Thread: Manufacturers defect on new dovo?

no such luck. ebony scales

My .02:

The gap that a razor closes into is always only a few mm. It barely takes any pressure to make the blade, even if it centers perfectly, close into one of the scales. One should always be careful when closing any razor.

Also, if having the blade slightly off center bothers you, be prepared to spend a lot of time on any rescale you do, and don't buy on ebay unless you are prepared to rescale at least 75% of your purchases and spend a lot of time getting them to center.

Some things to consider..

Before you beat on the pins of a Dovo...

Dovo's use a single lock system, normally on the back side of the scales, the front side is essentially a nail head..
If you start beating on the nail head you will crack the scale there is no adjustment there...
You have to adjust a Dovo from the back side only which also means you only get half the amount of adjustment possible with the two sided system...
Adjusting the scales is a matter of figuring out what direction you need to deflect the scale to get the desired movement o n the razor...
You can also adjust very slightly by tapping at the wedge end also...

Before you even start I will warn you that you will probably crack the scales, but you need to learn how to tighten scales anyway..
In the Workshop sticky are tons of links as to how we move them around but keep in mind those links are designed around the two sided system that most restorers use ...

Thanks Glen. Looking at it now, I see the side that looks like the nail head, and i can see that it is the head-side that i would be tapping, so I guess I'll just leave it be.

Holli, I've only bought a couple on ebay, with the intent of removing and remaking the scales. I am sure most old razors are out of funk. good advice still. I just thought a brand new one would be perfect. Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist

Originally Posted by daflorc

Holli, I've only bought a couple on ebay, with the intent of removing and remaking the scales. I am sure most old razors are out of funk. good advice still. I just thought a brand new one would be perfect. Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist

I think straight razors are one of the few newly bought, mass produced items people put under the microscope (often literally). It would probably drive you totally insane if you paid as much attention to the details in everything you buy. I don't mean this as a good thing or a bad thing or a comment about you in particular - just something I think about.

What are our expectations on the quality of things we buy? Are our expectations consistent for various items? If yes, is that fair? If no, why do they vary?

Not to hijack the thread but ....... one of my pet peeves is when the blade is good and tight when it is straight out and beyond, like for stropping or shaving, but seems loose when coming around to closing. I've got a Wonderedge like that, as well as a couple of other vintage Solingens. A PITA because if I try and tighten the scales any further Murphy's law will no doubt come into play.

+1 Jimmy. I really hate that too. Feel like I'm going to break the scales opening the razor up.

I only have a couple razors and one is kind of loose like that...its irritating. I don't know why, but I like these things to be perfect in every way, tight and right

On my first restore, I am going to try an old woodworking trick with the pins, and instead of pound the pin over the washer on the surface of the wood, drill a superficial hole in the scale where the washer will fit into, so the washer sits half embedded in the scale. Then, when pounding the pin, it takes the pressure off the surface of the wood, and any miniscule cracking/splitting will be inside the wood scale, out of sight from the surface of the wood.

BTW, I think I've seen some pins pinned without the use of washers. Is that OK? Or do they use such tiny washers and peen so perfectly that the washer is hidden/melded with the pin? Whatever it is, I love the clean look of tiny pins, seemingly washerless

My understanding is that the washer is there to take the stress off the scale material. This prevents the scales from cracking. The only scales I can think of that I have seen washerless are vintage ivory. I don't know about the strength of ivory (I assume very good), but a lot, for whatever reason, have cracks through the pins.

On most vintage razors, the washers are very small. Much smaller than the 0 washers from microfasteners. I prefer the smaller ones, but don't know where to find them and don't have the means to make them.

I prefer to play safe and use washers.