Thread: New razor: Dovo 88 (NOS)

Today I received an old but unused (NOS?) DOVO 88 razor that I bought from ebay.

A guy - actually the same that sold the Escher stone that has been discussed in this thread http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...ml#post1153192 - had six old but unused DOVOs (2x 90 and 4x 88) for sale.

three of the 88s looked almost like coming from the shelf (even with tag), but I was interested in the one that looked a bit more odd and had cought a little bit of rust here and there - but as it seemed - not in the crucial area around the edge.

This one seemed to be older than the others and the reason I fell for this one was that it had a wonderful serration on the spine and the writing and the emblems on the blade seemed to be truely engraved and filled with paint in two colors, rather than being electrolyzed. I'm truely no "gold and white" fan but that looked so well done, that I set my bid... and was lucky (or the idiot that payed most).

It came with the card board box and the old warranty certifictate with a running number of 3034 (the others showed something like 55,000).



It was bone dry when it arrived but the corrosion was basicly on the tang, so i oiled it with "Balistol" and let that settle for a few hours. When I then cleaned it with a cloth the corrosion showed actually less bad than expected. Especially the edge seems to be fine. Will examine and probably hone it the next days But it is sharp (not shave ready the way I like it, but sharp).

When turned upside down, the blade opens and upon opening the blade sometimes touches one of the scales and goes "zlingggg". Likewise it tends to catch the scale when closing but just a tiny bit ... tightened the pin and the blade now behaves.
I'm no collector. So I do not really care if it's of high value. I just like to have nice things around and this one has so much more love in the details than the newer ones.

I think, I could live with the rust, but if someone has a good tip....

Here is a second image where You might see the "engraved" ornaments.

Cool! Hone that baby up and shave!

That's neat. I've not seen one just like it.

Now that is a real pre war beauty. A tool does not have to be a work of art to fulfill it's function but one that is also a work of art adds immeasurable to the joy of using it. Congrats you must be one joyful fellow now.

Bob

I hope you are going to tape that nice spine. If it shaves as nice as it looks, you got a bullseye there. Good shooting!!

Jerry
____

very very nice ... a razor that has been on my want list for a while now ...

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Cool! Hone that baby up and shave!

Yes, I will. I'll keep You informed and will post pre and post pictures, when I get to it.

That is a beauty

Originally Posted by RADisorder

That's neat. I've not seen one just like it.

me neither.

Originally Posted by BobH

Now that is a real pre war beauty. A tool does not have to be a work of art to fulfill it's function but one that is also a work of art adds immeasurable to the joy of using it. Congrats you must be one joyful fellow now.

Yes. I think they still produce the 88, but appearance has changed over time. Today the serration consists just of a few lines.

This one already (one of the others from that auction) had a different (though interesting) serration and the blade is done the way they do it today:
Letters and ornaments are being etched into the surface and on top of that gold is being electrolyzed using a more or less simple mask.



Under certain light or point of view only the mask is visible, which - to me - actually looks quite cheap.

Jerry,

Originally Posted by mrsell63

I hope you are going to tape that nice spine. If it shaves as nice as it looks, you got a bullseye there. Good shooting!!

thanks, yes sure will. I do tape my razors and change the tape often in order to keep the angle as consistent as possible and allow maximum work on the edge.