Has anyone ever bought a Gold Dollar razor from this seller? I had originally planned to buy from zysysy2012, but it he/she doesn't have any listed. 
Are there any other $5.00 per razor sources out there?
-Kevin
-Kevin
Gold Dollar Sources
- Thread starter McShaverson
- Start date
I've just ordered some today from this seller. Feedback seems reasonable, and price is right..
- Thread starter
- #3
I may just order 1 or 2 and hope they come in ok. They are only 10 dollars, but I'd rather not waste money if I don't have to. Hearing horror stories from ebay makes me extremely cautious when purchasing anything from that site.
That seller is fine. No more $5 sources that I'm aware of. not unless you buy 200 at a time. if you know what you doing with grinding shoulders and correcting issues Gold Dollars can make sweet shavers. Probably will take a bit of file/ dremel work. It's not a hone and go.
- Thread starter
- #5
Awesome! That's the answer I was looking for.
I know they're not a hone and go razor. I want to turn one of them into a western style kamasori, just for fun.
I know they're not a hone and go razor. I want to turn one of them into a western style kamasori, just for fun.
Are gold dollars hard to hone/mod? Might try it for a restoration type project
- Thread starter
- #7
To my understanding, sometimes you can end up with a dud. However, a lot of problems I have seen can be fixed with a bit of patience and some elbow grease/power tools (dremel). They seem to the epitome of razors if you're looking for something cheap to practice modifications on. Many people say that you can get a better than decent shave out of them at the end of the day to boot! 
- Thread starter
- #8
Well, I ordered a few razors. I'll let you guys know what their shape is when they come in if anyone's interested.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
urthe1st is my new source. I just ordered 10 for $4.06 each, free shipping from HK. I am eagerly waiting for the first sub-$4 GD66 to appear on the bay! When they break $4 shipped, I will probaby spring for 100 of them.
These razors are capable of incredible shaves once you got them tuned up. First of all, the #66 usually has a bevel angle approaching 19 degrees. The optimum for most razors and most shavers is about 16.5 degrees. So, obviously the spine must be thinned down a bit, This, of course, done after straightening the edge. And that operation must be done after removing the shoulder and fairing the spine into the shank. Often the blade is ground with a twist in it, and this must be corrected, at least partially. The coarse grind scratches are not removed at the factory... just polished over a bit. For a better appearance, I hand sand the blade with a progression beginning with 120 grit and finishing with 1000 grit, then I polish with a progression of diamond pastes on a felt wheel chucked in a dremel. This done, of course, before honing. The stamping on the tang is done very haphazardly and it bends the shank a bit. Simply sanding or grinding the stamp out is not going to fix the bend. Drilling the holes in the new scales must bring the blade into center. This sounds like a lot of work, and indeed not all GD66s need all these things seen to. A rare few will hone up right out of the box, and the heavy bevel will still shave, and in fact will do so giving fewer cuts to the newbie than most blades. But many more need major surgery to fix multiple flaws. The steel is good, though, and so is the heat treating and tempering. The price is right, and spending 3 or 4 hours to make a $4 razor shave like a $200 razor is maybe not such a bad deal. Spending a couple of weeks to do everything by hand is maybe compensated by the joy of testing one's craftsmanship against an ideal standard. At any rate, a properly modded GD is a joy to shave with. Most GD66 razors right out of the box will only cause honer or shaver to laugh and mock derisively the unlettered underpaid and untrained workers who churn them out, and regret paying even the small price for one. Consider a brand new GD as clay for the artist, not a completed work.
These razors are capable of incredible shaves once you got them tuned up. First of all, the #66 usually has a bevel angle approaching 19 degrees. The optimum for most razors and most shavers is about 16.5 degrees. So, obviously the spine must be thinned down a bit, This, of course, done after straightening the edge. And that operation must be done after removing the shoulder and fairing the spine into the shank. Often the blade is ground with a twist in it, and this must be corrected, at least partially. The coarse grind scratches are not removed at the factory... just polished over a bit. For a better appearance, I hand sand the blade with a progression beginning with 120 grit and finishing with 1000 grit, then I polish with a progression of diamond pastes on a felt wheel chucked in a dremel. This done, of course, before honing. The stamping on the tang is done very haphazardly and it bends the shank a bit. Simply sanding or grinding the stamp out is not going to fix the bend. Drilling the holes in the new scales must bring the blade into center. This sounds like a lot of work, and indeed not all GD66s need all these things seen to. A rare few will hone up right out of the box, and the heavy bevel will still shave, and in fact will do so giving fewer cuts to the newbie than most blades. But many more need major surgery to fix multiple flaws. The steel is good, though, and so is the heat treating and tempering. The price is right, and spending 3 or 4 hours to make a $4 razor shave like a $200 razor is maybe not such a bad deal. Spending a couple of weeks to do everything by hand is maybe compensated by the joy of testing one's craftsmanship against an ideal standard. At any rate, a properly modded GD is a joy to shave with. Most GD66 razors right out of the box will only cause honer or shaver to laugh and mock derisively the unlettered underpaid and untrained workers who churn them out, and regret paying even the small price for one. Consider a brand new GD as clay for the artist, not a completed work.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
WooHOOOOOOO! $3.98 each, shipped free! Seller is hittime_hk and I just pulled the trigger on 10 more!
