Thread: Dovo Best Quality vs. Gold Dollar

I am a newbie, so this might be a good comparison from someone who doesn't really know what he's doing yet.

I purchased the Dovo shave ready about two weeks ago, and I've finally gotten to the point where I can shave my entire face with only one or two nicks. Ain't perfect, but I've got a long way to go.

For only about $75 the Dovo is a great looking razor anyone would be proud to own. I like the 5/8 size as it give me a little manuvering room around my face, and it's a little lighter than the Gold Dollar. The razor has jimps both above and under the grip which helps, and the finish is flawless. The scales are plastic, but well made, with an internal post the razor rests on when closed.

The Dovo shaves well, based on my limited experience, and easily passes a HHT after stropping.

The Gold Dollar, at least that's what it was advertised as, has absolutely no markings on it anywhere, but I trust Ken to sell a quality product. I got it to have a good backup razor, and to have something to practice honing on, even though it comes shave ready (HHT no problem) and with a 30 day edge guarantee. Advertised as a starter razor, this is great, because many newbies often ruin their razors stropping or banging them against the sink, which will probably happen within the first 30 days if not hours. (The Dovo also came with a certificate for a free honing.)

I got the Gold Dollar today, and shaved with it tonight. It's a little heavier, with jimps only on the bottom. It cuts well, and even gets those rough spots around the chin, but is not as easy for me to maneuver around those spots.

Again, the scales are made of plastic, not quite finished as well as the Dovo, and the only thing that stops the blade from dropping through is the spine of the razor, not to say the pin is lose.

The extra weight and added width should make the razor easier to strop, and I believe the design is to be forgiving to a newbie.

Once I learn to shave a little better I might see each razor as very good but just different. And, at this stage of the game I would have been very happy with just the Gold Dollar, but I'm glad I got the Dovo first.

It's fun to experiment with different soaps, brushes, aftershaves and whatnot, but it's even more of a luxury to be able to experiment with different razors.

The Gold Dollar gets a big thumbs up as a starter razor, especially when combined with the Filly strop -- incredible value. But, the Dovo beats the Gold Dollar on a lot of counts, and I consider it my first "pretty" razor, worthy of a scales upgrade. I can't say that for the Gold Dollar.

In a nutshell: The Gold Dollar is worthy of passing on to a friend who wants to try a STR8. The Dovo is worthy of passing on to your son.

Hope this helps anyone looking for a first razor.