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Honing & flattening smiling edge on a gold dollar straight razor with lapping film +test vs the Dovo

tl;dr you can probably get a decent edge on the gold dollar but it will take hours and comparing it to an high quality steel razor show it's not nearly as good despite the endless work... I think a vintage blade will give back a much much better return on the time and money you will invest, the metal in the gold dollar is not of the best quality, (no idea what in there actually..) the grinding is in lack of any standards. ... in short: a cheap imitation ... Even if the goal is just to experiment with honing .. it is very different from an original razor, on the other hand the rather soft metal allows more flexibility in reaching the goal... but again, if you will compare it to a vintage razor with an probably almost set bevel (more or less...) and a 'real' steel.. and interesting grinding (like wedge) the vintage will be much more fun and useuful

P.S. Using the 0.3micron lapping film for an extra sharp edge is amazing (tested on my dovo) IMO you strop on it (i.e. not edge leading honing, but: spine leading stropping)
 
I may have missed the explanation, why did you feel the need to hone the smile out of it?
First of all it seems to be a razor (or let's be precise here: an imatation of a razor) that is not meant to have a smile on the edge, because you can see that the spine is straight! I guess you maybe could keep the smile... (I do not know what problems this will create during honing a smiling edge with a straight spine...) I explained in the video that I prefer to take it off because I prefer to hone it as a straight
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
@StupidBatsy, sorry to hear of the trouble that you had with your Gold Dollar. My experience with Gold Dollar SR's has been a bit different.

I have only tried two GD models, the 208 (three) at about USD 10 each including shipping and the W59 (ten) at about USD 20 each including shipping. The 208 was an okay shaver after I honed it up. The W59 was a different beast altogether.

208 as received
IMG_20201223_085621.jpg
The Gold Dollar 208 SR has a rather obtuse bevel angle of about 19.5°. I had no trouble honing the GD 208 up to a decent shave-ready condition. The grind was reasonably uniform and the steel appeared to be about 58 to 59 RHC. There was no excessive smile and the steel took a good edge. The only downside I found with this SR was that the razor's balance point was almost at the shoulder when opened 180°. This was not to my liking but that is just a personal preference.

W59 as received
Profile Open.jpg
The GD W59 was well balanced being almost at the pivot pin like most good SR's and came with a theoretical bevel angle of 15.6° at mid-length. This SR had a pronounced smile (about 2mm) and a straight spine-wear area.

I have experience in honing smiling edges with straight spine-wear areas. It is not difficult and just requires a bit more care. What this arrangement does mean is that the bevel angle becomes slightly more obtuse towards the heel and toe.

That being said, I prefer my edges not to be as "happy" as the W59 was. For the W59, I bread-knifed the smile out of the blade on the side of a 400 grit Chinese synthetic whetstone and rehoned it up from a 180° bevel angle on a 1k synthetic, lapping films and pasted balsa strops. The whole process from bread-knifing to shave-ready edge off pasted balsa took a little under an hour.

In the following photo, the top view is as received, middle view is after bread-knifing with 180° bevel angle and the bottom view is with new shave-ready edge.

W59
IMG_20200712_080700.jpg
After a bit more work on the pasted balsa strops, the W59 had an edge equal to or even a little keener to a new Feather DE blade. My GD W59 is still my most favoured SR, not necessarily the easiest to shave with.

My Gold Dollar W59 now:

IMG_20211223_165339.jpg
I have had two Dovos, each costing me about USD 100 including shipping. Their quality level was nowhere near the price. They honed up ok but never took a really good shave-ready edge. I ended up giving them away. Never will I buy a Dovo again, although some say that their Bismarck model is worth the price. However, for the price of a Dovo Bismarck, I can have a custom SR made to my exact specifications in Australia that is of similar if not better quality.
 
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@StupidBatsy, sorry to hear of the trouble that you had with your Gold Dollar. My experience with Gold Dollar SR's has been a bit different.

I have only tried two GD models, the 208 (three) at about USD 10 each including shipping and the W59 (ten) at about USD 20 each including shipping. The 208 was an okay shaver after I honed it up. The W59 was a different beast altogether.

208 as received
View attachment 1437295
The Gold Dollar 208 SR has a rather obtuse bevel angle of about 19.5°. I had no trouble honing the GD 208 up to a decent shave-ready condition. The grind was reasonably uniform and the steel appeared to be about 58 to 59 RHC. There was no excessive smile and the steel took a good edge. The only downside I found with this SR was that the razor's balance point was almost at the shoulder when opened 180°. This was not to my liking but that is just a personal preference.

