Gold Dollar Honing Passaround

[Slash McCoy]

+1 on the whippeddog. Great starter kit. Take a look at his brushes, too. With the Sight Unseen Deal, and a badger brush, all you need is a mug and a puck of VDH and you are ready to shave.

The Gold Dollars are good steel but suffer from atrocious factory grinding. They usually defy all attempts at straightforward honing, right out of the box. Most commonly, the shoulder must be cut away from the heel of the razor, and the spine should be thinned, as well. Once they are properly set up, though, they hone nicely and shave great. So no, a GD straight from China is definitely not a razor for an absolute beginner. But if someone offers you a modified one, shave-ready, jump on it. And once you master basic honing including edge repair and bevel setting, and want to take it to the next stage, I highly recommend getting a dozen GD66s and a cheap Dremel type handheld grinder and have at it.

 

[TuxSax]

Well, as english is not my mother tongue and I'm also a newbie on this straight razor world, I feel most of the words you're talking are chinese to me!
VDH, bevel, grinder, etc, I need too make visits to the glossary sticky!
I understand that you can't jump into this straight shaving adventure without considering the fact you'll have to develop stropping and basic honing skills too, otherwise it will be a very expensive "hobby", going to the honing specialist every week and paying for it!

Am I right? You can't straight shave without knowing how to maintain your razor, unless you have a father, grandfather that will do it for you... (I don't)

 

[Pkrankow]

Well, having knowledge of maintaining your razor is good and helpful, but plenty of people will hone for you, including Larry at Whipped Dog, and Jarrod at The Superior Shave.

The Gold Dollar is an interesting blade, but you need to know more than a little about maintaining a razor first before you can correct one to shave ready.

I find GD's *need* less work than people do to them, a lot of vintage blades have the stabilizer, and after flattening the spine and correcting the bevel they can be honed without grinding the stabilizer away. However my sample size is 4, so, find some salt for that statement.

TuxSax, Since you mention English is not your first language, where on the planet are you, Earth is a big place.

Phil

 

[Pkrankow]

Shave 2 went without a hitch. I stropped and shaved. Felt a lot like shave 1, except for the blood, lots of weepers. I think this confirms I like smaller blades.

I am going to have at least one more shave with it, maybe 2, Friday and/or Sunday (not a daily shaver here) and then it can go on to whoever is next. I can put a fresh coticule edge on it (it has one currently) if the next person wants.

Cort, pm me your information, please.

Phil

 

[Slash McCoy]

Well, as english is not my mother tongue and I'm also a newbie on this straight razor world, I feel most of the words you're talking are chinese to me!
VDH, bevel, grinder, etc, I need too make visits to the glossary sticky!
I understand that you can't jump into this straight shaving adventure without considering the fact you'll have to develop stropping and basic honing skills too, otherwise it will be a very expensive "hobby", going to the honing specialist every week and paying for it!

Am I right? You can't straight shave without knowing how to maintain your razor, unless you have a father, grandfather that will do it for you... (I don't)

If you get your first straight razor shave-ready, then maintenance is easy. Go to a hobby shop or look online for balsa wood. You want a piece 3" x 12" x 1" thick. 3/4" thick will work. Then you need some 1u (one micron) diamond paste from www.tedpella.com and some .25u diamond paste. Label the two sides with a felt marker. Apply one grade of diamond to one side, one to the other. Now, after each shave, strop a half dozen laps on the 1u side, carefully wipe any microscopic trace of diamond from the blade, and then strop a dozen laps on the .25u side. Wipe it clean again. Then, before your next shave, strop your razor on your hanging strop, 3 or 4 dozen laps. Your razor can be maintained indefinitely in this way, if your stropping technique is spot-on.

When you do have to hone, IF you ever have to hone, it is a simple matter of applying a piece of lapping film, 1u grit size, to a polished marble floor tile, with a little water. Tile is about $5, film is about $1.50. A sheet can be cut into 3 pieces, each piece can hone a dozen razors or more. This is cheap and results are spectacular. Unless you damage or seriously dull your edge, there is no need to go to a coarser grade of film first.

