Dovo Straights: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

I was inspired to write this blog post based on a thread where @BaylorGator asked for others input on new Dovo straights. The Bismarck is popular on The Shave Den, so I made sure to include what I know about it.
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I’m a big fan of new production Dovo straight razors and work with them a lot. I settled on Dovo for two primary reasons. First, all of their razors are the same quality for shaving performance. Performance of my Dovo Best is the same as my Bergischer Lowe. Pricing differences are due to finish and scale material. Of course, they sell different types of blades and men will have preferred blades based on these differences.

The second big reason I like new Dovo’s is that they are properly honed before leaving the factory. Of all the blades I’ve worked with, all but one fit my definition of shave-ready with stropping on balsa w/ stropping paste and regular stropping.

Quality straight razors are hand-made, requiring great skill; especially for full-hollow blades. Buying a blade that is already honed culls many of the problem razors before landing on your door step.

Most of their razors a satin-finish on the blade as opposed to being polished. Tangs/tails aren’t polished either, though blades with gold plating in these areas seem to be smoother.

The problem with gold plating on the tang and tail is that it always comes off over time. Personally, I don’t like gold plating on the face of the blade because it will come off as well.

It’s somewhat surprising that the straight razor industry hasn’t moved to stainless steel in the same way that culinary knives have. Dovo told me that they have done focus/shaving groups and that men don’t notice a difference between carbon and stainless steel.

Most of their razors are 5/8, full-hollow. Full-hollow blades deliver a closer shave due to metal flexibility when compared to flatter grinds. They are also more likely to cause nicks.

The Bismarck is a very popular 6/8 shoulder-less model. The purpose of the shoulder is to add stability. The lack of shoulder probably leads to the blade being more flexible, thus allowing closer shaves

The only aspect of Dovo products that I don’t like are the scales. Their scales are flat, like most modern scales. They are also 1/8” thick. Thick, flat scales feel clumsy to me. I can go with flat scales if they are really thin, though not 1/8”.

Having said that, Dovo puts their focus on the quality of the blade, which is exactly where it should be.

Have a great shave,

Pete

 

Great information, Pete!

 

Good post.

..

 

My first razor was a Prima Silver Steel - seems I made a great choice.

 

I'm partial to them as well. I think the artwork on those blades are awesome.

 

@Pete123 the only way I could see how most men can’t tell the difference between stainless and carbon steel blades is if they are not honing them. The only thing that makes me have that thought is the first time I honed a stainless for myself I could really tell the difference, I was able to put a better edge on it. But with how my honing has progressed it is getting harder to tell the difference of feel on the face. The main noticeable difference is that the edge lasts longer before it needs a touch up.

 

Those are great points - I'm glad you shared them.

 

I just received one with ebony scales yesterday. Can't wait to try it out in the morning. I'm confident it will shave better than the dollar shave experimental razor I bought to make sure I didn't hate straight razor shaving. I have a mile to go as far as technique but nothing incentivizes me like a new tool or toy.

 

I have mixed feelings about the new ones and own/have owned a few - I far prefer the vintage ones. I too don’t care for the gold plating that always wears off and looks ratty. One Dovo that I have is a Pallisander, a plain blade Bismarck that was made for a vendor. I re-scaled it into better scales and it’s a very nice razor.

My biggest complaint is that they use domed wheels/hones now, and if that’s overdone you’ll either have to do some honing gymnastics to hone into the low area on the blade that the domed hone created, just like a frown. I’ve owned two Pallisanders, the one I mentioned above is fine but the other won’t hone normally on a flat hone so it sits in a drawer now, unscaled. Some of the new ones are just badly ground and you don’t know until you put them on the hones.

The shoulder/stabilizer adds rigidity to hollow ground blades. Usually when you see shoulderless razors the grind is heavier. The Bismarck gets away with it because the blade is shorter and that adds the needed rigidity. I have no idea how the shoulderless Filarmonica 14s do it but they do (they also shave very well).

Anyway, that’s my thoughts on Dovo.

Cheers, Steve

 

I started on dovos as well, I think my first was a "blingy" 5/8" with gold wash and pearl scales, I also have a 5/8" in tortoise shell and a 6/8" great razors, my experience is that they are not really "shave ready", they definitely need a bit of a touch up, but it's great they are still going strong it just shows how popular wet shaving has become in recent years.

 

I have 2 Dovo’s, a Bismarck and a Master’s. The Masters is the stainless steel version of the Bismarck, same shoulderless full hollow but with different etching. Both shave excellent and are easy to maintain, I can’t discern any difference in this shave or honning of the razors. Despite the price these are the straights I would recommend to a new straight shaver.

 

I agree! I often recommend the Bismarck as a first straight. I don’t believe anyone has taken that advice as of yet.

 

I really like mine a lot.

 

I have 6 Dovos and I'm afraid to say my experience has been rather mixed.

I agree with @Steve56 that the edge can be difficult to deal with. One of mine came with a clear frown from the factory which was a major pain to sort out. In my book no quality razor should leave a factory like that.

There is a video on YouTube showing their production process. One thing that alarmed me was the inspection after hardening, where they said that any warped blades were ground flat and production continued. I guess I would hope that a warped blade would be rejected rather than ground. Maybe I'm being unrealistic.

I bought two razors from a small shop near where I work. Being able to inspect and choose razors in person allowed me to check the blades and I ended up with two excellent razors that required minimal attention and shave really nicely.

For a long time I wasn't happy with the edges on my carbon steel Dovo's, that's is until I honed them on natural stones. Finishing on a Charnley Forest brought up a lovely edge and they are finally very nice to shave with.

 

I’m very happy with my Bismarck’s. The only reason that I wouldn’t recommend the newer c2 for a beginner is the expense, they are somewhat pricey for a person who doesn’t know if they like straight shaving yet. But Once you know you like straights they are a good buy. I also have three vintage 406 models all 5/8 finished on different stones, they all took great edges easily and shave really good.

 

I've got two Dovo straights: one is a Bismarck (with the pearloid inlay in the scales), and the other is one of the Best Quality 6/8. Both are great shavers.

 

I'm not a fan of the Gold Dollar straights - a lot of folks that could enjoy using a straight get turned off by the lower quailty ones.

You add some great info. I agree on the gold electroplating. I would much rather have them use etching and let the blades be more simple.

Our very own @BaylorGator got a Bismarck based on recommendations from The Shave Den.

They definitely have razors get through the quality check that shouldn't make it. I've only had one, though have read comments like yours. Of course, receiving one the has a frown wouldn't meet anyone's idea of shave ready and that one shouldn't have been shipped.

I agree that a warped blade should be discarded - there is a reason that it warped.

 

True, and it is currently my favorite razor. Because I have a thicker, coarser beard, I definitely prefer the heft and size of the Bismarck over the smaller, lighter 5/8 razors. It just seems to glide across the face under its own weight.

 

I’ve got an Astrale arriving today. It will be my first foray into straight razors...

 

Be sure to post pics, in the Acquisition thread, when it arrives, so we can all drool over it.