Dovo Solingen "Best Quality" 6/8

a well worth first purchase for the beginner shaver, especially if one can find it cheaper. a fine work horse for everyday use and travel.

Best beginner blade, at 85.00$ you can't get a better starter straight razor. Came shave ready and keeps the edge.

Because you couldn't get fired for buying it, whether it's the best thing for you or not.

I like the fact that the DOVO 6/8 is a "steel standard" for wetshavers. It's not fancy, nor is it beautiful, nor is it necessarily the superlative amongst razors, but this is probably one's best choice for digging in straight razors.

You will find it everywhere they sell straights, it comes new, and potentially honed by a reputable hand (depending on where you bought). To make a camera analogy for you photo buffs, it's the FM2n of razors. All manual, minimal controls, nothing luxury or fancy, workhose without being the finest (e.g. it's not a Leica!), and black. (Makes me think: I wish they still sold the FM2n new, but I digress.)

Mine is just back from the honemeister, after a six months run. It's been my first razor, so obviously I wrecked it more than once, but now that my stropping finally seems under control and I got a barber's hone to maintain it, I hope never to have it sent to hone again. So far, mine works well and I get better-feeling shaves than with my DE.

Get it, use it, learn, and if you become proficient, then it will be worth your money to get something expensive.

My second Straight, the first being an old, old one from my great-grandfather (sadly, there is no romantic passing down from father to son to be explained, I found it at my great-uncle's "useless things' cupboard").
PRICE: 70€ the 6/8". Being sold at the only serious wetshaving shop in Barcelona, it was quite overpriced, IMHO.
CRAFTMANSHIP: Good. It appears "solid" to me.
EASY TO SHARPEN: I do not sharp my razors myself. I still don't have much beard (still it is quite tough) so I can keep them good for quite a long time with leather and pastes.
LASTING EDGE: It lasted for about a month, until, during New year's eve, a @~#~@¬@!!!%"$% used it to cut a cigar. CRAP, CRAP CRAP!!! I have had it for nearly one month in the shop I told you before, and today has come back to me. Hallellujah!
SHAVING SMOOTHNESS: Really good. No problems about that.
EASY TO MANTAIN: Top at that point. However, as the review before shows, YMMV.

I've owned this model in 6/8, with blonde scales.

Price
60 Euros (85 $) a year ago, in a knife shop in Rome, Italy. I'll call it a fair price, for a new piece. But 85 $ and a bit of luck can bring you quite a lot of (vintage) better choices.

Craftsmanship
Good. The blade was perfectly centered, with some very little scratches immediately below the spine. The etchings was good, the handle fairly thick. The razor has a very good balance.

Easy to Sharpen
At the time I was a newcomer with Spyderco stones; i was in dry honing and I used no pastes. The steel was prone to microchipping, but after a couple of days I found a way to give it a good edge. When I sold it (months of practice later) I honed it again, discovering that the factory-made bevel was completely wrong; a KING 1k waterstone solved the problem. It is easy to hone, if you own the right instruments!

Lasting Edge
Being Italian, I have a very very tough beard (imagine the bastard son of Carborundum and barbed wire ). The edge usually lasted for a pass and a half; during the XTG I had to stop and strop it again on the palm of my hand. It needed a touchup almost every week. For laughs, my beard can destroy a Feather DE blade after about three shaves...

Shaving Smoothness
Almost like honing: if you use the right products (Trumper and Proraso soaps, Proraso Pre-shave and Trumper Skin Food) it feels like a smooth razor.

Easy to Maintain
No precious, prone to warp scales; no frail metrosexual gold. If some patina appears (on mine didn't), get out the car polish and it will became like new in seconds. Everything that's needed is a drop of mineral oil if you store it for a long time.

P.S. I didn't sold it because I wasn't happy with the results, but because I moved my collector's hunger from Germany to Italy, England and Spain!

Thank you for this review. I am a DE shaver and have wanted to get into Straight shaving for a long time now (longer then I have been DE shaving). I was looking at this razor online at one of DOVO's recommended sights to buy. I may just have to bite the bullet and get on now. Thanks again.

I can't believe this razor hasn't been reviewed yet!

This is Dovo's least expensive line of razors at the moment. I have the 6/8 which is about $5 more than the 5/8. For the record I really prefer the 6/8 size over any other size I have shaved with.

This is an appealing looking razor for it's price point. The scales are plastic, but they feel solid and there is a brace that the tang sits on when the razor is closed. The blade itself is fairly plain. The etching isn't anything fancy, and it polishes to a nice shine. All in all, appearance wise it is very utilitarian. It is when it comes to shaving that this razor really shines.

I have owned a Dovo Micarta 5/8 stainless before I acquired this razor, and I loved how my Dovo shaved. It was scary sharp, and all and all it was the best razor I had shaved with. That was until I got a "Best Quality." While this razor may not attain the ultra sharpness of a good stainless blade, it is, far and away the smoothest razor I have ever shaved with. It should be noted that this razor was honed by Lynn...so you must take that into account also.

The smoothness of this razor cannot be overstated. Not only that, but I have found it to be a very forgiving razor. It is quite rare that I nick or cut myself with it. Another plus is this razor truly sings! The full hollow grind and 6/8 blade width make this one of the most vocal razors I have shaved with (especially XTG on the neck!).

All in all the value ($85! Are you kidding me!) for this razor for the quality of shaves it give is unmatched. If you are looking for a good quality beginners razor THIS IS THE ONE.

You will get great shaves from it long after you have acquired "nicer" more high end razors. For me, it is my go to razor.