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Honing a GoldDollar

Ok, so i have been following this other discussion about using a Gold Dollar as an inexpensive way to learn honing skills.
After my last trip in China, I purchased a couple of different GD, one #200, one #208 and one #300.
I started to sand down the stabilizers of the #208 a couple of weeks ago, but hand sanding that much metal is slow and I have not had enough time to get it smooth enough to start making scales (and I just order material for peening).

Taking a closer look today at #300 I noticed that the heel/stabilizers were quite different, on this model they do actually not interfere with honing, so I decided to make my first attempt on honing today. DMT EF, 100 laps on each side, coticule 100 laps slurry, 100 laps water followed by 100 laps on each side of a balsa strop, Chromeoxide and ironoxide and finished off on the leather strop.

The result? A great shave! Not as smooth as the Swedish trio I got from Honed byt definitely just as sharpe - and with very little effort! Now the feeling of the scales is not very nice - I sort of expect them to flex in my hand while shaving, so a rescale is definitely needed. I am looking forward to see how the 200 and 208 performs and well, maybe, just maybe I should get a Norton 4000/8000 and see if I can get a bit smoother shave. I really am not confident enough on the couticle yet - part of the reason being that it is so small that holding the blade flat can be a challenge...
 

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Legion

Staff member
Well done.

100 laps on the DMT seems like an awful lot. And probably too much on the pastes as well...

When you are starting there is a definite tendency to over hone. There was for me, anyway. You'll get id dialled in with practice.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Grats!!Sounds like you had a lot of fun- there's nothing like shaving with a razor you honed yourself. One thing tho, if you look at the heel of your blade, you might see a sharp right angle beginning to form. If it goes on too long you will eventually hone a sharp hook into that will cut you. It is a result of that shoulder that could still being a bit high. Not a big deal, but something too look out for in the future.
 
Mm yes , I could feel it cut away quite a bit of metal, but at least i proved to myself that it works! Next time I will cut dowv to 50 laps and probably remove the couticle so I have one less variable.

Well done.

100 laps on the DMT seems like an awful lot. And probably too much on the pastes as well...

When you are starting there is a definite tendency to over hone. There was for me, anyway. You'll get id dialled in with practice.
 

Legion

Staff member
Personally I'd remove the DMT. You can set the bevel with the coticule and slurry, and you wont grind away so much metal.
 
DMT for GD bevel setting is my weapon of choice.

It may take 100 laps, maybe 25, or perhaps 234 laps. I never count, I just hit the DMT until the bevel is set.

Try doing some more work in the mid range hones, you may very well be able to smooth out the feel quite a bit, although like any razor, some are just smoother than others.
 
With the Gold Dollars I have honed, I have had to use almost whisper soft honing on the 8K and 12K hones. (I don't use much pressure, but use less pressure.) When I did that, I got good edges that shaved well.

Also, I sometimes strop in the middle of the shave.
 
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