I’m not new to wet shaving, having converted from cartridges to DE safety razors about 10 years ago. I am, however, new to the world of straight razor shaving. After researching everything I could about straights, I decided the best bag would probably be a cheaper straight that I could learn on, not only using it on my face, but maintaining it, because chances are there are going to be some stumbles. Ordering at Razor Emporium (RE) was easy. It took a week for my order to arrive. I can’t attribute that to RE, though. They did drop the shipment in the mail the day after I ordered, and I did go with the free shipping option. It took the US Postal Service 6 days to deliver it. (It was the week of Thanksgiving, though, so there was 1 federal holiday during the delivery time.) The items I ordered came very well packaged, with the razor stored in a plastic pouch and really well-oiled. I’m half a dozen shaves in with the Gold Dollar straight. Between being new to straights and questioning the overall quality of the razor I chose, I think the first couple of shaves were probably a combination of my newness to shaving with a straight and having not stropped the hell out of the blade. It does seem the blade did come honed; however, “Ready to shave out of the box” does not mean take the razor out of the box and begin scraping your face. You will be happiest if you strop the blade first. Today, after 5 or 6 shaves and having stropped the blade in about 8 stropping sessions of 40 to 50 laps each session (I stropped the blade even on days I didn’t shave), my technique finally seemed a bit better and the blade seemed much more keen to shave than scrape. For the reasons I chose this straight, I was tempted to give it 5 stars. It does the job; it’s a good learning tool. The reasons I gave it 4 stars: This razor is mass produced in China with cheap materials and cheaper labor. You can buy a beautifully handcrafted vintage straight for about what this Gold Dollar costs. I’ve seen Solingen, Wade and Butcher, and Paul Waldmin vintage razors, in beautiful condition, for sale for not much more than $50. Why did I decide on this then? Because no matter how careful you think you will be, no matter how many videos you watch and think, “I can do that….” You can’t. Not without a lot of shaves and practice. I’ve got water on the scales, in the scales. I’ve accidently misapplied alcohol with an inexperienced squirt of the atomizer. I want to make sure I can apply oil and store it correctly to avoid oxidation. While a vintage costs about the same or a few bucks more for a very-good-condition straight, when and if I decide on a vintage, I want to take care of it well and let it last my lifetime and be handed on in as beautiful a condition as I purchased it. Reason number 2 for 4 stars: I’ve seen the same Gold Dollar for sale new for about 20% less than I bought it at RE. That said, I don’t know if the sources selling them were as trustworthy as RE, so I did choose to buy from here. All of that said, this was a good purchase, and I’m happy to have bought from RE. No regerts! Eh. Regrets.  Thanks for the razor, and, Matt, thanks for all the videos out there. They helped me a lot as I looked into straight razor shaving and stropping.

Firstly, I can only compare this to a shavette as I've never bought a straight razor before. I decided to buy this from Razors Emporium since it was advertised as "shave ready" - something that's quite hard to find in the UK. I was really impressed with Matt's YouTube videos - such a good communicator with tons of experience. Despite being sent from Arizona to Scotland, the delivery time was pretty quick. It was advertised as "shave ready"...and it was..up to a point. I did manage to get a fairly decent shave straight out of the box but it wasn't nearly as sharp as my shavette, so I had to buy a strop after a couple of uses. Frankly I think I've made it worse due to my lack of strop experience! The condition and appearance of the Gold Dollar was pretty good and its got a good weight and balance to it making it pleasurable to shave with. If it was only a bit sharper then I'd have given it more stars. I wonder if they spend a little more time honing/stropping their more expensive straights? All that being said, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another razor from these guys - price permitting. I haven't contacted the Razor Emporium to complain as I don't feel I the sharpness issue merits a complaint....plus it would cost me too much money,time and effort to send it back. Furthermore, I don't feel I could part with my first straight razor. As I've already said, these guys are experienced, knowledgeable, friendly and conscientious and happy to answer any questions you might have. Thanks guys.

Not shave ready at all. Will send it to be sharpened Pleased with the scales wish it was sharper

I stopped in the Shop at Razor Emporium to get advice on getting started with a true straight edge. I am shifting from a shavette. I bought the Gold Dollar 208 Shave Ready and am very pleased. Like the other reviewer indicates, "I can't compare to a Dovo, etc." because I have not shaved with one. However, if you are somewhat skeptical as to whether you will like straight edge shaving and you want to introduce yourself....then this is a great place to start. The 6/8 may seem a "tad" big but it certainly is manageable and I wouldn't let that stop me from buying. Because the GD 208 has been good so far, I am interested in upgrading to a Dovo when the money is in hand. I will use the 208 as a traveler. The scales and look appeal is pretty ordinary, however, respectful. You simply can't beat this price for an inexpensive straight edge. Make sure to get a strop (full size)and take care of it just like you would with any sharp tool that you would trust on your face. Keep some mineral oil on hand to keep it oily to prevent any rust that could develop over an extended use of time w/o use. I do wish it came with a case versus zip-lock baggy. But hey, what do you expect? No frills at a no frills price. I say go for it...you will like it and you can always upgrade to a German blade in the future.