GD Experiment.

[David]

You can conceivably get 100 shaves if you hit the edge with CrOx every other shave, sound strategy.

Maybe that should be part of the SOP for newbs using Gold Dollars? 6-8 light laps on Chrox every few shaves to keep the edge going. We all know new guys are hard on edges when they’re learning to shave. Of course if they don’t know how to strop properly they could do more harm than good I guess.

 

[buca3152]

Maybe that should be part of the SOP for newbs using Gold Dollars? 6-8 light laps on Chrox every few shaves to keep the edge going. We all know new guys are hard on edges when they’re learning to shave. Of course if they don’t know how to strop properly they could do more harm than good I guess.

Maybe. However newbs will have the same problem stropping vintage or other razors so then the experience would be the same whether it's a gold dollar or other razor. When I started I bought various vintages. 20 or so "honed" them poorly which was my skill set at the time and proceeded to identify the "good" razors from the "bad". As my skills improved every one of them razors went from the "bad" pile to the "good" pile.

 

[lightfoot]

What I’ve found with the Union razors (also China) is that synths all the way up to White Lightning followed by 3-dozen strokes on a finishing Ark leaves an edge that really seems to hit all the desired parameters and also seems to have unusually good edge retention for some reason….

 

[Shaun asleep]

I usually rehone/touch up after every single shave...

Do you retouch them on the hones instead of stropping? Or do you still strop afterwards?

I feel like I can do less harm using a hone compared to when I'm using the leather of my hanging strop.
Stropping feels like I have less control and I also constantly fear cutting the leather. I dont like stropping.

To stay more on topic, I have had my first GD shave this morning and was pleasantly surprised. But it was honed by an experience hand (not mine).
Still... I have had a Fili 14,Dovo Bismarck, 3 Eskilstuna's, some random Solingen razor and an Ertan Suer that were also profesionally honed. This didn't feel all that different to me. Ok the scales are very cheap, but it shaved very well and was actually peened better than my Bismarck.

Tbh, I couldn't be happier. I am actually considering buying one and trying to achief this level of sharpness and mirror polished edge myself. But I can see he messed around with the shoulder and stabilizer, pretty sure I would't be able to pull that off.

 

[Eric_75]

So, GD experiment doesn't stand for Grateful Dead experiment? Ah, well.

 

[JPO]

I am actually considering buying one and trying to achief this level of sharpness and mirror polished edge myself

Get a handfull of them to play with. After the bevel is properly set they are quite easy to keep going.

 

[FarmerTan]

So, GD experiment doesn't stand for Grateful Dead experiment? Ah, well.

View attachment 1797308

You've been hanging out with me too much....

 

[Christian1212]

I have never used a gold dollar but feel like it could be fun to use with practicing mods or as practice for re grinding razors. With how much uncessary honing I do though I really should have one. Cheers

 

[Stapelfeld]

I've shaved off them without troubles. Even bought a few and tested them all all kinds of edge angles just to see what they could and couldn't do.


As I recall; the steel isn't of the quality of vintage steel (I've had vintage razors that held 11 degree edge angles just fine)... but... felt like as long as you stuck above 16 degrees (or maybe it was 16.5... been awhile). You were good. Had a couple down as low as 13-14 degrees and the edges just didn't hold up. Some of their razors were ok in the 15s... but 16 or 17 a much safer number.


And there's nothing wrong with razors in that range... just be aware that if you buy some of their wackier-looking models... sometimes they arrive with <16 degree angles and you need to fix them. Their standard models I want to say tend more in the 17-20 degree angles they work fine at though.


Again, based on longevity comments from others I may need to restate... I usually rehone/touch up after every single shave... with every razor I own, just cause of how many hones I own/buy.


I think I've seen others test them and go 20+ shaves without problems... but maybe I am imagining/misremembering?

I started with a gold dollar and I have had it go 25+ also have a union razor that is 13 shaves in still as sharp as ever. I’ll probably rehone most likely because I want to try a different whetstone before it actually needing a new edge.

 

[Stapelfeld]

Years and years of gd debates. There isnt a stitch of objective info or specs to say they don't shave. It's all subjective commentary. Of course if we put mammoth tusk scales on a razor and gold wash embellishments etc it will shave better! "I was expecting better fit and finish for the $4 including shipping I paid."

I agree, it’s all subjective… you can tell just by looking at the comments some people have gotten really good results others have gotten really bad ones with them. I personally have had equal success with my GD than I do with my Dovo Bergischer Lowe… that gold wash does look pretty tho.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Always strop. Anyone who thinks you can shave without stropping has never had a good straight shave.

