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Hello, everyone, i want to get into straight razors.. I am planning on ordering the DOVO best quality 5/8 straight from Knifecenter. They have the lowest price i have seen. Is there any thing to watch out for this razor or knifecenter? they also claim that it is shave ready when i called to find out and the person i talked to also asked someone else and said that DOVO sends them the razor sharpened from DOVO's factory. is this true? thanks everyone
Razors that come new from the factory through some kind of online retailer are NEVER shave ready. They'll always need to be sent out to someone who can hone them into a sharp enough condition to cut facial hair, no matter what the online retailer says.
If you get it there, you'll have to send it out, which will cost you anyway, I would just get one from Lynn at Straight Razor Designs, since he's the best one at honing anyway. The classifieds on here are also a great way to find shave ready.
I have bought a Dovo from them and one from ClassicShaving. They were both the same mode black 5/8. I can promise you the one from Knifecenter is NOT SHAVE READY. THe one I bought form classic was made shave ready, but I paid extra. Some people here hone for them and they do a fabulous job. You actually are cheaper to get it from classic than to buy from Knifecenter and pay for extra honing that will be needed. There are also good deals on Dovo Bismarks at budk.com but you have to search through the junk. The razor will be the same, but the razor from classic will be shave ready if you choose to get it that way from them.
BTW, knifecenter has great deals on starter strops, soaps,brushes and other things too. THey are generally much cheaper than classic or the other people who advertise here but their razors are not shave ready.
It can vary a lot. Some factory razors are pretty far from shave ready and some come pretty close. Unfortunately if you are hoping for one that is real close I'm afraid the odds are kind of like winning the lottery. Either plan on honing it yourself or buy from someone who will hone before shipping.
I like Knife Center for a lot of their products and I even bought the DOVO 5/8 Best Quality with the Black scales from them. I knew going into it that I would have to hone it to shave ready when I received it. That is the only razor that I purchased and probably the only one I will, but I will purchase other products because the prices on the rest of the items that they sell are hard to beat.
what thebigspendur said.
they can vary a lot and it's very unlikely that you'll get a good one. more importantly you'll also have no way to know whether you did or not.
skimping on the most important part, which is the edge of the razor seems like the worst decision one can make.
I think they will start offering a free second honing as a sweetner when buying a new straight razor from them But double check that.
Pabster
I would purchase from a reputable vendor that pre-hones the razors. It is well worth it.