Thread: entry level Dovo

Are you advocating differences in shaving and if so how would you rank them?

Or are you describing things like flex as shaving qualities alone?

Yes they do feel different, and No, I would not chose to rank them as to what is better... That would depend on each individual's tastes, all of them however shave and shave very well, but they do feel different to me at least....

Exceptionally cool insight. I would love to hear your thoughts on which razor you might choose of those pictured and why.

Might make for some really interesting insight.

I've shaved with all of them except #3 so that might be my next choice. My favorite of the bunch was probably #4, but it does shave differently than the #2 or 3.

Number #4 was my very first "Brand New" razor when I got back into straights and was the "Sharpest" edge I honed up for a long time...

The Shoulderless #2 is probably my personal favorite on my face, I don't own one, but have honed quite a few...
I tend to lean toward a very flexible blade for my personal razors...

Again to everyone else, that is not an endorsement to go buy one, it is JMHO.... and two friends talking here

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Number #4 was my very first "Brand New" razor when I got back into straights and was the "Sharpest" edge I honed up for a long time...

The Shoulderless #2 is probably my personal favorite on my face, I don't own one, but have honed quite a few...
I tend to lean toward a very flexible blade for my personal razors...

Again to everyone else, that is not an endorsement to go buy one, it is JMHO.... and two friends talking here

Buy 'em now before the prices skyrocket! Hurry!

I have 3 Dovos, one of which is a bottom of the line "Burg Graf" (similar to the Best Quality pictured, half-hollow ground), another is an Ebony Spike Point (same blade as the spike point pictured, but with different etching), and the third is an Ebony Silver Steel (a carbon steel blade made like the SS one pictured). All three blades shave a little differently, but all three are great. Personally, my favorite is the Spike Point.

I have the Dovo Special & Best quality. There is NO difference in the grind or polish level between them. I've also handled a handful of other Dovos (other Specials, other Best Qualitys, Ebony/Silversteel, Bone/Solingen). My conclusion was that there was variation in grind & finish blemishes between razors - but it appeared that the differences were random and not correlated with price or model. ie: The variation appeared to be due to the hand ground nature of the product.

I noticed that some of these tiny differences in grind hollowness did make a small but discernable difference in how sharp I could get them, or what angle they shaved best at. My best shaving blade happens to be a Best Quality, but the others all shaved 95-99% as well. ie: Very, very, very good.

If you like fancy gold crests, decorated spines, and hate plastic scales on principal, then you'll probably not like the Best Quality.

I personally like that I can polish any waterspots or lather burn off the blade quickly & easily with a little Mass polish & a paper towel since there is no goldwash. (I have to polish around the gold with a Q-tip on my Special). I also thought the black plastic handle looked and felt higher quality than the thin Ebony (with no clear coat to protect the stain from water spotting), or obviously plastic imitation of tortoise (although in general, I prefer the look of the Special due to the silver logo in the handle, contrasting color wedge & goldwashed blade).

Also, the Best Quality doesn't look like the older pics on most of the websites. Here's some pics of the current version.

ps: I borrowed these pics from Jarrod's website, but mine (from SRD) looks the same. (Dovo "Best Quality" Straight Razors)

I have a Dovo Best Quality, and a Bismark..I can't comment on the micarta (Idon't have one)...But the diff I see is the weight of the blades as they move across the face. THe Bismark is heavier and has a heavy spine. This puts a stable platform on my face...The best quality shaves well but it is much lighter and requires more technique than the Bismark.. Also, I like the lack af a heel on the Bismark..This also helps the handling. Good luck, I hope my experience doesn't confuse you..