I was going to start with this one and see what happens:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Handl...=251142216474&ps=63&clkid=1763153684004970435
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Handl...=251142216474&ps=63&clkid=1763153684004970435
So I'm considering trying a straight razor
- Thread starter ALATRON
- Start date
Search forums for Gold Dollars.
The steel is good (though it isn't stainless), but they tend to have grind issues that make honing troublesome and the scales are flimsy.
You certainly won't be able to shave with it without having it honed. Gold dollars are shipped with a ground or buffed edge that looks around 60-100grit. By comparison the razor I just shaved with was finished with a 10,000grit stone.
The steel is good (though it isn't stainless), but they tend to have grind issues that make honing troublesome and the scales are flimsy.
You certainly won't be able to shave with it without having it honed. Gold dollars are shipped with a ground or buffed edge that looks around 60-100grit. By comparison the razor I just shaved with was finished with a 10,000grit stone.
Antique Hoosier
“Aircooled”
Why not? You might as well experience it. I would suggest a shave ready straight offered on our very own BST by a respected member as your first but who am I to tread on your adventure? The good ones on BST go quick but they come around often. I would most likely put a "Want to Buy" thread for a 5/8 or 6/8 and see who fills your need. None of mine are for sale or I would help you out. Good luck!
There are GD fans here, remember it will still need to be honed before you can use it. From what I have read, it will most likely need some re-profiling of the stabilizers before it can be honed.
Maybe I'm missing something in those pics doc. But until you hone past where the shoulder extends to (looks like a good 4mm in that pic), wouldn't it hone fine just by leaving the shoulder off the stone? I mean the edge doesn't extend to the shoulder anyway. I've honed tons of razors (vintage and my GD) that required that treatment.
Pic 1: Won't hone heel because shoulder is on the hone.
Pic 2: entire edge hones flawlessly and has been done this way for two years because shoulder is off the hone. Yes this will require shoulder grinding when the razor wears beyond where the shoulder ends, but I have handled literally dozens if not hundreds of vintages with designs just like this. It's common in fact.
Pic 1: Won't hone heel because shoulder is on the hone.
Pic 2: entire edge hones flawlessly and has been done this way for two years because shoulder is off the hone. Yes this will require shoulder grinding when the razor wears beyond where the shoulder ends, but I have handled literally dozens if not hundreds of vintages with designs just like this. It's common in fact.
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I've often wondered the same Ian.
If this is all people are talking about with GD's having a bad grind, I owe GD an apology. I've repeated it for years assuming there were actually QC issues making the shoulders uneven, but if the complaint is that you can't hone with the shoulders on the hone, yes it's an annoyance, but it's CERTAINLY not exclusive to gold dollars. The very first straight razor I ever bought is a 100+ year old vintage that I'm actually going to dremel the shoulder off in the near future because the edge made out of the shoulder is jutting out about a mm from the rest of the edge since the previous owners just honed over it and it hones much slower than the rest of the blade. I've used it for three years by just avoiding the heel "point" when shaving, but it's starting to annoy me.
There is some intrusion even when not going past the shoulder and the stabilizer also gets in the way I will try to take another pic tonight
Yeup, Al is correct.
Also if you keep honing it the way you suggest Ian, eventually the heel/stabilizer will stick out farther than the cutting edge.
Ah ok. Had me worried for a second there.
That said, the shoulder-less straights are much nicer to hone. I've seen a lot of straights that were a nuisance to hone because once you hone past the shoulder, most people just start honing the shoulders down which basically makes the last 3-5mm of your blade a wedge grind while the rest of it's still hollow.
The same problem arises with every shouldered vintage too. It's a problem of the design of a shoulder not taking into account the fact that the edge will eventually recede past it. Hone with the shoulder on the stones and you can grind the shoulder back but it will wear at a different rate than the rest of the edge resulting in an edge that isn't straight.
I've circled in red the shoulder that has been honed down. As you can see, the blade frowns there because it's effectively far thicker ground than the rest of the razor. This is a standard hollow ground vintage that has been used until the blade receded beyond the shoulder. I've seen this exact effect on more razors than I can count, including many right out of barbers collections. It's not a fault of a bad razor or poor honing. It's simply a design flaw. I expect the manufacturers expected people to replace the razor when the amount of wear made this shoulder "wedge" effect significantly impact the razors profile. Grinding the shoulders out of GD's is a good idea to avoid this problem, and it'd be nice if they made shoulder-less razors, but this particular problem is not a gold dollar problem it's a straight razor problem.
What GD's apparently don't do is grind the shoulder to a "V" at the base, which means you're effectively "into the shoulder" on your first honing if you hone with the shoulder on the stone. You're really just getting a head start on the way you're going to have to hone when the edge moves past the shoulder, if you want to keep it. Grinding it out is still the best choice. I just didn't see any reason to do it any sooner than I would with any hollow ground (when it starts impacting the razors edge). Hell, I've had the razor 2 years. I'll maybe hit the shoulder in another 2. At that point I'll treat it like I'm going to treat the razor below. Turn it into a shoulder-less and go back to honing like it was meant to be honed... without the shoulder getting in the way.
That said, the shoulder-less straights are much nicer to hone. I've seen a lot of straights that were a nuisance to hone because once you hone past the shoulder, most people just start honing the shoulders down which basically makes the last 3-5mm of your blade a wedge grind while the rest of it's still hollow.
The same problem arises with every shouldered vintage too. It's a problem of the design of a shoulder not taking into account the fact that the edge will eventually recede past it. Hone with the shoulder on the stones and you can grind the shoulder back but it will wear at a different rate than the rest of the edge resulting in an edge that isn't straight.
I've circled in red the shoulder that has been honed down. As you can see, the blade frowns there because it's effectively far thicker ground than the rest of the razor. This is a standard hollow ground vintage that has been used until the blade receded beyond the shoulder. I've seen this exact effect on more razors than I can count, including many right out of barbers collections. It's not a fault of a bad razor or poor honing. It's simply a design flaw. I expect the manufacturers expected people to replace the razor when the amount of wear made this shoulder "wedge" effect significantly impact the razors profile. Grinding the shoulders out of GD's is a good idea to avoid this problem, and it'd be nice if they made shoulder-less razors, but this particular problem is not a gold dollar problem it's a straight razor problem.
What GD's apparently don't do is grind the shoulder to a "V" at the base, which means you're effectively "into the shoulder" on your first honing if you hone with the shoulder on the stone. You're really just getting a head start on the way you're going to have to hone when the edge moves past the shoulder, if you want to keep it. Grinding it out is still the best choice. I just didn't see any reason to do it any sooner than I would with any hollow ground (when it starts impacting the razors edge). Hell, I've had the razor 2 years. I'll maybe hit the shoulder in another 2. At that point I'll treat it like I'm going to treat the razor below. Turn it into a shoulder-less and go back to honing like it was meant to be honed... without the shoulder getting in the way.
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