I have one of Craig's "shenaniganized" gold dollars and am proud to call it my favorite razor yet:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133562
Gold dollar 200
- Thread starter Huxley
- Start date
I have one of Craig's "shenaniganized" gold dollars and am proud to call it my favorite razor yet:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=133562
That's one handsome razor.
Hello:
I have a Gold Dollar 208 and a Gold Monkey.
Both razors arrived in non shave ready condition, but honed up rather easily. The Gold Monkey is slightly "bent" at the tang. This doesn't affect honing but does cause it to close very close to the scale, but not touching. I like the razor and consider the defect just part of the character of a razor that costs $12 shipped. The Gold Monkey is slightly larger than the 208, but not quite as well finished. The GD 208 has a more mirrored finish, with a cleaner look against the face.
I am 57 years old and have been wet shaving for about 40 years. I have disposable, vintage and new straight razors. Perhaps I am not sophisticated sufficiently to discern a difference, but I simply cannot tell much between the GD shave and the others. I like them.
Thank-you.
I have a Gold Dollar 208 and a Gold Monkey.
Both razors arrived in non shave ready condition, but honed up rather easily. The Gold Monkey is slightly "bent" at the tang. This doesn't affect honing but does cause it to close very close to the scale, but not touching. I like the razor and consider the defect just part of the character of a razor that costs $12 shipped. The Gold Monkey is slightly larger than the 208, but not quite as well finished. The GD 208 has a more mirrored finish, with a cleaner look against the face.
I am 57 years old and have been wet shaving for about 40 years. I have disposable, vintage and new straight razors. Perhaps I am not sophisticated sufficiently to discern a difference, but I simply cannot tell much between the GD shave and the others. I like them.
Thank-you.
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I feel the need to answer some disparaging words about me.
Please check our feedback on eBay as mysterydoll we have been selling for quite sometime. Mainly vintage razors, dolls,and books. The sellers on eBay do not take revenge for being undersold.
Please check our feedback on eBay as mysterydoll we have been selling for quite sometime. Mainly vintage razors, dolls,and books. The sellers on eBay do not take revenge for being undersold.
I don't think anyone was badmouthing MysteryRazors. I think there was just some discussion over whether your 200's are Stainless or Carbon. If anything's getting badmouthed it's Gold Dollars in general, and that's about 50/50 from what I've read with most people's experience seeming to come from the unsorted razors Parko ships. I don't know the details of your QC, though I'll soon have at least one sample to base a broad-sweeping, generalizing opinion on, as this thread demands. 
I can do the onion test to see if the Steel is stainless or not, but as others have mentioned stainless can be magnetic, and I don't have any gun blue with me. I guess I could test the tail of the tang in some water, but I don't really feel like having to remove rust from my new razor if it isn't stainless, since I really don't care personally one way or the other, I'm just interested for the sake of curiosity.
I can do the onion test to see if the Steel is stainless or not, but as others have mentioned stainless can be magnetic, and I don't have any gun blue with me. I guess I could test the tail of the tang in some water, but I don't really feel like having to remove rust from my new razor if it isn't stainless, since I really don't care personally one way or the other, I'm just interested for the sake of curiosity.
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Whole lot of typing for a $5-$10-$15-$25 dollar razor on all the forums
Here are some of my thoughts with these...
1. They are being sold to Newbs like hotcakes.. why???? Because Newbs don't know any better
2. They are being pushed as a "Cheap" razor , they really ain't all that cheap for a Newb.. by the time you figure in the fixies it adds up to $40-$45 PDQ
3. There are some seriously uninformed people actually saying that these are easy to hone when the guys that do more then most are telling you otherwise right here in this very thread...(not me by the way I refuse to touch them myself)
4. To compare the feel of the steel of these, to vintage, quality razors, shows one of two things, either you have a tuff face, or you have little experience with quality razors and edges...
5. Somebody said this in an old DA thread and it always stuck as the truth about these razors with me "If Walmart sold a razor this would be it" that statement pretty well sums it all up....
6. Now if that is what you're after then by all means have at it, but I guess that is what really differentiates the hobby shaver after the smooth as silk comfortable feel, and somebody just using a SR for the Economics or Environmental effect, not there there is anything wrong with that, but there is a huge difference in how we view the world...
7. The only plus I see for these is the they can be the gateway drug of straight razor shaving
Here are some of my thoughts with these...
