Thread: Manufacturers defect on new dovo?

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.

daflorc, I'm no expert on pinning but I have tightened quite a few. In my experience wood is more resilient than celluloid. Not sure about acrylic. You can crack a celluloid scale in a heartbeat if you go too far and that is what the vintage stuff was made of.

As for quality control, I worked in a factory briefly in my younger days and they paid piece work. IOW, you didn't get paid by the hour but by the total amount you produced. I don't know if that is the situation in Germany but my guess is Dovo wants to increase productivity as much as they want to maintain quality. The two kind of go together. Just IMHO.

I'm sure Dovo, like any company, would like to have high quality and high productivity. that can be a problem when you are making fine instruments.

There are a rare few companies (certain custom woodcrafting and granite companies, for instance) that have high quality, the best, no matter what. They're not as productive, but they're always in demand for their fine craftsmanship. the only problem is, you are going to pay out the nose for it.

I read somewhere:
There are three ways to do work: Fast, Cheap and Good. Pick two:

If you want something Fast and Good, it won't be Cheap.

If you want something Good and Cheap, it won't be Fast

If you want something Cheap and Fast, it won't be Good.