Thread: After first dovo 5/8

Just started straight razor shaving and have my dovo 5/8. Works fine but wondering what the next step is? The scales on mine are just plain black plastic and I'd like to see something nicer. Is there a way to rescale or better to just go another level up?

I am sure if you ask, there are several members that will rescale for you. no reason to not continue to use a perfectly good razor.

There are no rules. And while people may not like what you have done only you can be the judge of your tools.


Generally on a new razor or a good vintage people like to keep them stock. There are exceptions and scale replacement is common were cellulose scales are posing a threat to the steel. What scales get put back on is personal preference, Some will match the originals, others will go wild.

For your basic black plastic ones you have a few options. You keep it stock, You replace them with something cheap but better quality like a wood, Or you go balls out and put horn or bone with gold and silver inlays. Personally I'd leave it stock, And spend the money on other shaving essentials like strops, soaps, brushes, or more razors.

The second hand market is big with straights and you can get very nice razors for reasonable money that with a bit of cleaning and polish can look fantastic. It's rare that you find a straight user that isn't a part time restorer in varying levels of competence.

There are also no levels. It's easy to get caught up in brands, and the pretty shiny things. It is important to realise that most people didn't go out and just buy a fantastic looking razor. They got a wreck and put time and effort into making it the object of other peoples desires.

As a straight user you should have goals.

Number 1 is having a razor that shaves well. If your razor doen't shave 100% send it out to be honed.

Number 2 is maintaining that razor, Learn to strop, Learn about pasted strops. With good stropping a razor will keep it's edge for a very long time, perhaps years.

Number 3 is shaving. Take it slow, Learn your face, It might take a few weeks to pick up just the first pass, then a few more to get the second and third passes. Once you have that skill you will never forget it.


For your collection.

The first goal is a decent razor and a cheap strop. Learn to strop and use the cheap strop so if you damage it it's replaceable.

The second goal is a decent strop once you can use one safely. Spending $50-$100 on a strop isn't a bad thing as you will have it for many many years, perhaps a lifetime if you never cut it.

Once you have those 2 items and everything it working you are ready to start a real collection. And you should have read enough information, watched enough video's and spent enough time on ebay to be ready to start.



Most people start with a few razors. They will get a decent beginner one like you have, Or some useless ebay junk. They then start to look at older razors on auction and probably buy something that is cheap and looks good. Problem there been razors are actually very hard to asses from a few pictures, you have to look for defects like cracks, edge problems, wear, and corrosion. There is a superb thread on the auction section here that shows off bad ebay auctions. Read it. And learn what makes a razor good and bad. Because without that information you will be walking into an expensive disaster.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/aucti...all-shame.html

There are countless threads that are full of information about what to look for to spot problems, Find them and read them. Once you have a good idea then you are ready to start bidding on cheap fixer upper razors. And that is how a collection starts. You get something no one wants or understands. Spend a few hours with the wire wool and polish cleaning it up, Then make a judgement call to get it honed.

Once you have a small collection of razors hones will start to look like a good investment. There are countless threads on here about them. They don't have to be expensive and as tools they last a very long time. Hones are equally as collectable as razors, and some of us have more hones than razors. Myself included. Honing is a new set of skills, and they make the experience a little cheaper if you have a decent collection of razors, and they mean you can do 99% of the work involving a razor in the comfort of your own home.

Razor's have more acquisition disorders than most hobbies. Razors, Hones, Strops, Soaps, Brushes, Scuttles, Adverts and clippings, Pictures ect. So Levelling up might be something that never happens if you are constantly looking at the next guys collection.


Rescaling a razor is actually pretty easy, You grind the pin then slide it out. Then slide on the new scales drop in a new pin and peen it over. It needs the correct peening block, small hammer and driver tool. It's a delicate job that if you mess up may cost you the razor. Scales are available in just about every material you can think of, Woods, Burls, Bone, Acrylic, Horn, Glass, Plastic, Metals, Ceramic. There are countless videos to watch but they all make it look real easy!

My advice is start a collection rather than modifying a basic razor.

Nothing wrong with basic black. Because of tonight's honing I now have a 9 razor rotation of straights again. One razor has white, one has wood, one is metal, one is green, and another puke yellow. The rest are black. My beard/face doesn't seem to care what color the scales are. But the blades oh are they sharp. Makes a guy smile and wink at himself in the mirror after a good shave knowing that he did it himself.

My first razor was a 5/8 Dovo, and I replaced the scales on mine with some nice wood scales after a few weeks
Gssixgun did those scales for me, he did a great job. I graduated to making my own scales later, but I would recommend him for your first set.

Lumberjack55,

The Dovo Best razors shave well above their price points, so I would be tempted to get it -re-scaled.

I had mine re-scaled in rams horn by the late, great Mr. Neil Miller - this razor is still in my rotation - I think it is superb

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

I was looking at like a Ralf aust, would I notice a difference or just a nicer handle?

The edge is the same if honed right , so unless it's just looking at it you won't notice a difference in the shave, but hey who doesn't like shiny objects? Tc



My Dovo best quality had black plastic scales but thanks to Pixelfixed, I have the only, rare, one of a kind, turd in Ivory scales! I use and will always have this razor.
If the scales hadn't broke and Bill had not offered to fix it(didn't tell me he was going to put on Ivory) it woul still be in black plastic, so there you go. Tc

Jeez ivory, Bill u got anymore elephants hanging around?!