I just received a new Dovo Bismark ,,,,"shave ready"/ My first shave was without stropping. Should I strop on the next???
Printable View
I just received a new Dovo Bismark ,,,,"shave ready"/ My first shave was without stropping. Should I strop on the next???
Just curious, was the Dovo "shave ready" in your estimate? Meaning a smooth flawless shave.
If it was by stropping it before your next shave you will know if your stropping is good or not. Meaning if the blade performs less well after the stropping you need to improve your stropping technique.
Bob
Where did you order it?
As others have mentioned, in trying to get the best results possible, we ask how the shave was in order to find out if the blade is shave ready (or technique is faulty).
Stropping is done before and also usually after each shave; we indeed recommend when receiving a shave readily honed and stropped blade to not strop it on the first use, so one cannot roll the edge on the strop.
Factory shave ready is hit and miss but if ordered from say a supplier they may have honed it before going out the door.
My thoughts precisely.
Before answering any question regarding stropping, it would help to know what kind of shave ready we are talking about.
The shave ready that Dovos leave the factory with seems to need some more work before it really deserves that name.
That is also the reason why some merchants advertise that they will do some extra honing before shipping razors.
Regarding your question; even if the razor was truly ready for the first shave, before the next shave I always strop my razors.
The reason that you may not need to strop a new razor is that it was (hopefully) stropped before shipping, but I personally believe that even then some stropping before first use would not hurt the razor.
The risk of rolling the edge through overstropping is IMO overstated, but it can happen to novices who use an incorrect technique.
B.
If you enjoyed the shave and felt that the edge is there strop before the next shave, actually most strop after the shave to ensure the edge is clean and dry. Then give it a good stropping again before the next shave.
I received a "shave-ready" Dovo Bismarck as a gift several weeks ago. It was purchased from TSS and the edge is excellent.
The seal on the box was unbroken, so I'll have to conclude that the edge I shaved with is what came from the factory, and it truly was shave- ready.
Very sharp, and a very smooth shave. A real pleasure.
:)
You could always contact Jarrod from TSS and ask him if he touches up edges before they leave his shop or if you know what to look for under a loupe you can look for that scratchy coticule edge as Jarrod uses coticules solely, he used to offer a service where one could send him a razor of good quality and he would put a coticule edge on it free of charge which included free return shipping it was his way to let the user know what a coticule was capable of and he could sell you a coticule but I don’t believe he does this service anymore.
Whether Dovo blades are "shave ready" from the factory is a matter of debate. I read somewhere that Dovo will not honor the warranty on their razors if they have been honed after they leave the factory.
Jarod of TSS posted a video in which he removed several Dovo blades from their factory sealed cartons, stropped them and then performed an arm hair test. He concluded that they were "shave ready". However, others have stated that they are not truly shave ready. I purchased a Dovo Bismark and did not find it to be "shave ready" using my criteria. However, I did not have any difficulty honing it to a nice edge. I believe Dovo uses Coticules for honing. If you like Coticule edges, you may find the Dovo factory blades "shave ready". Personally, I do not find Coticule honed edges to be keen enough for my beard without further refinement on another hone or pasted strop.
As long as your honing technique is good, there is no reason to avoid stropping a blade. Sometimes absolute beginners are advised to shave with a newly honed razor without stropping. Improper stropping technique can damage a blade, but once you develop a decent stropping stroke, the chances of damage are pretty small.
I’m glad you were happy with the sharpness According to the description the razor in opened box comes sharper then the unopened since it’s honed after factory sharpening
Just watch the Dovo Vid
It is quite clear to anyone that hones SR's as to why this is even a discussion ~
It is also quite clear after watching their vid (and most any other TI Wacker or Revisor vid) why we say
"I have never met a Factory edge that could not be improved on with the judicious use of Hones and Skill"
I have not yet opened a Dovo that I was unable to shave with. I have several.
Some of the edges needed improvement for my personal comfort, but each and every one 'worked'.
:deadhorse:
Aloha!
My thoughts exactly. I have never received a razor from the factory that could not be improved. Of course, I have not yet ordered from any of the honemeisters here. I'm sure their blades are done to perfection, as would be expected. When I order from Amazon or a supplier of "factory" blades, that their so-called "shave-ready edge" leaves a lot to be desired. At least that's my experience.
Mahalo!
-Zip
I saw a contest of idiots on Reddit lately debating this same issue of shave readiness of factory Dovo edges. If anyone has one or more still factory sealed Dovos available, I would love to make a microscopic edge examination video. Video would be continuous from unsealing to microscope. I would pay for shipping both ways and would touch up the edge for free if you wish.
I know a sample size of one or a few will not be very revealing but it's still something I'd be interested in documenting.
This is from over 6 years ago Ron, I wish I had done a few edge shots at the very least if not an edge vid
https://straightrazorpalace.com/begi...ry-2012-a.html
This is the video that I did of a direct from the factory edge from Revisor. One of the Reddit idiots could not get the point that I did in fact comprehend that Dovo and Revisor are not the same but simply that I used that video to give the owner of the non-shaving Dovo a sense of what kind of scan I wanted to do with his razor. This was literally my first edge video and the lighting was insufficient but still it is clear that the edge is not optimal, even though it was sold as shave ready.
