They have a very clean look.
I recently got a stainless gold dollar from mysteryrazor, in curly maple. (link)
Only used it once; but the first impression of the edge was very good. Anything that cuts a month worth of stubble, effortlessly - is good enough for me.
The very first first-impression of the straight wasn't perfect tho; it smelled funky, might be the wood finishing, or the blade oil. The wood was perfectly good, but the woodcraft wasn't; one side of the scale was almost too thin, the other a bit on the thick side. A couple of spots where the coating was applied too thick & ended up uneven. A couple of stains on the blade, from the surface coating I think.
But overall I'm happy with it; it's not perfect but it still has charm. I like curly maple. I like the very nice 40$ pricetag
Sounds like we are finally getting there on new, affordable, decently lookiing straight that folks can be confident in buying. Not that long ago there were tons of Wapi I's around that could be had good prices, and I suppose the steel scales were okay even if a little heavy.
I had great luck with the DAs and the very short-lived Wapi IIs, but they really needed re-scaling to be something one felt proud to own, and the Wapis and DAs really needed to be honed by someone before they were usable.
Even if the scales a bit crude, birds eye scales on a well-honed razor for $40 sounds like a straight razor for "everyman," for those that are not comfortable buying vintage, which I most certainly am at this point! A reliable, attractive, new $40 razor is the type of thing that will bring in new straight users for sure.
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