Razor Emporium Beginner Straight Razor Gold Dollar 808 SHAVE READY

I first tried straight razor shaving with a square wedge. It looked like I walked through a briar patch, face first.

I then switched over to this round edge hollow ground razor. I am now walking like Vladimir Putin after he gets off his horse. What a difference!

Thanks for putting a nice edge on this Gold Dollar Razor, Razor Emporium. You made my day.

Got a digital gift card for your site, site wouldn't accept code. Called in order, order shipped out and arrived to have corrosion on the thumb hook, no jimping on the top of the blade, and rust around the pin connecting the scales to the blade. Spoke to "someone" who answered the phone and they were professional and apologetic. Said they would personally pick and inspect my razor before sending a replacement. This individual said it would be mailed on the 28th of December and again expressed his apologies. It is the 3rd of January and I still haven't seen my replacement. Mistakes happen but this many on one order doesn't exactly breed confidence as a customer.

Picked this up to try my transition into straight razor shaving after about 2 years of safety razor shaving. The blade has a great balance and came ready to shave out of the package. The 3" leather strop teamed up with this is a fantastic combo and I highly recommend both to anyone looking to take shaving to the next level.

I know it was sharp and crisp for the 10 canvas laps and 35 leather laps..
I know it was a very clean shave...
Got the Proraso green and black badger brush. Nice combo.
Switched up from a shavette...yup, I B hooked...
Oh !! got the alum too...not had to use it ...yet !!
Thanx, the Ladies done good !

I try to be unbiased in reviews. When a man says that out loud, it usually means he's already biased. Moving on...

The razor came roughly finished, sharp edges, terrible grind work (Looked like a new guy just started). The jimping was visual only, no tactile feedback really. The shave would of been adequate for the price of the razor, but the grind debocle left a sharp point on the heel. This lead to minor cuts when doing detailed work on the jawline. The "plastic", for lack of a better term, was smooth except sharp lines left over (from molding?). < I actually cut my finger webbing on it for reference. > The scales fit the blade nicely with proper tension. The tail action was a little sloppy but expected. Logo was nicely done on the face!

All this said, the razor shaves and I take longer to avoid the "heel spur" the new guy kindly gave me. I didn't expect perfect craftsmanship or a crazy honed and stropped blade. I just expect the lines to be even and proportional, I expected a "eye ball" flat edge and decent fit with the razor to scales. I got both those, and some things I didn't want too. Would I do it AGAIN? Absolutely, I did it to learn how to repair razors not learn how to ship one off or to make one from scratch.

Bottom line, it's for beginners and people who want to learn to care for a razor without messing up their NICE one. To the company's credit, they suggest as much in the listing. Happy shaving everyone!

This is my first straight razor. I am very pleased with the Gold Dollar 808. It was shave ready out of the box.
I'm getting a good close shave.