 

[Pkrankow]

http://thorlabs.com/NewGroupPage9.cfm?ObjectGroup_ID=1350

I got my films here.

It is under >>fiber components>>fiber termination cleaning supplies>>fiber polishing supplies

I think I found what Slash is talking about on the Ted Pella site under the alphabetical index under polishing. I am not finding films on the Ted Pella site.

Phil

 

[Slash McCoy]

http://thorlabs.com/NewGroupPage9.cfm?ObjectGroup_ID=1350

I got my films here.

It is under >>fiber components>>fiber termination cleaning supplies>>fiber polishing supplies

I think I found what Slash is talking about on the Ted Pella site under the alphabetical index under polishing. I am not finding films on the Ted Pella site.

Phil

Oh, he doesn't sell film. I get my film from www.thorlabs.com but they sell only in multiples of 10 sheets. But you can find 3M film on www.amazon.com in single sheets for about $1.50/sheet. Also I think rickboone was putting together some kits...?

I just checked amazon and its pretty dry there. But here is a place that sells the big 9x13 sheets like Thor Labs sells.
http://www.fiberoptics4sale.com/c/3M-Lapping-Film-9x13-Inch-Sheet.html
They got from .3u to 30u. $2 a sheet.

Here is the same stuff for 70 cents a sheet, but you got to order in multiples of 25 sheets... one minimum order is about a lifetime supply.
http://www.fiberinstrumentsales.com...mination_3m-lapping-film-9”-x-13”-sheets.html

 

[TuxSax]

I'm in Israel, I think I've mentioned it on a previous post about the same subject
This is a very small country and having a "strange" hobby like straight razor shaving is very difficult, there's only one single shop in Tel Aviv that sells and hones special stuff, they have a few Dovo models, and they sell it very expensive, but let's say I can buy from them, all the other things you're talking about, which can be bought at any hardware store in the states, it's practically impossible to get here, if you go to a shop and ask for a diamond paste they will think you're kidding...
Anyway, you keep talking in chinese to me:

a lot of vintage blades have the stabilizer, and after flattening the spine and correcting the bevel they can be honed without grinding the stabilizer away

eeehhh? say what??? nvm, I'll try to read some more stickies and try to understand that sentence...

 

[YetiDave]

This thread made me spend all of £2.50 on a GD. Thanks guys, this truly is breaking the bank

 

[Pkrankow]

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Straight_razors
The Stabilizer is also called the Shoulder in the link. I think the shoulder is still a shoulder, even if it does not have extra metal on in to make it a stabilizer. The bevel is the portion of honed area behind the edge. The geometry of the bevel permits an edge to be formed, since where the honed bevels meet is the edge. Grinding is "quickly" removing metal with an abrasive. For some of us using sandpaper or a coarse hone is suitable for grinding in a slow manner, others prefer power tools. Honing is a slower manner of removing metal with an abrasive.

There is a location field in your profile, if you would care to fill it in.

Phil

 

[TuxSax]

Thanks for the info

There is a location field in your profile, if you would care to fill it in.

Done!

 

[Kentos]

Any updates?

 

[trick420]

Any updates?

Yeah, I second this post. I was the luck guy that got first crack at her. How are the scales holding up?

 

[Pkrankow]

They were quite lovely when I mailed it on to Cort (CWR) he has not been active in a month.

Phil

 

[Kentos]

Ah, the gold buck stops there?

 

[Kentos]

If we get no response I'll hone up another one for the last few guys on the short list ...

 

[tomjr]

that razor sure did shave well and the scales were nice. made me want 2 lose it in my collection but i could not do that. tom

 

[Pkrankow]

It was received on July 14 according to the tracking number. Since it was not signature required, just tracked, that is all I know.

Phil

 

[Kentos]

It was received on July 14 according to the tracking number. Since it was not signature required, just tracked, that is all I know.

Phil

I sent Cort a PM so we shall see. He may have other things going on that make a Gold Dollar the last thing on his mind. Either way its only a GD so no harm done.

 

[paco664]

I sent Cort a PM so we shall see. He may have other things going on that make a Gold Dollar the last thing on his mind. Either way its only a GD so no harm done.

blasphemy...