What's new

Counterfeit Gold Dollar 208?

Hi Friends!

I am wondering if anyone else has come across a fake / counterfeit Gold Dollar 208?? It seems weird to me that anyone would want to counterfeit such a cheap blade!

I ordered an extra GD to have around and received what appears to be a fake. I got it from amazon, when it arrived i noticed that it looked the same as the picture EXCEPT it doesn't have the logo on the blade and it didn't have the hard plastic case. I took it to get honed and they refused to do it, saying the steel is too weak and it would crumble!!!

I contacted the store that was selling through amazon and told them they either sent me the wrong blade or misrepresented the product, they got back to me VERY quickly apologizing for the "mistake" and telling me they will send me the proper blade and I can keep the other one anyway....
Very weird situation, has this happened to anyone else???

Here is what I got,
$IMG_7770.jpg$IMG_7771.jpg

And here is the pic from Amazon,
$Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 3.06.56 PM.png
 
Looks like a gd to me. Who wouldn't hone it? Perhaps they didn't want to deal with the shoulder?
 
Last edited:

Billski

Here I am, 1st again.
I don't use a straight razor yet.

This is very interesting.

Thanks for sharing this.
 
The logo can be removed with acetone. Yours looks like a real deal that was sent out and returned for some reason. Perhaps they tried to stooge you or perhaps they made an honest error. Either way, hopefully you will receive a brand new one and have two.

I am not a honer, but that steel is supposedly fine for holding an edge. The geometry can be tricky and maybe that is why they didn't want to take it on.

There are several masters here who can get your GD's shave ready.
 
I have a couple of GD blades and that definitely is a GD. Like you said, it is so cheap that anybody cloning it wouldn't make any money. It is not unusual for a GD to not have the painted logo as I received one where the logo was removed. I know there are honers out there that will not touch an razor from India or China because the metal used might not hold an edge or they would have to take off too much metal to make it shave ready. I'm believing that was the case with the person you asked to hone it. Like BSAGuy said, now you got two and you can use one to practice your honing skills. I bet if you take the replacement one to the same guy that you took to be honed the first time, he will tell you the same thing.
 
I have a Gold Dollar 66 and a Gold Dollar 100 . Both shave great. Unfortunately, a lot of folks see the "China" mark and immediately assume the steel is poor quality. Both of my GDs hold an edge as well as any of my other straights. I bought the 66 shave ready and I honed the 100 myself, after I became more comfortable. It's a shame so many won't touch these because it isn't a bad blade and was not difficult at all to hone. I
Yours has the logo on the spine, so with my limited experience with them, I'd say it looks real. I'll add the disclaimer that I'm not expert on these or any straight razors though, as I'm new to the hobby as well.
 
Who is the "they" who refused to hoen?

If this is a fake I have to ask what is the world coming to? When you can't rely on cheap Chinese blades being authentic, what can you rely on?
 
Who is the "they" who refused to hoen?

If this is a fake I have to ask what is the world coming to? When you can't rely on cheap Chinese blades being authentic, what can you rely on?

I was actually very disappointed in the blade sharpening business which came highly recommended. They don't have their own store front so I dropped it off at a shoe repair store they are associated with. When I went to pick it up the guy at the store had no idea about it, he just said they left a note saying it "isn't worth it". Nobody ever asked me if I though it was worth my money so I am guessing they are either lazy or inexperienced with straights.
 
the blade shape looks to be a 66, but it is stamped as a 208.

Doesn't really matter, it's all Ningbo steel. Hone it up and enjoy!
 
Top Bottom