I brought 2 vintage straights to a local shop to have them honed. They had them for 2 weeks. I got them back and they were horrible. I stropped them, still sucked. So, before I dropped more money, I figured I give this razor a shot. Night and Day. Great shave, close, great feel. Matt and RE have taken care of my vintage Gillette Adjustables (Slim and Fat Boy) and now they're going to get my grandfathers straights to take care of. Outstanding service and products from them!

I highly enjoy using this razor. I would have given it 5 stars if it would have came as sharp as it was advertised. The very first time I used it, the blade pulled and tugged my beard like a cartridge razor that hasn't been changed in about a month. You can't take my review to heart though because it is also the first straight razor I've used and it may just be inexperience causing the pulling. overall, 3/5.

Hi, so beautiful razor , not too expensive, very good shave, received completly shave ready, for 1/3 less expensive than dovo... good sensations! The plastic handle is well done, and the Gold Dollar logo on the blade is original! Beautiful look and good job, but you must have experience with straight razors, and so, you like it i'm sure!

I bought the GD 208 in shave ready condition ("even stropped!"). I tested right out of the box. It shaved, but not comfortably. I took it to my hones to rework it. Second shave better, but I wanted more. To strop this time, it did more than 100 rounds on flat newsprint, a dozen or more rounds on flat leather loaded with CromOx, and finally on clean flat leather. The third shave tonight was much better. It behaves now like a razor and no longer like a scraper. I enjoy working my own razors, but if I buy shave-ready, I expect shave-ready. I don't like the rounde point on this razor. There is still a "point" at the end of the cutting edge, and it is hard to judge where it is mid-shave. I may reprofile the tip to a flat or Spanish tip for better maneuvering. For that, perhaps I should return this one and buy it elsewhere for $15-$25 since I know I'll have to do the same work on it and can still save some coin.