Thread: A little help needed

Hi there,

I am a new member on here and new enough to the world of straight razor shaving.

When I was a youngster my grandfather gave me a straight razor and showed me how to shave with it, however my mum put paid to that when I came back home after the summer. I was 12 so I can kind of see her point.

Whilst my grandfather was alive I would go over and shave with a straight as much as I could but that all stopped when he passed away nearly 20 years ago.

In the intervening years of work etc etc the thought of straight shaving kinda slipped out of my mind until recently. I now have a little more time to luxuriate in shaving and wish to take it up again.

I had a look for my grandfathers old razor and can find neither hide nor hair of it as such I need to buy myself a replacement.

This is where I need some help...

I have had a look online and quite frankly I am bewildered at the array of options available to me, it was far simpler when I was just given a razor and didnt have to make any choice of my own.

As far as I can remember the straight I used to use was a 6/8 but I haven't a clue who it was made by and chances are it is no longer in production (Grandad had owned it since just after WWI)

I have come across the Dovo Bismarck 6/8 and was wondering if anyone on here has any experience with these razors and if so are they something that you would recommend.

Apologies for the long winded post but it saves me having to go back and fill in the details later.

Tom

I don't have the Bismark but I do have one of Dovo's 6/8 Best Quality razors & I truely love it so far, the balance just feels right & the shave to me is excellent, although I'm still in the learning stages of shaving since like you it has been years since I last shaved with a straight.

Hey Raider,

Thanks for that, it's proving surprisingly difficult, but fun, to get back into straight shaving.

Although I knew it wouldn't be something I could pick up off the shevles in the chemists I did at least think that somewhere would have them for sale in an actual bricks and mortat store so that I could get a feel for what I like as opposed to having to half guess based on what I used as a child!

I am half considering buying a 5/8 and a 6/8 off of ebay on the cheap, not to shave with but just to get a feel of the weight and size etc

Yeah unfortunatly around here anyway there isn't anyone that sells Straight Razors, I haven't even found any in an antique shop either & the beauty supply places only have the really cheap disposable blade type of straight razors...

I got mine from www.Vintageblades.com with a whole kit since I didn't have anything to start with like the brush, strop & ofcorse the razor.
My next one will be a 6/8 but probably a Bismark or similar but I really like the Carbon Steel & Dovo really makes a nice razor.

For sure carbon steel is the way to go, I occasionally make my own knives and much prefer to work with/own carbon steel over stainless.

It takes that little bit more effort but is worth it overall

A dovo 6/8 special was my first shaver...it never let me down

Hi Tom,

Don't forget you can also check out the Classifieds here (see link at top of this page).

Good range of prices, many restored blades - and you might see one similar to your grandfather's.

All the best with the journey,
Michael.

Hi bigtom,

That is a very heart warming story. Your grand father sounded like a great person.

I have the DOVO Bismark in black. That is a mighty fine razor and a fine shaving razor. I own 54 razors, but the Bismark shows up at least once a week in my rotation. There is a review here at SRP. You don't say where you are located, but from your vocabulary, can I assume the UK?

There are some really great guys on site here from the UK, Stubear being one of them. He has helped me through my humble straight razor beginnings and I'm sure can help you as well.

If you are committed to learning this and are not just trying to figure out if you like it, then for sure the Bismark would last you a lifetime and you would be the grandfather that a grandson would try to find the razor that belonged to.

If not - DOVO Best Quality or DOVO Special. I have the DOVO Special in Tortoise. It was my first razor and is also still in regular rotation. Really good shaver.

Good luck to you.

Cheers,
David

Edit - sorry, I posted the wrong name - it should have been bigtom

Originally Posted by jpm7676

A dovo 6/8 special was my first shaver...it never let me down

+1 on the DOVO Special - I have it and I love it.

Thanks for all the replies, especially the ones in favour of the Bismarck.

It certainly seems to be a fine razor and after reading your thoughts and the reviews on it I have just placed an order for two, one black and one red so that I can have a bit of a rotation between them, not to mention I have a case that will hold two razors quite nicely and it would be a shame to leave it looking empty.

I am indeed from the UK, seems I have been a little remiss in completing my profile on here.

The classifieds on here look great; I managed to find a reasonable deal on the two Bismarcks and I'm actively considering spending the remainder of my budget on something nice from the items listed.

The other razor that has tickled my fancy is an 11/16 Revisor Gold that I have seen listed here:
Revisor Gold Straight Razor, Solingen

Does anyone happen to know of anywhere else that one can obtain a new Revisor? I read several of the reviews here on the forum about them and they seem to be quite the razor.