To be clear, my intention is not to bash Revisor nor Dovo. I just want to get for myself, and provide for others, a better sense of the condition of razors direct from the factory. I just don't want to buy any Dovos just to test it. If anyone else is of a mind to buy a Dovo, please let me know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO2LvAYK12w
That's incredible! I sure hope you get a hit on somebody buying a Dovo just to make a video of this. I would send you mine, but it has been honed, polished, and stropped and would look nothing like this. Hell, it might look worse! Not really though...
I have only bought one new Revisor razor and shaved with the supplied factory edge. Although I could shave with it, call it shave able, it was not what I wanted so honed it my self till I got the edge and shave I wanted, call that shave ready to my standards. Later bought one new TI and after the experience with the Revisor checked the edge with my hand loupe. The result was the TI went straight to the hones before shaving with it. I also bought a Dovo that the seller claimed was never used and that also went straight to the hones after an inspection with my hand loupe. It is possible that the Dovo, a discontinued model, was abused even if it was not used but there were no major chips and dings on the edge to indicate that it was. So for me it is three for three on factory edges being at best shave able but shave ready to my standards.
OTH I have had a couple of NOS vintage razors that shave very nicely the first time after stropping only.
Bob
Utopian,
I have (2) unopened Dovo Best Quality 5/8 Full-Hollow ground 100581 that I purchased as 'back-ups' last year, in the event that I got clumsy with my daily shavers and dropped one.
:chapeau
I am assuming that you are offering them as sacrificial lambs?
If so, thank you!
I am.
Let me know how to get them to you.
:)
Gotta love this forum. A call goes out and is answered. It is going to very interesting to see the resulting video of the factory Dovo edges. Thanks to both the gentlemen for making it possible for our edification.
Bob
Ron, take a good look at the shoulders and stabilizers on that Dovo, please. (Once u have it ). I've honed a few of them and have had issues there as well. Causes a frown, when honing. Other than that, they honed up great after fixing that problem.
That Revisor looks as if were honed on a sidewalk..:roflmao
This should be very interesting as well as educational. Thank You FWiedner for doing what you are doing! And Thank you Ron for offering to do this for our benefit! You guys are the best!
The razors arrived!
I will try to do the videos within the next couple of days.
Yes! Strop before every shave
Anybody got wind of a progress report from Utopian?
:confused:
I've tried to contact Mr. Utopian several times.
Loaned those Dovos to him 7 months ago and haven't heard a word since.
Lesson learned.
:boohoo:
@FW... I dont know if you came across any posts i put out this past late summer and early fall concerning if any members knew how to get in touch with Ron?... I too sent him 2 razors for his honing service and after a long time of not receiving them or Ron contacting me I tried unsuccessfully to reach Ron.. So i dont make this a novel FW it took a number of members on this site who know Ron personally to finally get them back to me.. After posting the SOS for my razors and if anyone knew how to get ahold of Ron I received PM's from a few members who went through the same thing.. I feel lucky i got mine back and FW i feel really bad for you man.. I am out in my hunting blind right now but i will be home in a few hours.. Im pretty sure i still have the contacts of members who know Ron and I might even have Rons phone # as i think it was on the note he sent with the razors.. Ill help you get those razors nack FW because i know exactly how you feel and it ******* sucks!! Btw.. There are a number of Mod's/mentors and members who know Ron and know this has happened before so im hoping you guys have reached out to FW and let him know that you are going to help resolve this and get his blades back... Scott W
Seems this is a bit different, yet no excuse from me is coming. Whatever has transpired, It is between those doing it?
Seems the razors were sacrificed for knowledge. I reckon the time has not been right to perform necessary experiments.
From reading the thread, all seems OK until now.
A few PM's may have sorted all of this. as it comes-up in a thread, it takes a while to get things figured-out.
It will all work out.
Text sent to Ron.
The razors will be sent tomorrow.
So, you had the razors for over a year and did not open them? Then sent them to Ron and told Ron there was no time constraint?
Yeah... To the best of my knowledge at the outset, I didn't "sacrifice" the razors for some destructive experiment where I would not have expected to ever see them again. I made a friendly loan to satisfy a common curiosity. I thought I was being helpful.
I've got plenty of other razors, and I can survive the impact of losing a couple of low-end Dovos, or I would never have loaned them out for the supposed study in the first place. And no, I wasn't in a hurry to get them back. Science and all.
I've attempted to contact the gentleman several times with absolutely zero response from him. ZERO. For seven months.
I thought I was being patient.
Did the gentleman pass away and my property was assumed to be a part of his estate? Has he forgotten about the project he proposed and his computer was destroyed in a natural disaster? Did he lose track of the razors while relocating his residence? Were they accidentally damaged or destroyed? Did he sell them? What would a reasonable man think?
I myself have several projects on the back burner. Is it so very difficult to send a note or a PM to say "This is taking longer than I thought it would"?
As I said. Lesson learned.
:td