Thread: Hi from London :)

Welcome to the SRP. The Dovo is a really nice razor. Unfortunately it does not come shave ready from the factory. You should be able to find someone local to properly hone the razor.
It takes some time to gain the skill to get a really good shave. Get the razor honed and keep at it. Eventually you will be getting really close shaves.

More information can be found here:Straight Razor Place Wiki

Most of all, enjoy yourself.

Hello and welcome to SRP!

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Welcome to the SRP. The Dovo is a really nice razor. Unfortunately it does not come shave ready from the factory. You should be able to find someone local to properly hone the razor.
It takes some time to gain the skill to get a really good shave. Get the razor honed and keep at it. Eventually you will be getting really close shaves.

More information can be found here:Straight Razor Place Wiki

Most of all, enjoy yourself.

Hi thanks for that bit of info I will ask if the razor has been honed and is shave ready before I use it otherwise I will have to find a place that specialises in honing them. I was hoping that the blade would come shave ready so I have something to benchmark against, they do have a video showing how they make the Dovo razors and it shows the blades being honed and then stropped on a leather block so perhaps my one will be sharp.

I have heard that there is a barber at St. John's Wood High Street who hones straights however I have no personal experince with him/her. Ther are few honemeisters in UK to who you can send your razor if that would be required.

Welcome from another Brit.

Neil Miller is a member here, he's hones a razor for me and I can highly recommend his skills his website is The Strop Shop also while I have no personal experience but Steve of The Invisible Edge also has an excellent reputaion.

Either should be able to get your Dovo into a real shave ready condition.

HTH

thebully,

Welcome and hello from Hastings

+1 on Misters Dempster & Miller; they are most fine chaps to do business with

Mr Millers strops and razor work are World Class !!

For shaving consumables, Mr Mayhew of ConnaughtShaving (Welcome To Connaught Shaving) is an excellent resource.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Hi

Thanks for the tips etc, my new Dovo arrived yesterday and I had a shave with it last night and a shave this morning. It does not seem as sharp as my Miraki shavette, but it could be my technique I guess, I might have the razor sent to a specialist who can give it its first hone and strop etc. I didn’t strop it before my first shave because I was a bit frightened of doing more harm than good, also my strop was a very cheap 2” leather one branded Imperial and I have put a couple of little nicks and scratches down it when trying to strop my cheap ebay straight razor which I think had a tiny nick at the end of the blade from dropping it in the sink!

I gave the new Dovo razor a bit of a strop last night before putting it away this time turning the blade on its heel and going really slow. I was stropping one side of the blade at a time and then just the middle but I have since read that it is best to use a figure of 8 pattern moving the blade diagonally as it goes down so will try that tonight.

Is it worth me buying another cheap leather strop I have seen a 3 inch one on ebay or will my one be ok. My one has very fine scratches down one side but a few nicks on the edges near both ends where I was turning the other razor over incorrectly. I think luckily I have made most of my mistakes with the cheap ebay razor so with this expensive Dovo I want to be very careful. All this said my shave this morning was passable with the Dovo so I won’t have to pick up the Miraki in the morning.

Welcome, good to have more locals here!

When I started I was using a piece of leather, i then got a vintage strop on Ebay which was an improvement then a basic Neil Miller strop and I was amazed at the difference. They are in the £20-£30 range but he's out of stock of them at the moment. Peronally I would use that imperial strop and get some more practice (build some muscle memory) so that if you nick it then its no great shakes then when he's got more in stock treat yourself, you wont be disapointed.

I don't know where you bought the Dovo but unless its been honed by someone after it left the factory its not likely to be properly shave ready, so yes it would be a good idea to have it honed. At least that way you know what a sharp razor should feel like.