Thread: New DOVO passed HHT, normal?

Originally Posted by EvilDylan

I just purchased a dovo carbon straight, and out of the box i tried the ball of the thumb test and it felt very very sharp. I then tried the HHT and it was flawless. I decided not to hone or to strop and it was the best shave I've had.

Is this normal to receive a razor with a seemingly perfect edge?

I bought a new DOVO in October 2007. I had the same experience as you. It came shave-ready out of its sealed box. Don't know if it performed the HHT, 'cause I had not learned about that test back then, but it gave me about 7 or 8 decent "newbie" shaves. I did WTG & ATG passes right from day 1. Dovo states somewhere on their website that their razors are packed and sealed shave-ready. As far as I can tell, they meet that promise. Probably not ultimate sharp-sharp, like some of the honemeisters can do it, but sharp enough to get a decent shave.
They probably don't take the time to put such the ultimate edge on it, 'cause time being money and all, but from a marketing viewpoint it would be very stupid to ship them so blunt it would dissapoint the customer with their product from day one. I believe most of their razors will shave. Just maybe not all as smooth as they could (or should).

From now on be sure to strop just before each shave for approx 50 laps and you should be good for awhile.
Congrats on the good fortune!

Originally Posted by EvilDylan

I just purchased a dovo carbon straight, and out of the box i tried the ball of the thumb test and it felt very very sharp. I then tried the HHT and it was flawless. I decided not to hone or to strop and it was the best shave I've had.

Is this normal to receive a razor with a seemingly perfect edge? Did i make a mistake in not stropping or honing prior to my first shave? I can't believe that I did considering the quality of my shave.

Thanks for the input!

FWIW, and I know some may have had different experiences, but every *unopened* Dovo i've ever purchased was absolutely shave ready right out of the box, and while I've had edges from other people (and my own for that matter) that may have matched it, I've never had any that felt sharper.
Enjoy your good luck. I've also bought a "new" Dovo from the mall and had it pull like the Dickens, guess too many people "tested its sharpness" or something ....
Of course, YMMV and all that, and send it in if it's not ready.
John P.

Sigh..I didn't even test mine. I got a new dovo "best quality" 4/8 from Classicshaving and shipped it away to be honed.
Here under the heading of "They don't make them like they used to" is a pic of the back of the package that the nos DD sp1 came in. I guess honing a new blade was a big no no then..