 

[Eshebert]

To be fair, the ones I use at work don’t usually see a 4th save. I get board and end up re honing the razor. That is the beauty of the GD, no big deal it’s a $4 razor. I can hone my little black heart out and who cares if eat up the razor prematurely? I get some laps in and always have a fresh edge. Then I go home and get a break from them for 21 days.

I also don’t see an issue of recommending one for a new honer to practice on. Notice I said new honer, not new SR shavers. Take your lumps on a cheap straight. If you ruin it, throw it in the trash and start over with another. Beats ruining a 100 year old piece of history.

 

[JPO]

To be fair, the ones I use at work don’t usually see a 4th save. I get board and end up re honing the razor. That is the beauty of the GD, no big deal it’s a $4 razor. I can hone my little black heart out and who cares if eat up the razor prematurely? I get some laps in and always have a fresh edge. Then I go home and get a break from them for 21 days.

I also don’t see an issue of recommending one for a new honer to practice on. Notice I said new honer, not new SR shavers. Take your lumps on a cheap straight. If you ruin it, throw it in the trash and start over with another. Beats ruining a 100 year old piece of history.

Fresh off the stone edges are hard to beat.
I actually like honing GD razors because the steel is so easy to hone.

 

[Bayamontate]

In trying to figure out an efficient and practical way to hone GD from a longevity and edge comfort point of view I decided to find a balance between the bevel angle and finisher to maximize both. Most finishers like jnats, Eschers, Arks, Charnley Forrest etc. provide aggressive and well shaving edges but they degrade quickly because the lower quality steel can’t support them.

The two 208s Frank Misa provided had bevel angles of 21 and 22 out of the box so my plan was to get them down to 19 then tape them up to 20 degrees for the purpose of this exercise. 20 degrees provides a good compromise for edge retention and shaving ability.

At 20 degrees I did a jnat edge (Kanayama Kiita) to check edge frailty and after three shaves the edge was visibly degraded at 400X magnification, the same was true with two Charnleys.

I then decided to finish on a Suita, Tsushima Kuro and Coticule (every edge was started with a Shapton 1.5K, 3K and 5K then finished on those hones followed by 5 laps of White Lightning or Purple Haze.) All these edges held up very well after 3 shaves and shaved comfortably. I tried CrOx and the edges were comfortable but less efficient and keen.

I believe two factors are at play here, the steeper bevel angle together with an edge that is finished on basically a pre-finisher or something not Uber fine adds a bit of strength to the apex.

Try something along these lines and see what results you get, I have 6 and 7 shaves respectively on these razors the edges are showing signs of wear but both still shave comfortably. Take care!

 

[JPO]

In trying to figure out an efficient and practical way to hone GD from a longevity and edge comfort point of view I decided to find a balance between the bevel angle and finisher to maximize both. Most finishers like jnats, Eschers, Arks, Charnley Forrest etc. provide aggressive and well shaving edges but they degrade quickly because the lower quality steel can’t support them.

The two 208s Frank Misa provided had bevel angles of 21 and 22 out of the box so my plan was to get them down to 19 then tape them up to 20 degrees for the purpose of this exercise. 20 degrees provides a good compromise for edge retention and shaving ability.

At 20 degrees I did a jnat edge (Kanayama Kiita) to check edge frailty and after three shaves the edge was visibly degraded at 400X magnification, the same was true with two Charnleys.

I then decided to finish on a Suita, Tsushima Kuro and Coticule (every edge was started with a Shapton 1.5K, 3K and 5K then finished on those hones followed by 5 laps of White Lightning or Purple Haze.) All these edges held up very well after 3 shaves and shaved comfortably. I tried CrOx and the edges were comfortable but less efficient and keen.

I believe two factors are at play here, the steeper bevel angle together with an edge that is finished on basically a pre-finisher or something not Uber fine adds a bit of strength to the apex.

Try something along these lines and see what results you get, I have 6 and 7 shaves respectively on these razors the edges are showing signs of wear but both still shave comfortably. Take care!

Did you just use the base stone slurry on the Tsushima Nagura, or did you use other naguras?
My Tsushima Nagura is quite coarse if I use the slurry from the base stone, coarser then 5k. If I use a soft and fine nagura I can get a finer edge.
So I typically start with a base stone slurry generated with a hard nagura. Then I use a koma nagura, followed by a soft and fine awasedo nagura.

This is a much more versatile stone then I thought initially.

 

[Bayamontate]

I used base stones and tomonagura specific to each, diluted as I would normally.