Oh No, Dovo!

Discussion in 'Straight Razors' started by Danny Soz, Oct 30, 2019.

  1. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    Morning fellas! (well it is in London anyways)
    I took possession of a box-fresh Dovo Astrale yesterday, and despite it being a fairly nice-looking piece of kit, was about as 'shave ready' as a rolled-up newspaper.
    I'm exaggerating wildly, of course, but it certainly wasn't the smoothest of two-pass shaves I've ever experienced.
    Is this a fairly common aberration with the brand, guys, or was I just unlucky that the German geezer who honed and stropped the little beauty in Solingen was badly hungover?
    I'll give it a bloody good stropping tonight before going at it again but I doubt it'll make much difference and I'll probably end up sending it out to a nice man with a set of abrasive stones and a steady hand who will charge me about 30 quid for the privilege. :)
     
  2. FSword

    FSword Member

    Where did you buy it from? Are you sure it included honing service?
     
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  3. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Sounds about right. And no... It isn't a unique problem. Dovo is far from the only manufacturer with this problem. It affects all the big name razor manufacturers, Thiers-Issard, Dovo, etc.

    If you want a new straight that is shave ready from the manufacturer, you'll need to buy feom a small artisan razor manufacturer like PRC or Hart.
     
  4. gssixgun

    gssixgun At this point in time...

    Supporting Vendor
    Factory Razors range from the Barely "Shave Ready" to abysmally pathetic, if you watch the Dovo Production vid or TI or Wacker or Revisor etc etc you see why
    Watch the honing vids from those of us the actually hone razors,,, and not ONE of us hones that way ..

    Some are close by virtue of the stars aligning correctly :D and some can get there with dedicated skillfully stropping, but I have never touched one that can't be vastly better

    @Jamie Mahoney is somebody you might want to talk to on your side of the Big pond
     
  5. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    Thank you, my friend, that explains a lot. I was pretty dismayed when I laid the damn thing next to my right ear and began the first stroke. Motorhead was playing real loud in the bathroom and my old woman told me that my screams drowned out The Ace of Spades. :D

    I shall look up Mr Mahoney and see if he can't get me some pain relief. We have some guys in the south of England, calling themselves, The Invisible Edge, who seem to know one end of a water stone from the other.

    I wish I had your skills I can tell you that much.

    Hell, I just wish I had a damn stone! :D
     
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  6. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    Ebay. From a barber supplies outfit. I'd heard that Dovo were always shave-ready. I'd been misled, it would appear :)
     
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  7. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    Now he tells me! ;)
     
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  8. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    Vintage straights are inexpensive ($7-20) and readily available on eBay. Using films to hone a razor together with a leather and linen strop will produce a shave ready edge. In the US the intial cost of a packet of 3m lapping films is less than $30. We can help if interested.
    https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...FA244E79212904B21D3AFA244E792129&&FORM=VRDGAR

    Another option is a Feather SS folding shavette with Artist Club Pro-Guard blades cost less than $70 here on Amazon. You'll get an excellent shave with no need to learn to hone.
     
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  9. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    Thanks Chuck. I appreciate your time and trouble.
    I've looked at the lapping film option and may go down that route once a proper edge has been achieved by somebody who knows what they're doing, unlike yours truly. Failing that, I'll invest in a 12k stone to keep the blade in good shape after it's been properly honed. I can pick one up here in Limey Land for around 20 bucks in your money.
    I have a number of shavettes, the best of which (or, at least, my favourite) is a Parker SRX. Nice balance and weight IMO. I decided to give an authentic SR a try a few weeks back and now find myself with this slight problem.
    I'll let you know how I get on.
    Exciting, ain't it? :D
     
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  10. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    Get it honed properly and it will be a joy to shave with. Sadly Dovo factory edges are well.... you found out.
     
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  11. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    Sounds good my friend. When I started I honed my first razor from start to finish and got a wonderful shave using the mediums I’m suggesting. It’s just pushing and pulling the edge across the films beginning with 30 microns and advancing to .3mu. Send me a PM if you ever want to know more. I’m not opposed to sending out, but for me it just wasn’t something I wanted to do. :)
     
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  12. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    Sure did, Keith. I found out the hard way. Or rather, the dull and out of alignment way :D
     
  13. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    You're a better man than me, Chuck. I don't have the inner belief to put a keen edge on a blade without watching it done a few times by an expert. I guess I have a yellow streak a mile wide running right down my back :D
    I'll certainly take you up on your kind offer and pick your brains for what gradients of film I'll need to keep the little beauty in shape.
    Thank you most kindly, my friend.
     
  14. gssixgun

    gssixgun At this point in time...

    Supporting Vendor
    @Danny Soz

    This might be an informative read for you also, plus in that Vid I tend to Blab ALOT :p but there are some nuggets of wisdom in there too

    https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/video-what-is-the-shave-test.32920/

    This thread I wrote so many years ago on SRP unfortunately still stands the test of time :( it just happens to be about a Factory Dovo

    https://sharprazorpalace.com/beginners/79174-beginners-tips-january-2012-a.html

    Your idea of a 12k (I recommend the Naniwa SS 12k) is a sound idea for anyone that simply wants to maintain their razors, I have numerous customers that only send me razors to hone when they first get them or have an accident they use their 12k only for years

    You will be hard-pressed to beat that Naniwa SS 12k at any price, and it is very versatile, and if you decide honing is for you, you simply take steps down the grit ladder as needed :p


    ps: Yes Invisible Edge has a good rep for honing, I can't remember, so ask Jamie, but I think he is or was honing for them.
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2019
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  15. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    Hey, thanks my friend. That's really kind of you.
    I watched the vid and I have to say, you're much younger than you sound on here ;)
    On a serious note, it was very informative for a greenhorn SR newbie like yours truly. Although I have been using a shavette on and off for some time.
    I just sent the Dovo to the Invisible Edge guys who are gonna get the job squared away for 29 quid (around 37 bucks) so not too bad I guess.
    I gave it a good stropping earlier today and had another crack at it but it was still tugging like a teenage kid in the Playboy Mansion. I ended up making the second pass with the Parker SRX after drying my eyes on my face cloth :)
    As soon as I get the rejuvenated blade back I'll be sure to keep it fresh as a daisy on the strop and polishing stone you mentioned back there.
    To be honest, I love shaving with a straight/shavette and fully buy into all the zen-like prepping that precedes it and also the post-shave malarkey also.
    When I get the Dovo back, I'm fully expecting many trouble-free (and cheap) years of shaving going forward.
    I'll probably get run over by a London bus tomorrow for tempting providence :D
    Thanks again to you and everybody who has been so generous with their time on this one :)
     
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  16. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Art of Shaving also sells "shave ready" Dovo razors. (Hint: they are far from shave ready).

    Hard to blame them. They are just repeating what the mfg is telling them. And...technically, they are correct. It is possible to shave with any Dovo razor right out of the box. Doesn't mean that it will be an enjoyable shave. And for "barber" use, with a comb and used to give a razor cut (think haircut, but razor in place of scissors), it probably works fantastic.
     
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  17. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Slow down...you are dragging that blade too fast if that's how it's tugging! :eek:
     
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  18. Danny Soz

    Danny Soz Active Member

    Yeah, I probably tortured the analogy a bit back there. However, I was sweating like one as I dragged that piece of corrupted carbon steel across my windpipe earlier :D
     
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