W59 as received
View attachment 1437296
The GD W59 was well balanced being almost at the pivot pin like most good SR's and came with a theoretical bevel angle of 15.6° at mid-length. This SR had a pronounced smile (about 2mm) and a straight spine-wear area.

I have experience in honing smiling edges with straight spine-wear areas. It is not difficult and just requires a bit more care. What this arrangement does mean is that the bevel angle becomes slightly more obtuse towards the heel and toe.

That being said, I prefer my edges not to be as "happy" as the W59 was. For the W59, I bread-knifed the smile out of the blade on the side of a 400 grit Chinese synthetic whetstone and rehoned it up from a 180° bevel angle on a 1k synthetic, lapping films and pasted balsa strops. The whole process from bread-knifing to shave-ready edge off pasted balsa took a little under an hour.

In the following photo, the top view is as received, middle view is after bread-knifing with 180° bevel angle and the bottom view is with new shave-ready edge.

After a bit more work on the pasted balsa strops, the W59 had an edge equal to or even a little keener to a new Feather DE blade. My GD W59 is still my most favoured SR, not necessarily the easiest to shave with.

My Gold Dollar W59 now:

I have had two Dovos, each costing me about USD 100 including shipping. Their quality level was nowhere near the price. They honed up ok but never took a really good shave-ready edge. I ended up giving them away. Never will I buy a Dovo again, although some say that their Bismarck model is worth the price. However, for the price of a Dovo Bismarck, I can have a custom SR made to my exact specifications in Australia that is of similar if not better quality.
nice work on the smiling edge there! i really hope you muted the pointy tip & heel! that model might have a better steel? (wonder which razor design they ripped off there btw) i have no idea, but even if it's a better steel, there is no way it's better than the dovo carbon steel! that being said the newer dovo lack a good QC so it's not rare to receive one with odd bevel - and since it's a real cutting edge design and steel , it's really hard to fix it, while the GD have some beef to remove & a much softer steel, i do believe that with ur experience now- you will get better results with a "branded" razor, but... also ... if you happy - no need to (and who knows, maybe this GD do have a carbon steel? you'll know for sure after honing a branded razor tho, the carbon steel is much harder and leave less residue)
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
U
nice work on the smiling edge there! i really hope you muted the pointy tip & heel! ....
No way. I keep the toe pointy and sharp for shaving inside my nostrils and ear canals 😁. It also helps to keep your concentration up when shaving, one of the reasons that it is my most favoured, not necessarily my best shaver.

I don't really have a best shaving SR. They are all excellent shavers, each with their own personality, even members of matching sets. I like it that way.

I don't think that the steel in the W59 is any better or worse than most other GD models. It is better finished than most of their other models.

I am no great fan of Gold Dollar SR's. That would go to Colling, Revisor and Aust SR's (but I haven't tried all). Gold Dollar are however, together with some of the Taiwanese Titan SR's, very good value for money. They have their needed place in the world of traditional straight razor shaving.
 
U

No way. I keep the toe pointy and sharp for shaving inside my nostrils and ear canals 😁. It also helps to keep your concentration up when shaving, one of the reasons that it is my most favoured, not necessarily my best shaver.

I don't really have a best shaving SR. They are all excellent shavers, each with their own personality, even members of matching sets. I like it that way.

I don't think that the steel in the W59 is any better or worse than most other GD models. It is better finished than most of their other models.

I am no great fan of Gold Dollar SR's. That would go to Colling, Revisor and Aust SR's (but I haven't tried all). Gold Dollar are however, together with some of the Taiwanese Titan SR's, very good value for money. They have their needed place in the world of traditional straight razor shaving.
hahahah man thats carzy! what about the deeper hairs? you use scalpel? ;) get a trimmer mate!
I think they cheap bcs It's an imitation, with materials of the lowest quality, and the lowest QC ,buying a razor from a good company is better for all many reasons, I understand if someone is undecided about the investment because he is not sure that this type of shave is right for him (even then there is no risk in my opinion, because it is easy to sell) But, Someone like you who is completely addicted to the subject? Invest!
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
.... , Someone like you who is completely addicted to the subject? Invest!
I do "invest" as you call it. I have paid from $10 to about $250 for my limited stable of new traditional straight razors.

