Thread: Dovo Best Quality 6/8 vs Dovo Bismarck

The Bismarck by Dovo is pretty good.

The gold wash is nice, generally flaw free, and the razor doesn't suffer from been easy to corrode.

The razor as a rule should be honed with 1 layer of tape, and it should be stropped with 1 layer of tape.

This is because the spine work can be a little rough, and the spine work may damage a strop if you use a bit too much pressure.

As for shaving the Bismarck is a well loved model. It has clean lines, and shaves well provided it is honed correctly and stropped with due care. The razor is well balanced and a little on the heavy side, This makes the shave effortless if you have a good edge. The grind is where the weight comes from, and the scales are balanced to account for the weight.

The other models to look at if your thinking about a Bismarck are.

The dovo "la forme". It's the same blade, without the gold wash. And with a different scale design.




I personally own a Bismarck, I own several actually, 1 dovo, and 3 vintage Arthur Muller models. At the price point for the Dovo you get a lot of bling for the money, and the razor looks superb. It's a real eye catcher and would easily find a place in your collection.

Here are some of my razors.

A sharp blade in experienced hands will deliver a quality shave regardless of grind,
The feed back is different and this is where the personal preference comes into play.
Certain steel's take a refined edge differently but the Newer Dovo's steel should be very consistent.
I enjoy each of the grind styles for what they are, I go on jaunts and switch up my preferred grind quite a bit,
lately it has been a Bergischer Lowe (full hollow) before that it was an extra hollow,
that said weather a wedge,1/4, 1/2, full or extra hollow I get a close and comfortable shave off them all.

I agree with pfries, I own 4 blades each having a different grind, and I enjoy them all. Having said that, I do think it is easier to hone an extra hollow versus a heavier grind.

Originally Posted by Wayne1963

I agree with pfries, I own 4 blades each having a different grind, and I enjoy them all. Having said that, I do think it is easier to hone an extra hollow versus a heavier grind.

Less steel to remove, however I have found the heavier grinds will tolerate more pressure in the early stages of honing i.e. setting the bevel and then a few extra lighter laps to help with the striations from the heavy hand on the lower grit.

The Bismarck is a fine razor but it does have its quirks. As Iceni mentioned, I strop it with a layer of tape because the spine will scratch the hell out of my strop if left bare. As well, due to the triangular shape of the spine stropping it can be a bit tricky. You need to make a concerted effort to "torque" the edge into the strop during a lap otherwise the edge might not make effective contact with the leather.

If you are confident in your stropping skills go for the Bismarck, otherwise the Dovo BQ might be a better choice.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

The Bismarck is a fine razor but it does have its quirks. As Iceni mentioned, I strop it with a layer of tape because the spine will scratch the hell out of my strop if left bare. As well, due to the triangular shape of the spine stropping it can be a bit tricky. You need to make a concerted effort to "torque" the edge into the strop during a lap otherwise the edge might not make effective contact with the leather.

If you are confident in your stropping skills go for the Bismarck, otherwise the Dovo BQ might be a better choice.

Thank you all for all the response! I was looking at the picture of a Bismarck and it seems like the spine is a triangular shaped spine with some "cuts" on the top of the spine. http://www.royalshave.com/mm5/graphi...y-handle_2.jpg

If you flip the Bismarck in mid-air when you turn it during stropping, do you really still have to use a layer of tape (it seems like as long as the "cuts" do not touch the strop, it wouldn't damage it)? If so, wouldn't it become tedious to try to put a layer to tape every single time you strop?

Lastly, I know that people use electrical tape during honing. What type of tape do you use for stropping?

Originally Posted by spacex

Lastly, I know that people use electrical tape during honing. What type of tape do you use for stropping?

It doesn't have to be electrical tape for stropping. I use clear Scotch tape. I could see it being a PITA if it was your only razor and you had to tape it every time, but it's not really a chore when the Bismarck is part of a rotation and gets occasional use.

Originally Posted by spacex

Thank you all for all the response! I was looking at the picture of a Bismarck and it seems like the spine is a triangular shaped spine with some "cuts" on the top of the spine. http://www.royalshave.com/mm5/graphi...y-handle_2.jpg

If you flip the Bismarck in mid-air when you turn it during stropping, do you really still have to use a layer of tape (it seems like as long as the "cuts" do not touch the strop, it wouldn't damage it)? If so, wouldn't it become tedious to try to put a layer to tape every single time you strop?

Lastly, I know that people use electrical tape during honing. What type of tape do you use for stropping?

you could flip it in the air, It'll slow down your stropping and might add to the risk of nicking the strop or rolling the edge. Keeping the spine in contact at all times give you a solid reference for the flip.

The tape to hone should be electrical. For the stropping any tape will do. The acid test for seeing if this is needed is pretty simple. Get a scrap of leather or an old belt and do 200 laps without tape. If you don't get any scratching you should be fine to take it to a strop without the tape. Also if your using a cheap strop like a whipped dog poor mans special that you don't mind damaging then just go straight to the strop. If it starts to scratch you know the solution. And provided your paying attention then you should only do minimal damage if any.

I don't think you can go wrong with either blade but the Bismarck is worth the new price, A regular 6/8 full hollow vintage razor in good condition from the bay should give a comparable shave to the dovo, and you should be able to get a vintage blade for under £30 in great condition. The 6/8 full hollow is probably the second most common razor size after 5/8.

With that in mind and since this will be your second razor the next logical step would be learning to hone. You have 2 razors in rotation, so picking up a couple of gold dollars and a cheap king icebear 1K/6K wetstone and learning to get an edge on those blades will set you up to be able to get all the 6/8 full hollow blades you can dream of off the bay and sort them yourself.