Here's my trick... on the bay, search for "straight razor" in all categories. Select the "Buy it now" tab and that gets the auctions out of the way. Now in the "Sort By" box, select, "Price + shipping: lowest first". Scroll down past all the $.99 shavette blades and eyebrow shavers and hair shapers to the first razors you see. ta-dah! Lowest BIN now price currently on ebay at the time of your search, including shipping. Remember, it doesn't do you much good to find them for $2 each and pay $12 each for shipping.
Oh, but make sure that if it is GDs you are after, the item is a GD. And be aware that the razors will be shipped from China, and will take a while to get to you. I have generally got mine within two weeks but you never know. If you want just one or two of them NOW, not later, try www.starshaving.com and get a more expensive one shipped from within the U.S. for a still pretty reasonable price.
I will be celebrating today... my first sub-$4 GD66s!
Here's my trick... on the bay, search for "straight razor" in all categories. Select the "Buy it now" tab and that gets the auctions out of the way. Now in the "Sort By" box, select, "Price + shipping: lowest first". Scroll down past all the $.99 shavette blades and eyebrow shavers and hair shapers to the first razors you see. ta-dah! Lowest BIN now price currently on ebay at the time of your search, including shipping. Remember, it doesn't do you much good to find them for $2 each and pay $12 each for shipping.
Oh, but make sure that if it is GDs you are after, the item is a GD. And be aware that the razors will be shipped from China, and will take a while to get to you. I have generally got mine within two weeks but you never know. If you want just one or two of them NOW, not later, try www.starshaving.com and get a more expensive one shipped from within the U.S. for a still pretty reasonable price.
I will be celebrating today... my first sub-$4 GD66s!
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Thank you Mr Arithmetic.
Thank you Mr Arithmetic.
No, thank you, I ordered 5!
i have yet to get a dud.....
just sayin...
just sayin...
That is who I've been buying from, ordered another 10 from him 2 weeks ago so I'm hoping they get here soon. So far the razors have been 50/50.
GD's are the shiznit! Now, if they would only start doing Kamisori grinds.
Ditto.
I've gone through about 15 so far. I started with simple cleanup and minimal polishing and scales with maybe a stabilizer trim on some that interfered with the bevel set. I then started cutting on them seriously. They really are a blank slate - a lot of fun and a great way to get experience.
I rarely have much to tweak on the ones I've had - but I've tweaked most of the later ones just because I could.
For modifications, a glass of water and a Dremel with some sanding drums and polishing wheels are all you need. Several have said that you can use files but I wince a bit - the metal is not soft and file work would take a long time.
I've shortened the time for tang work by using a bench grinder on the tang (grind, quench, grind, quench, grind, wench...) but it can still be done with the Dremel.
Of course, if you just want to do the minimum and get a good shaver, then you could probably get one ready in an hour or less... including honing if you've honed a little in the past.
(the following is how I do it - it certainly isn't the only way but I've found it best for me)
I hone them by setting the bevel with a 325 DMT and tape on the spine. Watch when doing this to be sure the spine and bevel are aligned and the bevel is even - adjust as necessary. I like to set the stage with this part - it is the easiest time to make coarse adjustments and I often do as many strokes on the DMT as any of the following stones/film. Make it kitchen knife sharp, take the tape off and stroke it a couple of times to knock down the false bevel and then hone as normal. Make sure the stabilizer isn't interfering with honing the heel... if it is, then I trim it down and polish it... it often is.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
I would be happy if they would just do a shoulderless. Or maybe a Bismarck knockoff.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
I take the opposite approach with the bevel. The original bevel angle on these razors is between 18.5 and 19 degrees, typically. I have never measured one under 18 which is generally the upper limit for optimum shaving ability. I hone down the spine and then re-round it for appearance sake, so that the bevel is between 16 and 17 degrees. So far all of the ones I have done that to have supported the finer bevel with no problems, and the shave is much better, for me anyway, than one with the original bevel, or <gasp!> one whose bevel angle is actually increased through honing with a taped spine. On the next one, I might try going down to about 14.5 degrees, just to see what it does. Normally this is about the practical limit to how small a bevel can be.
As everyone who has successfully honed and shaved with a GD66 knows, the original bevel WILL SHAVE, and do it pretty decently. But bringing the bevel in a little tighter makes a truly scary sharp blade a very do-able thing. The difference is significant.