What I learnt a long time ago was that price and country of origin can have little bearing on quality of product. This has also held true of SR's.

My current most favoured SR cost about $20 new and my best looking new SR was about $250. My best shaving SR was about $40.

I am now saving and waiting for the Gillette self-honing SR. It shouldn't be too far away from being marketed. All that Gillette need to do now is work out a way to build in planned obsolescence. They need to speak with @Tony Miller about his newspaper strops.
 
rbs,

how did you remove the smile? Hold it perpendicular to the stone and just start grinding until is was straight?
 
I do "invest" as you call it. I have paid from $10 to about $250 for my limited stable of new traditional straight razors.

What I learnt a long time ago was that price and country of origin can have little bearing on quality of product. This has also held true of SR's.

My current most favoured SR cost about $20 new and my best looking new SR was about $250. My best shaving SR was about $40.

I am now saving and waiting for the Gillette self-honing SR. It shouldn't be too far away from being marketed. All that Gillette need to do now is work out a way to build in planned obsolescence. They need to speak with @Tony Miller about his newspaper strops.
well if you wanna trade one of your branded SR on my GD drop me a note, really glad you found the one! (but i still - suspect it have better steel than my GD66)
 
First of all it seems to be a razor (or let's be precise here: an imatation of a razor) that is not meant to have a smile on the edge, because you can see that the spine is straight! I guess you maybe could keep the smile... (I do not know what problems this will create during honing a smiling edge with a straight spine...) I explained in the video that I prefer to take it off because I prefer to hone it as a straight
I have a couple razors with straight spines and smily edges, and one that I can think of with a curved spine but an almost straight edge. I prefer a slight smile, myself, but your razor, you can do what you want.

It looks like to me you may have gone past straight into a frown, though.
Screenshot_20220409-121959_Chrome.jpg
 
I have a couple razors with straight spines and smily edges, and one that I can think of with a curved spine but an almost straight edge. I prefer a slight smile, myself, but your razor, you can do what you want.

It looks like to me you may have gone past straight into a frown, though.
View attachment 1438272
yeah i'm talking aboit it (and showing it in the video).,,, at some point it started to go there .. while observing the bevel on one side (in some angle) .. thats where i decided to go with the bevel i had at that point and be happy with it, bcs it's almost impossible to get a perfect bevel with such bad grinding and so many other issues, i'm super happy with the result! just sad it's not a better steel
 
I have a couple razors with straight spines and smily edges, and one that I can think of with a curved spine but an almost straight edge. I prefer a slight smile, myself, but your razor, you can do what you want.
i'll get a 'real' smiling one for sure (wedge is on the list too :D)
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
rbs,

how did you remove the smile? Hold it perpendicular to the stone and just start grinding until is was straight?
Yes, that's the way I did it. Doing it that way, rather than normal honing, does increase the bevel angle but keeps the spine wear down. The W59 comes with a bevel angle of about 15.5° so there is room to decrease the bevel angle by a degree or two.

After bread-knifing, I taped the spine while removing most of the metal from the edge before bevel-set. Once close to bevel-set, I removed the tape and continued as normal using the burr method.

With the bevel set on 1k, I moved on to 3k and 10k (all synthetic) before 5μm, 3μm and 1μm lapping films. Final finishing was done on a full diamond pasted balsa strop progression.

The blade was put through a full balsa strop progression after each shave until there was no noticeable improvement in the blade's edge. From then on it has been maintained on a 0.1μm hanging balsa strop after each shave, like all my SR's.
 
I have a couple razors with straight spines and smily edges, and one that I can think of with a curved spine but an almost straight edge. I prefer a slight smile, myself, but your razor, you can do what you want.

It looks like to me you may have gone past straight into a frown, though.
View attachment 1438272
btw, you dont have issues honing such razors? (smile edge and straight spine) i would hope that a curved spine will help to avoid (as much possible) raising the razor spine while honing it...
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
btw, you dont have issues honing such razors? (smile edge and straight spine) i would hope that a curved spine will help to avoid (as much possible) raising the razor spine while honing it...
Sorry but the geometry doesn't work like that. With a flat honing surface and a smiling edge on a straight razor you have to (ever so slightly) raise each end of the spine whether the spine of flat or curved.
 
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