Thread: New guy, new (old) razor

Hi All,

I'm new to this game. I picked this up cheap on Some Auction Site, as in $20 cheap. I've gathered that Dovo is a good brand. There are no nicks or cracks in the blade...Is this a worthy subject for restoration, and what's involved in cleaning it? I figured for the price, I'd take a gamble.

Many thanks!

If you are starting to shave with a straight your razor appears to be 4/8's. In my opinion a little to small for a beginner. The edge looks to have a frown. All correctable except size. I would just use a little metal polish on the blade and scales have it professionally honed and use it.

Welcome. Ask questions and take your time.

There are several guys in Canada that hone. It is a large area and it is hard to say who is closest to you. You may want to start with something that is shave ready. The BUy/Sell/Trade tab at the top often has good buys. There is also a a few retailers in Canada that sell shave ready, if you are interested in new.

Take a picture of the razor with full normal coloring. Besides the slight frown there might be some rust at the edge of the blade followed closely by black pitting. If this is the case, is always a no go, especially on a blade this small. Start a new thread out in The Workshop section to get further help. The rest looks pretty good except the pins and yes Dovo is a preferred brand. Nice lettering on the scales.
Welcome to SRP! Great to have you here!

It will make something nicd to play with but as had been said, get something shave ready and learn to shave. Pick up something a little closer to good shape and restore it. This one is a bit much for a new guy to try and fix or shave with. I think you would be better off with something else. Its a keeper but not something you want to tackle fixing up just yet. Polish it up and practice holding it and learning the shabe angle till something else comes around. Buy from the forum and you will be getting something really ready to learn on.

I look at it differently than the other replies. Depends on your skill set as to whether or not you can restore it without damaging it to the point of no return. Secondly if you have no personal attachment then I believe if you want to learn to restore razors then learn with this one.
The blade does appear to need reshaping, there is plenty of info on this and a nice polish by hand looks like it should clean up. I'd recommend starting in the library read all you can. Next stop in the workshop sub forum and read and ask questions. Take your time and do it by hand. Walk away when you dont understand and come back to it. Most importantly ask questions you can hurt yourself or damage a razor. Just my 2 cents best of luck.

Yup, will clean up with, some 000 steel wool and WD40. Polish with a good metal polish.

Blade looks good, very little spine wear, but does need honing.

Do be careful with those scales, they are prone to Cell Rot, though no signs or rot are present yet. If after cleaning and polishing you see a fine rust on the blade, the scales will have begun to off gas and will need to be removed and replaced.

Keep dry and store in a cool place and you should be ok.

Welcome, and check out the Workshop forum for more restoration tips.

Thanks for all the replies and advice, guys. No, even I know not to put this razor near my face until it's been seen to. I have one of these meanwhile, which is in a little better condition.

I think I looked at that same Dovo and passed it up because of the frown in the blade. These days when I pick one up, the first thing I look at is whether or not the edge mirrors the spine. If the spine is straight, the edge should be too. If the spine curves, so should the edge. Generally speaking it should be same width heel to toe.

With that said, can it be restored? Certainly. I've brought worse than that back to life. Is it worth it? That's up to you. I'd rather not spend time re-contouring a blade if I can help it. The faster I can get a blade polished and get it to the hones, the faster I can put it in my shaving rotation. But if you don't mind putting in the work to fix the blade's contour, it may well be worth the time invested to you. That's a question only you can answer.

Is that a a crack in the scales at the pivot (pic #2) ?
Personally I wouldn't invest money in restoring it but it would be an ok DIY job if you like smallish razors.