Into the rabbit-hole: The Dovo Special & my musings after 6 months

Into the rabbit-hole: The Dovo Special & my musings after 6 months...

So, tonight I shaved for the first time with a Dovo. I’ve been meaning to get my hands on one ever since I picked up my first straight – a Gold Dollar – over six months ago. But instead, I fell into this wonderful world of restoration, history gathering, SRP posting, RAD, and before I knew it, I had 20 or so vintage blades in varying stages of restoration. (Not to mention the long list of names and styles that I now have my eye out for – thanks to you nice people!)

So, with a mixture of emotions and a head full of thoughts, here are some musings – on the Dovo Special in particular and my experience of straight shaving more generally.

The Dovo Special

The Dovo Special in faux tortoiseshell is an ugly duckling. I have tried very hard and I still struggle to find her attractive. I’ve taken photos from different angles, in different lights, and have viewed photos on several other websites – none of them do it for me. Here are two of the images that I took before honing mine:

Attachment 153000 Attachment 153001

My immediate impressions (and my apologies for being so pessimistic):

The scales are chunky, smooth plastic; the colours are nothing like the beautifully deep and rich tones of real tortoiseshell (http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...seshell.html); the gold etching on the blade is more yellow than gold, and the pattern reminds me of a Corona bottle or some kind of cheap Mexican beer; the colour palette is an absolute nightmare – white spacer, silver pins, gold Dovo insert… (please feel free to disagree with me – I am open to convincing!)

But yes, she is mine! I snapped her up half-price from a contact who had six straight from the Dovo factory, all with a very small waterspot that was beginning to rust, mid-way on the spine… I don’t regret it at all. After a quick polish, the waterspot is barely noticeable. And don’t get me wrong, the build quality feels great – firm and tight, nice weight, solid overall.

Factory shave ready?

This is something I have seen time and time again on the forums: is a new blade ready for a first shave from the factory? Is an initial hone enough? I thought: what better way to test than with a Dovo Special…

Out of the box – no, she was NOT ready to shave. My very first step was to attempt the ‘hanging hair’ test – no luck at all. I would not sell this as “shave ready” to someone else, and if this is anything to go by, I would not recommend that a beginner attempt to shave with a blade straight from the factory.

Second, a light leather strop – better, but again, not ready by my standards.

Third, a few passes on my Naniwa, followed by a paste and strop – NOW, she is ready!

The shave, and final thoughts

One of the best shaves I have had yet. Part of this is that after six months, everything in my routine seems to be coming together nicely. But part of it was the Dovo Special: a 5/8 blade (I find 4/8 – 5/8 easier to manage), brand new, honed and stropped with a vastly improved technique (thanks to Lynn’s DVD). No dulled edge from too much pressure on the strop (one of my rookie mistakes), no dropping the blade in the sink (one of my friend's rookie mistakes), a good steady hand and a patient and relaxed build up - yes, still in anticipation and excitement - but with a zen calm that many of us feel when we get into the routine. My face felt smooth after two passes (WTG, XTG) and I didn’t have any irritation or nicks – something I struggle with around the chin and jaw (I have a fairly prominent jawline).

Other than having some difficulties with the scales, which I find somewhat slippery, it couldn’t have been much better really. When it comes to performance, my ugly duckling is a beautiful swan!

So, what to take from all of this?

Will I sell my Dovo tomorrow – no. (Will I continue to complain about her looks – possibly.) Would I trust a vendor claiming a blade to be ‘factory shave ready’ – unlikely. Will I give up vintage restorations and collections in favour of modern blades – never. Will I continue to shave with a straight razor – forever, and hopefully one day to pass it on to the next generation.

So here’s to any new members out there – anyone looking to pick up a new skill, a new hobby, a new passion, a new lifestyle choice – I stumbled into this rabbit-hole not knowing what I would find… And now I can't go back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.

Nice post, thanks for sharing!

Well said brother.

I just bought this exact same razor as my first SR. When I say the exact same, I mean right down to the same discounted price and the same rusty water spot on the spine. I can't wait for it to arrive.

Off topic: Do you have any recommendations of where the best place or person would be to send mine to for a honing in NZ? I want to get into honing fairly soon but not before I've got the hang of shaving with a razor that I know has been honed properly.
Thanks,
Kev

Hi Kev, good choice on your first purchase! I've recommend the same razor to friends. I recommend giving the spine a light polish when it arrives, to get rid of the beginnings of rust - a metal or car polish should do the trick.

As for honing, I've only had experience with Auckland-based company Gentleman's Blade, who do a nice job (and they're a friendly bunch). I don't know of any companies or straight razor barbers down South I'm afraid... I'd be happy to help out, and I know what a good blade should feel like, but I wouldn't call myself a honemeister.

Nice write up. Where exactly are these half-price razors coming from? :hmmm:

Thanks neon. I figure what has happened is this: the New Zealand distributor has gotten hold of a bunch of blades from the factory. They've turned out to have waterspots. The mark up on these blades in NZ is big - they're 70% more expensive from most retailers than in the US (that's no exaggeration). So the distributor has either gotten some sort of discount from the factory or has cut the profit margin to get them out the door quickly. It's a win for everyone :)

Great little write up and thanks for taking the time :beer1:

I have tried the only homers I have heard of in NZ, I wasn't terribly impressed with them, I'm thinking of sending mine to Oz who is a SRP member who lives in Sydney. Where did you buy your razor from?

Hi Frank, do you mind me asking who you have tried in NZ? I see you're also based in Wellington - will keep in touch once I've had more experience with my stones and would be happy to take a look at any of your blades (no charge) if you were looking for a touch up.

Looks like all of the available blades are taken - will PM you if I see any similar action.