Thread: Stainless Dovo versus Dubl Duck, which is better?

Stainless Dovo versus Dubl Duck, which is better to waste one's money on?

i dont have a stainless as i am trying to stay old school with the carbon steel my dubl duck shaves better than my dovo but it is carbon vs carbon

I have both razors. Both came to me shave ready and I cannot feel any difference when I shave with them.

I don’t have Dovo stainless, but I have a couple Friodur stainless blades. And three Dubl Ducks. All shave extremely well, but the Ducks are ridiculously easy to keep sharp, and when they go up on my face the shave is smooth and silent like nothing else I own. As you shave you are thinking nothing happened, but then all the hair is gone. The Friodurs feel rugged and the hairs being sheared almost have a sizzling sound/feel. You think this can’t be good, but the finished face is 99% as clean as the DD results. So, they are both great, with a miniscule advantage in final shave going to the Ducks. The cracked ice scales on the Goldenedges are the prettiest razors in my collection. So if you have to choose, go for Dubl Ducks. I am just so glad that I don’t have to make that choice, other than when I am grabbing a razor to shave with.

First let me qualify that I collect DD's
They mostly sit there looking pretty, I use them on occasion but not in an everyday rotation...
In my everyday rotation you will find names like C-MON, Puma, Dovo, Henckels, Hess, Beau Brummel, Robeson, Cattaraugus, Case, ERN, Bengall, Craftsman, Boker, etc:etc: and still when I take out a duck to shave with, I have to sit back and say WOW no wonder they have such a following.. They are the most consistent razors on the face, and on the hones, out there.... I have even gone so far as to say if you want to learn to hone a razor get a Duck, they are that easy.... Now don't get me wrong many of the other razors will shave just as close and just as smooth, and in perfect condition will be just as easy to hone, but not as consistently as the Dubl Ducks....

But to truly answer your question if you want to compare Dovo's to Ducks at least make it a closer comparison and go to the older Dovo's...

I don't know enough about Ducks except it was and still is a highly regarded razor. Ducks were also often made under license. For a period Dovo made some Ducks. I believe that Dovo also made some Puma's. So all manufacturers could make high quality if they put there minds to it. Ducks had a reputation for always being of high quality, a bit like the old Puma's.

In England, the razors with "Taylor's Eye" from Sheffield are easy to hone and made from an exceptionally smooth and soft carbon steel. If I compare this high quality carbon steel to a modern stainless blade from Dovo, the old razor is both sharper and smoother. The old razor gives the better shave without any question.

If I compare a new carbon steel Dovo with the stainless equivalent, the stainless is a stiffer blade but to be honest, both razors shave well. Stainless offers the advantage of holding an edge for longer and with a lot less care than with carbon steel is unlikely to ever rust. The stainless steel is more expensive to purchase and in some ways is tomorrows world. Incidentally, I have tried the Dovo swedish stainless which is ice hardened and this blade which comes in the Dovo micarta model is characteristically stiff but very smooth.

I also have both. The Ducks have a following and as a result,if you find a nice restored or NOS condition razor you will pay a premium. Mine is a good shaver as are my Dovo's.

I've got a half dozen ducks and they live up to their reputation for easy honing and a great edge. I have 3 Dovos all carbon. Two are older Fritz Bracht period and one is the Diamond Steel NOS model that Vintage Blades had awhile back. The Dovos are, as English mentioned, a stiffer blade.

The NOS came per honed so I can't speak to that but the two older pieces were more work to get sharp then the ducks. For stainless razors I have found that after I get them approximatly where I want them the diamond spray on felt takes them the rest of the way.

The Duck will probably hold it's value better. Everyone claims them to be legandary shavers. They also are known to hold an edge. Check EBay, the duck prices are through the roof, and that's for a rusted razor that needs major restoring. Right now, they are very popular, probably always will be. I like my Dovo's for everyday. I have a rotation of razors that I use, but no Ducks. If I can find one at a reasonable price, I'd try one. Before I'd spend 300 on a duck, I'd by a Livi new grind.
I shaved with one and it was bar none, the best shave I ever had. Just an amazingly sharp blade.

In general I'll take any vintage razor over a new production razor. I think the old ones are just better. As far as the ducks go I collect them too so of course I'm partial to them but I think they are a great razor.

As far as stainless goes you can have your cake and eat it too buy getting a stainless duck. No need to go to Dovo.