Thread: Double Arrow Quality ?????

Originally Posted by Utopian

Did you tape the spine?

No, no tape. Admittedly I bought it brand new and put 1/16" or so of hone wear in it back when I was first honing it. I specifically remember it taking forever to get a good bevel going. I don't know if I got all the hard work out of the way that time, or if I'm just much better at honing now, but this time it went pretty smoothly.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

Ok if you are really asking for this then Please answer to this question.
have you able to put edge on DA without using tape?
Let me clear a little what i mean by "edge" which will give to you comfortable shave without pulling.?
Now I have sharpen them and unable to put "edge" any of them until i tape the blade 3 layers of the electric tape. edge doesn't last longer then a week.
I hope this helps.i don't mean to be inferior what you have done on that blades. you have done amazing work which i would never able to do so..Personally i wish you will put that work some better razor's.
All above is my personal experience and opinion.

No, I don't use tape when honing DAs. What I do use is a 1200DMT and make sure that the bevel is set before moving on to refine the edge. By set, I mean that the edge will cut arm hairs mid stalk fairly easily.

As I have shown in my scope pics above is an edge that cuts quite smooth and cleanly. That's about as objective as I can share, as it is a magnified pic of the edge, not just my opinion on how it may feel on my face.

I'm not a big fan of taping the spine for honing for most razors (only for fancy worked backs on a vintage blade, maybe ). I have found that usually by using a more agressive bevel setting hone I get better results in the end rather than fussing around with taped spines, etc.

As has been mentioned many times above, the wide shoulder bevel that many of these come with can cause some honing issues. My solution is to blast it away using a combination of DMT600 & DMT1200 until it falls into line.


Another possible issue is that since they come with that wide shoulder bevel, how is it that they are setting the edge that they do come with?

I have found that they do require a bit of work, even at the toe end of the razor to set the bevel correctly, as I think that the edge bevel is set at a different angle (which is probably why you have found that you need three(!) layers of tape to put an edge on them), so I would suggest that you have to completely reset it to begin with.

They come fairly sharp, but not really, so don't trust the bevel they come with. They are a cheap razaor, so don't be afraid to be aggressive when using the 1200 grit hone!

I can't speak to edge longevity, as I have a decent sized rotation, and also have not used a single DA for a prolonged period of time.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I think maybe we have moved this thread from one end to the other and back again....

My whole purpose of starting it was the same as many of my workshop threads... I wanted to inform people with an interest in working on these razors that they were not quite what was expected when I started.... That's it, just spreading info....

The bent/twisted rate is actually closer to 2/3 so far, at least for me...

The vise/pin correction works OK, Seraphim I think maybe you need to do an even better explanation on this, and we should have it in the Wiki

Charlie/Spazola had a great scale fix diagram at one time, that I wish he would put in the Wiki also, as I really suck at those computer graphics things you guys do so well....

The posts with the failed Dovo's and TI's I just don't understand myself???? Got a bad one, send it back...

What I was pointing out was that it is just not as easy as I was thinking it was going to be, as I had never read Jack about this problem until I posted the thread... Now we all sorta know what to expect for a $12 razor... That's it, no more, no less....

I didn't my any means mean to offend anyone with the thread and sincerely hope I did not.... But like everything else I learn as I work on razors, I try and share the knowledge, to those ends I think this thread was a sucess....

I got the vice fix idea from a post by Bill Ellis over on B&B. I couldn't locate it again. He always has great workshop tips and tricks like that.

I did send back the THREE warped Dovos I recieved to the vendor, who was great about it. When I contacted Dovo directly about it, they asked me to send them the razor so they could take a look at it, etc, etc. That would be a lengthy process, and would cost more to ship it there and back than would be worthwhile. Heck, for the cost of shipping back that Dovo, I could buy another DA!

And as said before, I for one, certainly take no offense at any of the posts, or opinions shared here. I happen to think this is a great thread to share info about problems and fixes for these quirky DAs.

I didn't use tape on the spine. I set bevel on dmt 1200 so the whole razor was sharp, then polished the edge. No harder than any other easy to hone razor, but, I did get a straight one..

Can someone explain to me what exactly being able to put a nice bevel on a razor means? My understanding is that even an untreated piece of steel will be able to take a pretty good edge. Thus, a steel that has a moderately good HT should be able to take just as good an edge as a higher quality HT blade. Is my understanding incorrect?

As for my stance on the DAs, my only position is that they are $12 for a reason. Thats it. Whatever that reason is, I don't know. My guess is poor QC, cheaper labor and definitely rock bottom scales and pinning. Does it make up the difference between $12 and the cost of a Dovo? I don't know.

That said. They're $12, your not out a lot of money.

Originally Posted by Leighton

Can someone explain to me what exactly being able to put a nice bevel on a razor means? My understanding is that even an untreated piece of steel will be able to take a pretty good edge. Thus, a steel that has a moderately good HT should be able to take just as good an edge as a higher quality HT blade. Is my understanding incorrect?

As for my stance on the DAs, my only position is that they are $12 for a reason. Thats it. Whatever that reason is, I don't know. My guess is poor QC, cheaper labor and definitely rock bottom scales and pinning. Does it make up the difference between $12 and the cost of a Dovo? I don't know.

That said. They're $12, your not out a lot of money.

I use nice bevel as a relative term. A nice bevel to me is one that is pretty even and forms a complete "V" edge from heel to toe.

A not-so-nice bevel would be one that doesn't meet those characteristics.

Maybe others mean something else when they say it though?

True, you could probably give a nice bevel to any piece of metal you want. I thought the idea with razor steel and proper heat treating was how sharp you can get it and how long it will hold it's edge

Originally Posted by pjrage

I use nice bevel as a relative term. A nice bevel to me is one that is pretty even and forms a complete "V" edge from heel to toe.

A not-so-nice bevel would be one that doesn't meet those characteristics.

Maybe others mean something else when they say it though?

True, you could probably give a nice bevel to any piece of metal you want. I thought the idea with razor steel and proper heat treating was how sharp you can get it and how long it will hold it's edge

re the bolded terms. Exactly! I'm much more interested in how long that nice looking bevel lasts compared to other razors. Unless I'm wrong and you can't get a poor HT piece of steel shaving sharp.

I think we need a new challenge - shave with nothing but a DA for 2 weeks and report back on the state of your face/sanity. I might give it a go.

i bet i can do that challenge, and even tape it to prove it.
so far i like my DA

1 great shave so far, my best yet

I just honed up another one. I'll give it a go tonight, and for the rest of the week. Not sure I can bear sticking to a single razor for two weeks straight...but maybe. My other razors will get antsy!