Originally Posted by
cosperryan
Hey sorry I haven't replied sooner. Yeah I bought the razor before I found this site and I figured like you did and that hey a ten dollar razor (it was from China and the manufacturer was Fury I think and said "Gold Medal" on the blade) must be just as good but without the frills. The steel good companies use is high in carbon or can be stainless as well. The steel in the cheapies is just your average steel that is good for making forks and butter knives. Also the temper is usually not done right and therefore can be too brittle or too soft and won't take a proper edge. As for me actually trying to shave with it call it stubbornness. I did get it to the point where it would shave arm hair some what but not like a real razor. The blade was also warped the bevel gets higher in some areas versus others. They also said that it was a full hollow and is in all actuality a 1/4 hollow. It is ridiculously heavy and the scales are chunky. When I finally told myself that my efforts where fruitless I used the razor as a practice razor. I would practice stropping with it to get the muscle memory down so that when I got a good razor I would be less likely to nick my strop. It also helped me with my honing technique and although I have only honed a few razors I would say that my outcomes have been better than I expected and I have to think that it was because I was able to practice with a razor that I had no care if I ruined it. It helped me get the feel for what pressure to use and the motions down. I see that you bought a Dovo as well as a GD. I would say that when it comes time for you to learn to hone you start with the GD and if you can manage to get a good result from the GD than I would bet that you would be able to hone the Dovo as well and get better results. Just keep reading posts, watching videos and asking questions and you'll be good to go.