Thread: DOVO vs. Miller

Yup I'm doing it...regardless of it having been done before I'm asking the question. I received some wonderful shave gear for Xmas this year including a REAL brush to replace my Walgreens special and a third vintage razor bringing my current collection/rotation to three. After almost 2 years of interest in straight razors my wife finally came to the conclusion that I've lost my mind and will be shaving straight for eternity and therefore sees fit to spend and allow money to be spent on my shaving habits.

That being said I'm probably going to be picking up the final components missing from my shaving arsenal, a set of Norton stones and a strop to replace my strip-o-canvas that has been getting me along through the past year or so. The stones were an easy call but the strop is a little more difficult for me and I have it narrowed down to either
DOVO "Extra Wide" Russian Leather Strop
or
Tony Miller's Best Wide 3" Hanger

Both are the same price, and because both Tony AND ClassicShaving are highly supported here there's no REAL reason to choose one over another outside of actual quality and performance. SO...and this is in no way meant as a dig at Tony's work since I have no prior experience...which is the better buy?

MY opinion leans towards Tony because a hand built piece would seem like a better buy and than a mass produced commercial product BUT seeing as how the shaving world is smallish the DOVOs could be a fantastic piece of work as well...that's why I am asking here.

I have two smaller Dovo strops that have been relegated to travel strop and brother-in-law x-mas gift since I got my Tony Miller. I got the #1 Heirloom with the thick black latigo on one side and the honey brown on the other and it is just something to behold. I feel the rush of power when I grab the ring to strop my razor.
Sort of like He-Man when he holds up his sword and says "By the power of Greyskull!" The Dovo never inspired such He-Man musings.

I haven't tried a Dovo, but I would guess that Tony's strops are a better deal. Since Tony's a smaller operation, my hunch is that he spends less on advertising and other corporate-style overhead items. That's more money per strop to put into materials, since we all know he doesn't make any profit on this.

Plus Tony's a stand-up kinda guy, and when he tells you a razor is shave-ready you KNOW it's shave ready, not just beveled on some funky belt grinder contraption.

Just my 2 cents,
Josh

I have one Dovo strop (I bought it before 'Tony Miller Strops' were availible), and I also own a few makes by Tony....

If given the money, I'd buy a 'Tony' strop. Dovo makes great strops, I just prefer Tony's Red Latigo strops......

C utz

Yeah that's kinda what I was thinking in a nutshell...smaller operation and hand crafted beauty versus big name commercialism. I just wanted to get a few more opinions from the group before I made any kind of decision. Basically I'm looking at around $200 worth of equipment to supplement my shaving between a pair of Norton's and a strop and I want to make damn sure I get the most for my money no matter how the money falls. Of course I've still got to convince my wife to let me drop the $200, and it may have to come in a couple of installments rather than all at once.

After that I get to start working on convincing her that it's OK for me to drop the $260 on a TI limited I've been drooling over for almost 2 years...

In my opinion you will not find finer workmanship than a Tony Miller strop anywhere. Nor could you contact Dovo and discuss your needs to find the perfect strop for you when you arent sure what to get.

Originally Posted by JLStorm

In my opinion you will not find finer workmanship than a Tony Miller strop anywhere. Nor could you contact Dovo and discuss your needs to find the perfect strop for you when you arent sure what to get.

Sorry for the but this is one thing that's really cool about SRP. It's like we've formed a little cyber community that has some aspects of what life must have been like 100 years ago. We have skilled craftsmen who care about their customers and take time to customize products for them. We have friendly neighbors who chip in to help folks in need and somtimes even, gasp, do something nice for someone.

I'm proud to be here.

Josh

And to bring us right back to it, I'll throw in my hat with Tony. I've made several purchases from him, including one of his hangers and they were all absolutely great deals. You won't go wrong if you buy from him.

Originally Posted by joshearl

Plus Tony's a stand-up kinda guy, and when he tells you a razor is shave-ready you KNOW it's shave ready, not just beveled on some funky belt grinder contraption.

Just my 2 cents,
Josh

Thanks guys, as always. Do believe me when I say Classic also has a stand up reputation. They too tell you up front a new razor is not shave ready and when they offer a shave ready honing job it WILL be shave ready as well. Lynn does the razors Classic offers the sharpening service on. Classic and I are probably the only 2 places offering new shave ready razors.

Again, thanks for your support but I did want to set the record straight on sharpening and Classic Shaving.

Tony

Tony,

Good catch. Wasn't meaning to diss Classic Shaving or--heaven forbid--Lynn. Sorry about that. I was referring to Dovo, whose claim that its razors are shave ready has caused a lot of pain for newbies...

I should be more careful...

Josh