Brand new DOVO Solingen Straight Razor blunt out of the box?

[lp149]

Hey folks,

I recently purchased a DOVO Solingen Straight Razor: Stainless Steel 5/8". But it can't shave. The Dovo website says I need to strop a few times on a leather strop before shaving... but to be honest I don't think a few strokes on a strop will get it to cut hair?

So, do I need to create a new edge with a whetstone, and if so what grit is best to start with? I spent half an hour on a black arkansas stone but at then end it is still blunt as when I got it - it can cut paper fine but does nothing to a single strand of hair when shaving.

 

[silverlifter]

Send it to someone that knows how to hone. It is important you have a reference edge so that you know how a razor should shave. There is a list of honemeisters on the wiki.

And welcome to B&B!

 

[lp149]

It is important you have a reference edge so that you know how a razor should shave. There is a list of honemeisters on the wiki.

Just curious though, this razer isn't exactly cheap at $400... so why don't they come sharpend by factory?

 

[silverlifter]

Just curious though, this razer isn't exactly cheap at $400... so why don't they come sharpend by factory?

Poor QC. Declining market, so no real incentive to invest in the final step. They probably bank one the fact that most people buying their razors will hone them themselves. Honestly, I don't know, but it is frustrating.

 

[Christian1212]

Factory edges have never been great. Would try to find someone to put a good ark edge on it for you. Once it is there I would imagine your ark can keep it running for a long time.

Also don't teat your edge by cutting paper, can be very bad for the edge. Usually if it not tree toping arm hair for me, it needs work on the stones.

 

[JPO]

I have probably a similar razor from Dovo. This was one of the most difficult steels I have honed.
I had to resort to a micro bevel using my shapton hr stones.
I think this type of steel works better with pastes.
You might be able to improve the factory edge by using a pasted denim or linen strop followed by a pasted leather and clean leather.
You probably need to do some work on stones, but you might get away with pastes.
This steel is scratch resistant and softer then some of the carbon steel Dovo uses.
I also used it on my Arkansas stone. For me this was not a good match.
It is easier to create a new bevel from scratch then to hone and correct a factory Dovo edge.
I would consider myself lucky if the razor came with a completely dull edge.
Usually the edge from the factory has compromised steel from the rough bevel setting stage. You usually need to remove some steel before the steel starts to behave as it should.

 

[Legion]

Send it to an expert to hone. Not a knife sharpener, a razor honer. (He might do both, but sharpening knives is NOT the same as razors, so he needs to both hone and shave with a straight before you let him near your razor)

At this point you have spent $400, and voided the warranty by opening it in the same room as your Ark, so another $30-$50 to have it put right is worth it.

Why is it not right out of the box for that money? Maybe their hones are the wrong shape? Nahhhh.

Anyway, buying a new razor is a bit of a mugs game these days, imo. They usually don’t come shave ready, and if you find the blade is flawed when you hone it, you are out of luck as far as the warranty goes. It’s a catch 22 that makes me glad there are so many good vintage razors still available to buy.

 

[Lord NSIC]

As Silverlifter said, send it to someone who can sort it out properly -- I'll try my hand with any number of my cheaper antique store purchases or restorations, but I don't trust my meager skills yet with a new $$ razor. When I bought a TI back from France last year, I expected the edge to be less than perfect but would still shave. No whiskers were harmed in my first shave and no amount of stropping was going to help it. I sent it off and now it shaves great, and the edge is easy to maintain now that the bevel is properly set and honed.

 

[JPO]

Is this the 6/8 Dovo Facharbeit or the standard 5/8 Inox?
Both are stainless but the old stock blade is harder and more expensive.

What razor are we talking about here?

 

[Sideburns]

Also don't teat your edge by cutting paper, can be very bad for the edge.

That's also true for knives, but you can correct the problem by using a steel to true the edge again. (Until I came here, I'd always heard that referred to as honing the blade.) Stropping can't do what's needed and I'd never consider using a steel on a razor, even the RSO I now have. And note, my steel is professional quality as I bought it in a top notch restaurant supply store.

 

[Waistgunner]

Dovo razors are way overpriced and way overrated nowadays! I received a Dovo's Best 5/8 for Xmas a few years ago and actually ended up bread knifing the edge and starting over. Shaves a okay now but was terrible from the factory!

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

“Just curious though, this razer isn't exactly cheap at $400... so why don't they come sharpend by factory?”

No, no, no don’t believe your lying face. Those razors are professionally honed by master grinders, on convex hones, as they were intended and "well documented in historic text"… well there is at least one source, somewhere.

It’s not the edge, it’s you…

Unfortunately, it is the norm.

 

[Brutus]

Hey folks,

I recently purchased a DOVO Solingen Straight Razor: Stainless Steel 5/8". But it can't shave. The Dovo website says I need to strop a few times on a leather strop before shaving... but to be honest I don't think a few strokes on a strop will get it to cut hair?

So, do I need to create a new edge with a whetstone, and if so what grit is best to start with? I spent half an hour on a black arkansas stone but at then end it is still blunt as when I got it - it can cut paper fine but does nothing to a single strand of hair when shaving.

As you have just joined, I am not sure about your experience, so please bear with me.

Unfortunately, your experience with a brand-new Dovo is not uncommon, which is not helped by one well-known Internet vendor posting a video where he tries to prove in a single pass shave (and because a Dovo sales rep told him) that Dovos leave the factory shave-ready.

I don’t know about your Arkansas, but most likely the edge will have to be set from the ground up, starting with coarser grit stones and then moving up in steps to the finer grits that are typically used for keeping a razor sharp.

In other words, unless you have the coarser grit stones (and the experience), it would be best to have the razor honed by someone with a proven track record.


Hope this helps…


B.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Can you post a picture of the razor?

I am looking at the DOVO website and I see 3 stainless steel razors ranging in price from $130.00 to $185.00.

Is your razor a current model or a vintage model?

 

[JPO]

The only stainless razor i have seen from Dovo in the 400 price range is the old stock limited edition 6/8 Facharbeit.
I don't think they have a 5/8 in that price range.
The new stainless from Dovo is different then these old ones.

Regardless, it needs a proper shaving edge.
Most new razor I have honed needed to get honed a few times before the steel behaved as it should from heel to toe.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I agree with @JPO. If you are in the US, I would send the razor to Alfredo (@Doc226) for a proper edge.

 

[Gamma]

Just curious though, this razer isn't exactly cheap at $400... so why don't they come sharpend by factory?

It was sharpened at the factory.
This is just another chapter in the "Emperor's New Honing Method" story.

If you want it honed correctly, call @Bayamontate

 

[Stapelfeld]

The only stainless razor i have seen from Dovo in the 400 price range is the old stock limited edition 6/8 Facharbeit.
I don't think they have a 5/8 in that price range.
The new stainless from Dovo is different then these old ones.

Regardless, it needs a proper shaving edge.
Most new razor I have honed needed to get honed a few times before the steel behaved as it should from heel to toe.

True and true