Thread: Newbie Question - Dovo Special or Wapi?

Originally Posted by Edgewise

...snip...
The two razor’s I have my eye on are the Dovo Special (5/8, tortuous scales) and a Wapienica. I’m finding them for roughly the same price point, and while the Wapi that I’m looking at has a really nice scale(s?), that’s less important to me right now than the blade. I’m hoping that someone could offer an opinion regarding, between the two, what would be a better razor to start with?


Thanks!

Welcome.....
If one is shave ready i.e. hand honed for you
that is a tie breaker.

Other than that when you look at them ask which
one floats your boat.

As for stainless .vs. carbon steel it does
not matter a great deal. Carbon steel
does edge out stainless on the hone and
hold an edge a little bit better but for some the
corrosion resistance is the key. Most of us
would be hard put to tell the difference if it
was not for the marks on the tang. With modern hones
the difference is 10 vs 11-15 hone strokes and
since I tend to always give em 20 again
this is a don't care.

+1 I would go for the Dovo.

I see you've already made up your mind. Provided they are both shave ready, it does not matter for they are both IMHO a great choice. These were both razors which I started with, and as a beginner I found the heavier grind of the Wapi more forgiving. The Dovo IIRC is a half hollow, while the Wapi is a quarter hollow. I have heard the Wapi can be inconsistent, but I have never experienced a bad one out of 3 which were all superb. The Dovo is likely to be easier to hone however.

Only one answer - get them both! Start with one, get used to it, and let RAD be your guide.

Usually, Canadian customs doesn't care much about small items. You might get the razor into Canada free, or you might have to pay GST+PST.

Fendrihan and Rasage Poulin are (as far as i know) the two significant Canadian mail-order suppliers. I have found that SRD prices are usually lower than Canadian prices. And Fendrihan charges extra for honing; SRD doesn't.

Charles [Richmond, BC]

dovo for me!!

Get a Wapi while you can, they are vintage. You can buy a DOVO any time.

I have a Dovo Bismark and a Wapi w/ stainless scales. The shave, if honed properly, is wonderful from both. The scales on the wapi are a bit awkward and heavy & scratch the tang of the razor. My Dovo has bone scales and is a bit more user friendly. Either will work on ANY beard. I would recommend either. I would lean a bit more to the Dovo if you aren't well versed on the stones as the Wapi's can be a bit finicky. I found mine to only like a thuringian finisher (est 10K), I didn't get too great of a shave off my YG Escher, Nani 12 or Shapton 16K. After 3-5 shaves it likes to be refreshed with a .5 micron diamond strop. My Dovo on the other hand will take a high end finisher like a CF, Shapton 30K, or YG Escher well and last longer (your use may vary of course) before needing touch-ups on a diamond sprayed strop or a stone.

So in summary, since you are new to straights I personally recommend the Dovo. If you already had a few razors I would recommend the wapi (only if it's in great shape w/ the SS scales) simply due to it being a vintage and less common razor. As long as either is honed by a professional, you will get fine shaves from either...hope this helps.

Don't worry about buying from a US-based supplier. I ordered from ClassicShaving.com, myself. The thing you have to be careful of if you're ordering from across the border is UPS. For me, no matter what, UPS is a deal breaker. I've had to pay almost the price of the article I've ordered in UPS's brokerage fees twice now, and won't do it again.

Hey,

Just an update. After looking online for a while, I ended up following the classified section on this site and just picked up a Wade and Butcher near wedge grind. Can't wait to try it out! Thanks to everyone for their comments, help and suggestions

Just to add my two cents (plus a small late fee, since you've already ordered one), if the Wapi has the original scales, I would definitely go with the Dovo. Wapi is a fine razor, mine does a fine job but for a newbie, I wouldn't recommend it. The scales are heavy and not what you want to be learning on.