Thread: Looking to buy a "brand new" ornately etched blade

Hey all!

I came to this completely ignorant to the qualities and conditions of straight razors, drawn in by nostalgia and craftsmanship involved. After ditching my rusty old razor for a newer droscher blue diamond, a great shaver with a very small but still present bit of staining on the blade. I am now interested in buying my first brand new blade. After doing a bit of research I figure that Dovo is not a bad choice in steel quality (though I have heard murmurs of quality control issues) but as I already have a solid shaver I am now looking to go ornate.

I'll admit I'm a sucker for beautifully etched and gold leafed blades so after a bit of poking about I think I have fallen in love with this particular style: Dovo Imitation Pearl, Full Hollow Carbon Steel, 5/8" | RoyalShave

I think this will be a wonderful blade, I love to see any nautical markings such as anchors, and helms, and the blue tinting on the spine is damn sexy. Just wanted to put this out there and ask if anyone could suggest any other blades that might have similar aesthetics for under $200.

Thanks in advance, honing/stropping/shaving!

The Bergischer Lowe is a very nice shaver and, in my example, the quality is good.

One thing to beware, the rubber ring on the tang attracts water and is not easy to clean. I ended up removing mine as there was some slight staining - after cleaning this, most of the gold on the tang also went so my advice would be to remove before use.

Edit. If you do go for this and remove the ring you may want to apply something over the gold on the tang to prevent it being rubbed away with use.

Originally Posted by UKRob

The Bergischer Lowe is a very nice shaver and, in my example, the quality is good.

One thing to beware, the rubber ring on the tang attracts water and is not easy to clean. I ended up removing mine as there was some slight staining - after cleaning this, most of the gold on the tang also went so my advice would be to remove before use.

Edit. If you do go for this and remove the ring you may want to apply something over the gold on the tang to prevent it being rubbed away with use.

Rob is correct. When I had my Bergischer Lowe, I encountered this problem. Remove it before using the razor.

Originally Posted by SailorJ

I think this will be a wonderful blade, I love to see any nautical markings such as anchors, and helms, and the blue tinting on the spine is damn sexy. Just wanted to put this out there and ask if anyone could suggest any other blades that might have similar aesthetics for under $200.

Thanks in advance, honing/stropping/shaving!

When you said "nautical markings", these came to mind:

- 6/8 thumbnotched & deep etching #1
- 6/8 thumbnotched & deep etching #1

The first one is a bit over $200 (around $212), the second one pretty much $200 on the nose.

I'm pretty sure they're made from the same blanks as the Dovo Bismarck, but with a much nicer (IMHO) ornamental finish. But a bit more expensive as well.

At least you have plenty of choice, good luck in finding a nice one.

Revisors are very well thought of in terms of quality. The web site is not easy to use as there is no buy it now function so use the email option to tell them what you want and they will send an invoive with instructions.

Another make in this general price range is Wacker - again excellent quality. Their German website has the full range and you can see them priced in US $ at Royal Shave. Again you can order directly from here

Art.Nr. 1074

using the 'Bestellung' page to send your details and they will contact you. Google translator will help if you don't speak German.

Look at the new revisior razors..

Thank you all for the advice! I just got my new Revisor + a new hone. Pictures to follow soon

Cheers,
Julian

Originally Posted by SailorJ

Pictures to follow soon

Congrats Sailor! Just remember what seems to be the rule here: "No pictures...it didn't happen"

Here she is,

after a trip to the 12k naniwa then pasted strop its the best shave I've had yet!

Those are all nice suggestions.
Damn, that's a nice looking razor, are you sure you want to shave with it?
Enjoy