Thread: Real Dovo or Fake?

Hi all. I am posting to request the expert opinion of the SRP members. Please see the attached photos of the razor I am looking at. I am told it is a Dovo, and it is for sale for $59 (for sale at a brick and mortar cutlery shop called Ross Cutlery in downtown LA – www.rosscutlery.com).

What I am trying to find out:
1) Is the razor in the attached photos a real Dovo? (if so, what is the model?)
2) Is it possible to tell if the blade made in Solingen, or was the razor just assembled there?
3) Any experience with this specific model? (good, bad, other)







Background (just in case you are a detail person):
-I anticipate that many folks in the forum will recommend that I purchase from someone in the vendor section on SRP to ensure I get a shave ready razor. I have purchased a straight razor from someone on the forum, and I was appalled when one of the on-site honemeisters at Ross Cutlery tell me that the straight razor I purchased the SRP member "could not be sharpened", and was "made of cheap materials, most likely in Pakistan, and was worth around $6". I let him know I paid $60 for the SR and strop, and he let me know that their shop sells shave-ready Dovo's for “less than that price with Solingen blades” (supposedly made in Solingen, not just assembled there).
-I have conflicting information about the quality of the SR I bought from the SRP member. To clear up that conflicting information, my plan is to buy the above razor (if it’s genuinely a Dovo and is well regarded by SRP members), then compare the performance of the Dovo to the model I bought from the SRP member.
-Preface: I am a newb in the SR world, and I lack the expertise to evaluate SR’s. Let me say it again: I am ignorant as can be about SR’s!! :-) I mention that because the SRP member I bought the SR from is a regular contributor to SRP. They shipped the product very quickly, and was extremely helpful with my questions. To the best of my knowledge, they were very honest and generous in all of my dealings with them, and I want to make sure that this thread stays about the alleged Dovo razor above, and not about the SRP member that sold me a SR. This is my thread is my attempt to gain knowledge that can help me get a higher quality SR shave; it is not about complaining about a SRP member!! :-) (please don’t ask for the name of the SRP member that sold me the SR, as I have nothing to substantiate that they did anything wrong at all, and for all I know they sold me a great SR at a great price.)
-Even as a newb, I know enough to test the blade empirically to see if it cuts well (a fundamental capability for any blade), and despite my stropping in accordance with the instructions/videos on SRP, I can say that the SR I bought from the SRP member does not easily cut a single hair when I press the blade perpendicular against the middle of an elongated hair. Perhaps this is not the best standard to use – if it is not, please recommend a litmus test that is appropriate to use to evaluate the blade quality (bearing in mind that actually shaving with the Dovo would require me to buy it, and is therefore not a very good pre-purchase evaluation method!).

Thanks all!