This manufacturer from China is upping their game with the addition of two new cool looking straight razors to their range. The W59 is the Bruce Lee of the GD series of razors, it has some serious attitude, with great looks and form, sporting a finely tuned physique. The razor is very comfortable in hand, that being said I find it a tad small for me, and it will take a bit of getting used to when one prefers larger razors like the Bundu Whacker. What we loved is the fact that the makers have spent some time upping the quality in the workshop, all razors we checked were consistent and finished off to a good standard. Some jimps on the tang would have been practical, as one grips the razor with more finesse, but if you are a 'neat' shaver who wipes his razor instead of rinsing it, it should not bother you all that much. I decided to randomly try two of them and both delivered a good shave right out the box. I can obviously not 'use' all our stock and confirm this, but my suspicions are that most Gold Dollars from here on out will have a pretty shave-able edge right out the box, something unheard of before. Feel free to try it out in factory condition before forking out an additional R250 to refine the edge, I'd say around half of all users would be happy with the edge in its current condition. The razor weighs in at 56 grams, and has a total closed length of 165 mm, mostly thanks to the longish curved tang, complementing the curved spine beautifully. The business end is made of carbon steel and the blade has a slight 'smile', the total blade length is 62 mm and the 24 mm high blade climaxes in a Spanish point to add some 'drama' to this bad boy. Black, curved Sandalwood scales finishes off this beast from the east to offer a great looking razor at a fraction of the cost of custom razors. It is also oodles and noodles cheaper than any other current manufacturers we are aware of, and also most vintage offerings in any useable condition.
I include some 'tips' from a well known retailer website for ease of use, I 'get' most of it, but not making the sun shine sound quite difficult orchestrate!?
1. Razor maintenance: after use, dry the water and store it with oil. Do not let the sun shine. Do not place in a humid environment. If the maintenance is not in place, a little rust may be wiped off with fine sandpaper to remove the rust spots.
2. Cutting edge protection: The sharpness of the cutting edge is relatively thin. In normal times, it only needs to be back and forth on the scraper cloth to maintain the sharpness. It can only trim the hair, do not cut hard objects, and do not use it as a stationery knife to maintain sharpness.
3. Razor safety: do not touch the knife edge directly with your hand to detect the sharpness. Wipe it with a cleaning cloth or a multi-layer paper towel. The knife belongs to the dangerous object. Do not let the child play it.
To sweeten the deal a bit more, this razor comes with its own black leatherette pouch with soft, velvety interior.