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!

It doesn't look like a Dove to me at all. As a rule Dovo will have an inlay in the scale with their name. The seller would show the mark side of the tang with Dovo stamped on it. I think it is a cheap razor and you get what you pay for.

The first clue is the misspelling of "Shave Ready", common on Asian knockoffs of all types. The second clue is the poor metal work; lots of tool marks and a poor finish. The pinning looks crude. And, as Jimmy pointed out, the scales do not have a Dovo inlay. FAKE!!!

That "shave ready" sticker sure is a nice touch.
Kent

Don't walk,run away from this shop.As has been said,that's not a Dovo or it would be stamped as such.The workmanship is not good,it's even got different pins on either end.The fact that they lied about this razor also could mean that they don't know razors at all and that they told you the razor you bought from the member is junk so that you would buy theirs.You may have rolled the edge with incorrect stropping technique making a good razor "seem" to be not so good.Chances are if you send that (member) razor to a honemeister(check the classifieds) and get a pro honing,it'll be a very good shaver.(I don't even know what brand it is).Also,the shave is the one test that really matters.

Knife shop is a bunch of bloody liars; that would read "DOVO" on the face of the tang, and cost about 4x as much if it were manufactured within 2,000 miles of Solingen- much less by DOVO.

THAT is a piece of Pakistani @*&!^ and this shop (and their 'honemeister', and advice) should be regarded as just that....

Ross cutlery has a fairly good name for themselves. I am a little shocked to see such an obvious fraud coming from their store.

SoCal,

I couldn't see any photos of the other side of the blade which may have been able to clear up some issues. I have a razor very like the one you show but on the un-shown side of the blade it is stamped with DOVO SOLINGEN, made in Germany, with a logo of a figure within a circle, wearing a short smock, brandishing a dagger and a spatula-like broad, short bladed gizmo. The blade is also etched with Solingen Best Quality. It would have helped were you to have shown both sides of the blade and shank. As it is, one can only give half a guess.

And my guess is maybe yes, maybe no.

Are those pics from Ross Cutlery? If not it may not be a fraud but the misspelling on the shave ready sticker suggests otherwise

That blade looks a lot like a Double Arrow...