1. They are being sold to Newbs like hotcakes.. why???? Because Newbs don't know any better
2. They are being pushed as a "Cheap" razor , they really ain't all that cheap for a Newb.. by the time you figure in the fixies it adds up to $40-$45 PDQ
3. There are some seriously uninformed people actually saying that these are easy to hone when the guys that do more then most are telling you otherwise right here in this very thread...(not me by the way I refuse to touch them myself)
4. To compare the feel of the steel of these, to vintage, quality razors, shows one of two things, either you have a tuff face, or you have little experience with quality razors and edges...
5. Somebody said this in an old DA thread and it always stuck as the truth about these razors with me "If Walmart sold a razor this would be it" that statement pretty well sums it all up....
6. Now if that is what you're after then by all means have at it, but I guess that is what really differentiates the hobby shaver after the smooth as silk comfortable feel, and somebody just using a SR for the Economics or Environmental effect, not there there is anything wrong with that, but there is a huge difference in how we view the world...
7. The only plus I see for these is the they can be the gateway drug of straight razor shaving
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GDs are the Williams Shave Soap of Straight razors. You can get the job done with them, but there are a whole lot better options available to us.
I really wonder why people go through the trouble of doing all the fixes to this razor unless your Seraphim? When I bought a Double Arrow I knew it would have the worst plastic scales, rust easily, and be a bear to hone. I got it because it was cheap, and provided a decent shave. If I ever face a time (knock on wood) where I have to sell off everything, well at least I can have a Filly strop and a Gold Dollar and I'd be okay with that. I really don't think you "have" to fix anything on it.
I think what is being shown here with the Gold Dollar chatter on the forums recently is more the divide between hobby straight razor users, and people who just shave with straight razors just like GsSixgun said. I've used a DA, and I was very inexperienced at the time (Still am!
), but I have a new Gold Dollar on the way to further practice my honing and as a curiosity. I remember the DA shaving me fairly well, and comfortably enough. It's not the smoothest edge, but the thing took to pastes and became sharp enough. I didn't care that it had worthless scales or a slightly bent tang seeing as how I only paid under $20 for it. I ended up PIF'ing it to a more experienced member during one of my sales on the BST a few months back.
I think what is being shown here with the Gold Dollar chatter on the forums recently is more the divide between hobby straight razor users, and people who just shave with straight razors just like GsSixgun said. I've used a DA, and I was very inexperienced at the time (Still am!
), but I have a new Gold Dollar on the way to further practice my honing and as a curiosity. I remember the DA shaving me fairly well, and comfortably enough. It's not the smoothest edge, but the thing took to pastes and became sharp enough. I didn't care that it had worthless scales or a slightly bent tang seeing as how I only paid under $20 for it. I ended up PIF'ing it to a more experienced member during one of my sales on the BST a few months back.
I have always been happy with the DA I started with and am even happier with it after having Ambrose re-scale it, re-do the tip a bit, and hone it up:
Seems to hold an edge reasonably well for me. Easy for me to touch up. Nearly as smooth, nearly as sharp as one Sheffield I have. Smoother than the other. The tang is a little "warped." Probably made for a bit more work on Ambrose's part, but it does not affect shaveability or even looks to me.
Seems to hold an edge reasonably well for me. Easy for me to touch up. Nearly as smooth, nearly as sharp as one Sheffield I have. Smoother than the other. The tang is a little "warped." Probably made for a bit more work on Ambrose's part, but it does not affect shaveability or even looks to me.
OK, I'm working on an objective way to test these. I'll post it when i get it fleshed out...
FWIW, Mr. Parko now has the Gold Dollar 200 listed as a carbon steel razor.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-CARBON-STEE...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item414d71ae09
He seems to attribute the higher price to a more finished blade and better scales.
Even so, his price is still much higher than MysteryRazor's.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-CARBON-STEE...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item414d71ae09
He seems to attribute the higher price to a more finished blade and better scales.
Even so, his price is still much higher than MysteryRazor's.
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For the sake of our friendship I'm gonna let this one slide...
This ONE time!
I want some Shenaniganized Williams Soap!
I want some Shenaniganized Williams Soap!
Send me your address I'll send you a puck of Williams with a thumbnotch in it!
You'd need some serious jimps to get a good grip on that.
- Thread starter
- #96
Just got my gd 200 from jay, scales are indeed cheap and flexy but otherwise not too shabby, the blade quality looks to be pretty decent so it should shave fairly well, jay did a good job honing it feels quite sharp though a paste strop should smooth it out even further i get the impression it was put on a 12k stone then stropped on leather.
Might not shave today as im feeling a bit tired and i'll need my wits about me, i will be shaving tomorrow though, i really can't wait for my first straight shave.
Might not shave today as im feeling a bit tired and i'll need my wits about me, i will be shaving tomorrow though, i really can't wait for my first straight shave.
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