Well I've been wondering how new straights from the big names compare to my eBay clean up Razors and my other vintage Razors ( Dubl Ducks, Wade and Butcher, Genco etc. ).. so today arrived an in my mailbox were a Dovo Pearlex, a Boker Arbolito, And a Ralph Aust 5/8 round point. Kind of dove Right in. Now I need to figure out how to use 3 razors for one shave! Pics were too big to add.. here is a link. Modern Straights https://imgur.com/gallery/GRajE
Agreed, and not usually in my budget. I down sized on some of my other hobbies, and decided to put some of the money into this one. I wanted to know how a professionally honed new razor shaves. And I think my RAD should be slowed down for quite some time.
Nice! I came really close to buying the Dovo Pearlex, until @DaltonGang made me buy the Bismarck . I've heard good things about the aunt too, of course Bokers have a good Rep as well. We need to hear your opinions on the quality of build and shave. Dang! Sorry I didn't mean to give you an assignment
Funny thing ... I meant to order the Bismark. Had both in my cart, and accidentally deleted the Bismark instead of the Pearlex. By the time I figured it out and talked with the vendor ( who offered to refund and send the Bismark before even receiving the order ) I opted to keep the pearlex
TSS.. He was very cool, although he did make sure I knew it was MY mistake. He offered to refund me for the Pearlex, then pay for the Bismark and he would ship the Bismark. The order may not have been picked up by the postal service yet, but I ordered Friday, Received it today.
I've also purchased from Jarod. He can be a little on the ornery side, but his prices can't be beat and the come shave ready. When it comes to honing; he knows his biz. They come with a super nice edge, finished on a coticule.
Wow, that is some serious bling! Congratulations. I am a fan of the modern straights, I hope you enjoy them. I also bought a couple of razors from Jarod and he was a pleasure to deal with and he was great about shipping non-CONUS. His razor all came with wonderful edges. Looking forward to your reports.
Well its been a week since my first use of any modern era straight razors. I've used a lot of different vintage razors, and like most of them. Love a few of them as well. So here are my first thoughts about the three razors I acquired. I have shaved twice with each. All were purchased shave ready from well known vendors. On the second shave, i took 2 of them them to a naniwa 5,8,12k followed with wool felt and .25 micron diamond, 100 laps on horse hide strop. Dovo Pearlex: Great to look at, however the scales feel kind of cheap. The whole razor has an odd balance to me, and feels kind of clunky. I looked at the bevel under 30x and was unhappy to see 7 little micro chips in the edge. The first shave was actually OK. I wouldn't have known about the chipping if i didn't know any better. Still didn't like the feel in my hand too much, but I couldn't stop admiring how it looked! Second shave, chips removed, It was a much better shave. Boker Arbolito: Looks nice, especially the grind and blade shape. No jimps, but still feels great in the hand. Well balanced, not cheap feeling. Edge was a mirror polish, and the shave was very nice. I love the feel of this razor, but I do usually prefer square or spike points. Second shave... equally as good, but a bit more surgical in feel to the honing done from the vendor ( obviously better at honing than me) Ralph Aust: Plain and to the point. Everything about it feels nice. Bevel mirror polish, jimps on top and bottom. Perfectly balanced for me. Face feel was smooth as butter. I didn't have it in me to possibly screw up the edge, so stropped and put away. Shave 2, great. If it wasn't a round point, It would make my top 3. Sooo am I dumping my vintage razors for these? Well, maybe a few. Was I blown away by them? Yes and no Would I recommend them to someone? Yes all of them... from beginner to experienced If I could only keep one, probably the Boker.. ( then trade it for a square point Aust ) All in all they were all nice, and Im glad to have them, But I have a feeling I will reach for the Boker the most often. But if someone asks to see some razors, Ill show them the Dovo. If someone is looking to get into Straights and want a new one I'll recommend the Aust, Its a great razor for its price.. These are just my first impressions, and my opinions
Great review. I was almost ready to pull the trigger in the same Dovo. I went with the Bismarck, and after your review; I'm glad I did. It has the looks and the scales are really nice wood. The RA is also not written of very much. I really liked your take on it
Just a Wee Reminder..Most Current Dovos Etc...Will Need Honed from the Box..Unless You are Lucky..In Fact..Every New Dovo I have Had to Hone Over the Last Year or So Needed Taken to the 1 K Bevel Hone..In the UK at Least the Vendors that Sell them as Shave Ready are a Mile Off..Not Only that Some Vendors Put Years of Excessive Hone Wear on them..I Don't Know what they are Using...A Brick or Summit..Nae Kiddin.. Billy..
The vendor we refer to hones all razors on a coti prior to shipping. I'm quite surprised by the micro chips on the blade. His edges are typically well regarded. Mine was exceptional.
Cant Say for Sure in this Case..But I Do Know from Experience that Some Dovos from the Box on the Hone have Factory Burrs from Crude Grinding Methods on the Bevel..I Lightly Kill the Edge a Number of Times on the 1 K Stone to Get Rid of the them..Once it Leaves the 1 K Stone they Should be Burr or Micro Chip Free before the Progression.. Also..Some of the Current Carbon Dovo Blades Can Show Signs of Micro Corrosion..Yeah..True..Here Again that Should be Honed Out on the 1 K Bevel Hone..Dovo Razors Hone Up Particularly Well..You Cant Take the Quality of the Machining on the Bevel Area to be the Same in them All..The Micro Lens Reveal's All..Also the Roughness or Smoothness of the Feel of the Blade on the Hone..I Find they Hone Up Real Easy.. Billy..
