Straight Razor Men's Professional Cut Throat Straight Edge Shaving Razor Carbon Steel w/Box Gold Dollar 208

I purchased this razor on a whim and was not expecting much, so I was pleasantly surprised. This may be an inexpensive straight razor, but it works surprisingly well. As others have mentioned- don't expect good results right out of the box- you will have to put in some time to hone a good edge on the blade. But once you have done this- it works quite well. This razor will never compare to a high end Dovo or Boker blade, but if you are looking for a good introductory blade, you can't really beat this for the money. If you are new to shaving with a straight razor, you will need to learn to hone your blade periodically, or you will have to pay someone else to do it for you professionally. You will need several varying grits of whetstones that will add some initial expense to your shaving costs, but will save you money in the long term over paying others to sharpen your blade. A couple of small gripes: The curved heel of the blade could have been ground better where it meets the bottom edge of the blade, but I do have to remember this razor was under $30! Also, the factory edge was pretty rough and not honed very evenly enough across the blade. One side of the blade's edge was honed slightly higher than the other, so I started out with a 3000 grit Japanese whetstone to even it up a little. (It took a lot of passes to get it right, so I probably should have started with a few passes on a 1200 grit stone to save some time before going to the 3000.) Once I had it evened up, I cleaned up the opposite side just a little, and then progressed to a DMT Extra Extra Fine 8000 mesh diamond stone to polish the 'new' edge from both sides of the blade. Finally, 30/50 passes on the rough/smooth side of a leather strop to align the blade's edge yielded a nice shave. It is now extremely sharp and seems to hold a good edge.

update (4-17-2017) Okay, took me awhile but finally got my razor SHARP! This is a great razor BUT you need to know how to sharpen it. i tried four different places that said they could sharpen a straight razor and each one failed to finish the job. When you buy a straight razor you also need to buy a good strop (doesn't need to be expensive) if your just starting out don't buy an expensive one because I am fairly sure you will end up putting nicks in it while your learning. Also buy a honing paste, believe me, it is needed. Point 25 micron. I am not sure if it okay for me to put a link on here to a youtube video so I will not do so. I will try to update this with a description of how to do it or ??? The writing below was from 2015 when I bought this razor. I am in my opinion still just learning to shave with a straight razor but am finding that getting a straight razor sharp is harder than one might think. Unless you know a good place to get it sharpened or know how to I would suggest staying with a safety razor or going with a shevette. I just got my shevette and it is sharp! My issue is I still have to deal with replacement blades. This straight razor is great but do not forget you will need to sharpen it yourself or get it sharpened by someone unless you simply want to use it for practice. This is a Gold Dollar 208 straight razor and is great for the price. I bought this because I had bought a shave ready and the complaints by other people were that it was not sharp enough, I actually thought the shave ready was nice and sharp (cut myself three times while learning). I compared this razor with the shave ready after I took it and had it sharpened by a professional in town. The shave ready and this one after it was sharpened (15 dollars) shave about the same.

Those people who knock this razor as "not sharp enough" and it doesn't give a good shave are not reading the description. If you want a razor that is shave ready don't buy one that says it is "not shave ready." It also says "practice" in the headline. I am new to straight razor shaving and I bought this razor for one thing -- to practice without cutting my throat. It is just what I wanted. The scales are polycarbonite and are OK. The blade sings nicely and has potential if I decide to have it honed. But for now, it is just what I wanted to practice the art of straight razor shaving. It is a decent Chinese made product. I already have a very nice Dovo that is shave ready. But I'm not ready to use it. Hence this razor will help me prepare to use the Dovo. So, if you are interested in entering the world of straight razors, this product is a great start. It is nice to hold, the weight is just right for a nice clean downward stroke, and it also looks good. It is a full hollow 5/8" blade. I didn't expect much at this price point and I got more than I expected for the price. If you want to knock this razor, do so for reasons other than that you cannot read and understand the full description. I cannot give it 5 stars but it certainly doesn't deserve to be under-rated.