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After years of service the fins and pivot on my old straight razor finally blew and it was time for a replacement
I bought a new Dovo Astrale and the weight and balance is absolutely spot on. It's really a fine razor.
The only problem is, it doesnt shave smoothly or cleanly and certainly cannot tackle a couple of days growth of beard without ripping away at my face!
What is wrong here? Has anyone else found the same problem?
John
It sounds like you have a factory edge on it, while it has to be hand-honed before it can shave properly! You could send it out to any of the members that offer honing in the classifieds or hone it yourself, starting probably around the 4K grit.
Thanks guys.
That is one thing I hadn't considered to be honest.
I guess I have been so used to using my old well honed straight shave for so long that this really came as a surprise to find a new 'shave ready' really needs a little more attention before it is really up to the job :beer1:
I'm interested to know more about your last razor. How did you maintain it? How long did you use it. What condition is the blade in? What strop/hones do you have?
I'd look into getting your first razor restored, and your dovo honed at the same time. That way you will have two.
Welcome to the forum!
Michael
My old razor and strop belonged to my grandfather and onc I inherited it I then used it for the past thirty odd years.
I never had any problems with the blade at all even though it was a little discoloured. It was the outer which eventually gave way to time and use and finally split apart. It was some kind of ivory or horn which had previously been cracked and repaired with a plate and rivet, and after it fell apart I used it naked without the scales but then I was tempted by this new Dovo.
With the original, once it was honed all it needed was a mild stropping every four or five days to keep it really keen, but I never expected to have to do this with a new blade - at least not straight off and not at the price the Dovo cost!
Thanks for the welcome BTW Michael. It is much appreciated. I never realised how popular straight shaving is until I discovered this site.
John
You never honed or had it honed for 30 years? Stropping only every 4-5 days? Wow! And the dovo edge felt dull compared to this razor. That's pretty amazing.
Oh no, its certainly been honed dozens of times over the years, of course it has and that wasn't the impression I meant to give, but I didn't expect the Dovo would have needed special attention straight off. I expected it honed and ready to go. It shouldn't take a lot of maintenance to keep a good steel in order - that was what I meant
I think the problem is that the Dovo's and TI's from the factory is the fact that they're from a factory. No matter how much tradition that is put into these razors they still have only a limited supply with a small workforce pushing them out as quick as they can because the demand is so high. I mean when I was looking to buy my first razor nobody was in stock and I had no idea about SRP so the classifieds where out of the question. I went to SRD and Vintage Blades LLC and nothing was in stock. I emailed one of the sites about why they had nothing in stock and they said that it takes a while for the companies to push out orders. I think the fact that these razors are "mass produced", at least when you compare to custom makers, and that there is such a demand that shave readiness becomes kind of lost. Which is funny because if you read DOVO's warranty it becomes void if you or any one besides dovo hones it. I don't even know if you can send your razor to DOVO to get honed properly.
Welcome to SRP first off
You might find this particular Beginners tips article a source of amusement :)
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...tml#post908878
Exactly my point.Quote:
Originally Posted by cosperryan
Don't you think though Cosperryan that these days, the steel just isnt as good as those old blade makers of a hundred years ago?
I believe the steel today is much better than the old stuff. Not that the old stuff isn't good enough though. Im thinking titanic steel vs modern steel. I don't have any proof but modern steel is easier to produce as well as easier to control through modern tools, tempering processes etc. Its possible the old quality control rejected more of the blades that were produced. Another wild guess with no proof!
That's really cool - I do hope you get new scales put on it and carry on using such a great family heirloom.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzzytrucker
That's a great story. I hope you get some new scales for your old razor and continue using it.
I'd be happy to hone the new one for you if you like. Im not a pro and I don't hone for money. Just pm me.
Michael
Thanks gssixgun for the welcome msg.
I can't say how a 'new' blade is meant to be as I've always used the old vintage razor until recently, and that was always a quite acceptably smooth shave over the years, but I do wonder if in these mass produced times whether the actual steel itself which makes the blade isnt as good now as it was a hundred years ago?
Edit; Actually this question crossed in an earlier reply from Bill
Hi Fuzzytrucker
Michael is being modest. He does a great job honing. I know from experience because he often takes time to meet with me and hone my razor. He also has been kind enough to start teaching me how to hone myself. He has always put a sweet edge on my razors. He is a great example of the many excellent shave brothers on this site. You should accept Michael's offer and let him take care of your Dovo.
Luis
It has nothing to do with the steel, it has to do with the honing, once the Dovo is Hand Honed it will shave just fine :) if anything the steel structure is probably better today...Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzzytrucker
In the old days ie: the Golden Age of Straight Razors, many companies prided themselves with how fine an edge they sent out, Many of the new Production razors are much better then they were just 4 years ago, most will actually "shave", but that final tuning is up to the owner or the Honer that gets the razor...
We have such a limited choice here in the UK of finding the old traditional barber shop outside of London who still gives the full teaming hot towel traditional shave such as can be found in the USA.
Progress and the electric razor sure has a lot to answer for!
Fuzzytrucker,
You should check out Neil Millers Strop Shop - Honing. It would save you international shipping.
Jonathan
I had the same issue with my brand new dovo when I got it about a year ago. Now that I'm learning to hone it shaves better. I have to admit, though, that my honing skills don't result in an edge much better than factory.
Yeah I have to agree with everyone else on the steel. I mean yeah the steel back then was fine and what not but now their are amazing steels that can do awesome things and with the advent of science we can better look into the percentages of alloying elements and molecule structure which they didn't have or had a limited knowledge about it or knew about it but didn't know what to do with the information. I think that it is just like say Williams Soap. Used to be a great soap but now it is nothing like it use to be. Not saying that Dovo's today are like Williams soap today. I absolutely love my Dovo and the edge it gets. It's just that there is some "assembly" required I think. And again I think that back in the day pride and customer expectation and honoring your word had a lot to do with it. Today they might say that it is "shave ready" which may be true...it very well could shave a new born baby's hair but that might be about it.
A dovo is definitely capable of shaving even the toughest of beards if honed correctly. New steel is IMO better than vintage, not that vintage is not good enough. You probably need a good honing and you will be golden.
Welcome.
Since you have shaved well for years, the problem is most likely the Dovo factory edge. Dovos are good, get it honed. Speak with or PM Neil Miller who hones and is a leading UK strop maker for advice.
There is nothing like an heirlome razor, I would get it rescaled with scales similar to the original as long as the blade is still good.
HTH
members celticcrusader and ukrob on this forum can fix your scales no problem. i would use the family heirloom anyday over a new dovo
I would too but a Dovo is not a bad piece to add to add to a collection or rotation.Quote:
Originally Posted by bombay
I wouldn't compare Dovo's and the rest of contemporary quality razor production.
I have shaved with several new TI's, one Revisor, and a couple of Ralf Austs. They were all shave-ready.
However, with Dovo it's a hit or miss. Some are ok at the start, some need to be honed. Honnestly, I think there's something wrong with Dovo's QA these days.
A factory edge is not shave ready imo. Unless the blade is hand honed its not shave ready. 3 new blade s I purchased and none were shave ready. Including a dovo and a ti.
I know for a fact that Revisor and Ralf Aust hand-hone their razors (on a coticule).
I'm not sure how TI finishes their razors, but those I had were shave-ready. I'm not saying that every little bit of keenness was squeezed out of those blades, but you could comfortably remove facial hair with those razors.
did you get it from theinvisibleedge.co.uk?
he says he hones all the blades before posting them.