Thread: Dovo Best Quality Never Stays Sharp

Originally Posted by Utopian

From where did you buy the razor in the first place? When you say "out if the box," that does not necessarily mean it was a factory edge. If you shaved with it for months, the blade was fine but the subsequent honings were not. I think you need to find out who honed it in the first place and send it back there.

Well Dovo boxes have a perforated seal that is part of the label. This is how they come from the factory if the seal was intact and needed to be broken its pretty much guaranteed that the edge was prepared by the factory.

I'm in Pembroke Pines.

Originally Posted by Maximilian

When you first received the razor, how long did you shave with the razor before you started using cro-ox to keep the edge refreshed?

I can't remember for certain but maybe 4 to 6 weeks I started using the cro-ox. That gave me another 3 or 4. It was a nice run for daily shaving.

Originally Posted by Razorfaust

Well Dovo boxes have a perforated seal that is part of the label. This is how they come from the factory if the seal was intact and needed to be broken its pretty much guaranteed that the edge was prepared by the factory.

This was factory sealed. I remember because on my first shave I was thinking, "Okay, lets see if they really mean shave ready or not" and it pretty much wiped away the whiskers.

Here are the images of the blade... You can see the wear on the spine is pretty good, I started that, but the next two honings brought it this far down...the last image is hard to see, but the bevel looks like this (best picture I could get) all across on both sides.

I've got a Dovo BQ that I bought in 2008 that is actually very nice, but I have honed 3-4 newer ones that all had frowns developing. Frowns can make honing a very frustrating experience, check yours against a known flat surface and see if you can see light coming through between the surface and the edge


Looking at the pictures, that has a LOT of hone wear, it should be honed with tape

I'll let the experts offer guidance but the bevel looks a little wide. Perhaps you might add a layer or two of tape and give it a microbevel for some added strength.

Simple Geometry for taping worn out spines

0-1 mm of wear = 1 layer of 3M 700 0r 88 electrical tape

1-2 mm of wear = 2 layers of tape

3 mm or more = 3 layers of tape and hope for the best

But yes after seeing the pics I think unless you understand how to seriously torque a razor while honing you are simply chasing the edge now

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

I'm not sure what your level of experience is but I'm going to assume that this is not your first week shaving with a SR since you've accumulated three razors and several hones. If the edge is falling apart during the shave it might be concluded that its a bevel issue. Being that it was sent out twice, I suspect that the bevel was set just fine. BUT this may be an indication that the steel itself is in question as its not holding that edge throughout the shave. Is there anything you can say about how the razor was behaving in your attempts to hone it? Did it seem to get sharper and better up to a point and then suddenly take two steps back, forcing you to go back and start again?

So the edge is not falling apart, and I think I'm pretty careful not to over strop (The Gold Dollars don't have the same problem at $20 a piece). If someone told me that the steel wasn't holding the edge I would say that's exactly what it seems like. After it came back both times it could, "pop" hair on my arm, but halfway through the shave it started tugging again.

When I honed it the first time I was extremely light, no pressure (weight of the blade) and I did the small circle method on both side. The stone was lapped with a Norton Flattening stone. I started on the 8k thinking it would be a touch up, but it was the same. seemed sharp until I shaved., then I did the same on the 4k -> 8k, 12k and it seemed like it should have stayed sharp, it would pop hairs, After that failed I sent it to the first honer, came back, same issue, send to second honer, came back same issue. I would have really thought (and it may still be) that this was my fault, but for my other two razors I can maintain without a problem.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Simple Geometry for taping worn out spines

0-1 mm of wear = 1 layer of 3M 700 0r 88 electrical tape

1-2 mm of wear = 2 layers of tape

3 mm or more = 3 layers of tape and hope for the best

But yes after seeing the pics I think unless you understand how to seriously torque a razor while honing you are simply chasing the edge now

gssixgun, can you explain what you mean by, "chasing the edge now"?