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Crooked/Asymmetric Dovo Barabossa

G'day All,


Have been trying to find an opinion on a new straight razor I received as a gift today, but am not having much luck....

I received a Dovo Barbarossa 10580086 and am excited and happy about it, I've never owned or used a straight razor before.

Having said that, I've noticed a few manufacturing issues, and I'm not really sure if this is just par for the course, or out of line. I wouldn't expect to see the same types of quality issues on a similarly priced folding knife, but I am really unsure if I'm making a big fuss. I've sent an email to Dovo to ask their opinion but don't want to rely solely on their assessment.

Overgrind Front.PNG

You can see the hollow grind on the left is much higher and deeper than on the right. As I understand it, this is going to give each side a different final bevel angle. This is made worse by the fact that the actual cutting edge is not centred within the steel stock.

Overgrind Rear.PNG

From the rear of the blade, you can see the same asymmetry but it is also clear that what remains of the flat grinds are not the same angle.

Off-Square.PNG

This is much harder to see in the photo (but apparent in person,) the actual cutting edge is running on an angle. When compared to the line of the tang/handle or the scales, in both cases the cutting edge is not parallel.

Off-Plumb.PNG

Again, hard to see in the photo - but relative to the tang/steel stock the actual cutting edge leans over to one side - i.e. is out of plumb.

I understand that there is always going to be a bit of inconsistency with a grind, and that the quenching process is going to effectively make it impossible to get a perfectly straight edge in every plane. I am also acutely aware that I have no idea what I am talking about and no experience with this industry or manufacturing process, but my suspicion is:
The blade stock is initially rough cut to form the handle and blade shape (no problems here.)
The stock is then flat ground to remove the bulk of the material (I think my blade was done in the middle of Oktoberfest, by a very hungover German.)
A large lot of these flat ground blades are then heat treated, quenched and tempered. (I suspect this was done without checking the flat-grind.)
After finishing the heat treat, the hollow grind is cut in using a water wheel or similar.

At this point in the process it looks like someone at Dovo has realised they have a batch of knives that were incompetently ground and instead of cutting their losses and getting the scrap price, they've tried to recover the work so as not to lose the sunk cost of steel and labour. This has resulted in a very aggressive and weird hollow-grind with crap geometry.

Of course I freely admit, I have no idea what I'm talking about, this is just a hypothetical.

Can anyone tell me if I'm off base here? Should this be going straight back to the retailer, or am I being a bit too pedantic? I'm sure I'll still be able to get a fine working edge out of it, and practically it will be a perfectly useful tool. But I can't help but feel QA has dropped the ball a bit here and I haven't received exactly what was paid for.

Cheers guys.
 
Cheers, yeah that's what I thought - I'm more just concerned about any future problems that may crop up when trying to hone the crooked blade.

I think the asymmetric hollow looks crap, but can't really see any functional fault there. The fact that the blade is both tilted and crooked in both directions makes me think that it will be impossible to keep a straight grind using the spine as a reference. Or does this just not matter as much as I think?

Also, considering I don't intend on buying another SR for the next 40-50 years or however long I'm around for, I'm keen for it to last the distance.

I don't particularly care about the aesthetics, I'm not looking for perfection in a hand-made product. What I do care about is long-term function. If you were in my situation what would you do?
 
It doesn't look very good does it!
Having said that I have a couple of razors that came a little bit sub-parr, mentioning no names of course Mr TI.
However, both of those shave wonderfully now. I have of course had some eBay razors that were made by someone who must have been a little unsteady on his legs, they are hiding in the shed.
Not buying another straight eh .....good luck with that then!!!
 
I don't particularly care about the aesthetics, I'm not looking for perfection in a hand-made product. What I do care about is long-term function. If you were in my situation what would you do?
I think I would ignore the asymmetry, and focus on your other concern: that it will be impossible to keep a straight grind.

So I would put it on a very flat surface, on each side in turn. First, I'd see if it wobbles at all, or sits flat. Then I'd look carefully at the points of contact, preferably under magnification, to see if any part is not touching.

Then I'd decide, based on what I discovered from those tests, whether to pursue a replacement or not. And if it fails those tests, that seems like an argument that would be much harder for the supplier to dismiss than asymmetry, so it would be a good thing to know.
 
Not buying another straight eh .....good luck with that then!!!

Haha...... I remember saying the same thing about folding knives, table saws, milling machines and sheds..... It's why I haven't said that out loud to the missus, I've got no credibility left. Call me an eternal optimist.

Did your dodgies have similar issues? How long have you had them and are they still holding up? Any difficulties with maintenance that you don't encounter with other SRs?
 
Haha...... I remember saying the same thing about folding knives, table saws, milling machines and sheds..... It's why I haven't said that out loud to the missus, I've got no credibility left. Call me an eternal optimist.

Did your dodgies have similar issues? How long have you had them and are they still holding up? Any difficulties with maintenance that you don't encounter with other SRs?
My two dodgy razors are fine now it was just setting the bevel that was a problem. The worst one I just ground the hell out of it after a deal of frustration it is one of my favourite shavers now.
No, I am not showing a pic as people will throw things at me.
Once the bevel is set then the razor is good to go even if it is not quite so pretty and should hold up longer than you or I.
 
So I would put it on a very flat surface
I usually use the cast iron on my table saw as a flat reference, which is pretty reasonable but I'm sure I can find some float glass or granite - what sort of tolerance is normally acceptable?

I'm just gearing up for a ****-fight if I do go back to the retailer and want to make sure they can't baffle me with bull****. Like I said, this is a new world to me so the norms are not exactly clear and I am not particularly keen to get put over a barrel.
 
My two dodgy razors are fine now it was just setting the bevel that was a problem. The worst one I just ground the hell out of it after a deal of frustration it is one of my favourite shavers now.
No, I am not showing a pic as people will throw things at me.
Once the bevel is set then the razor is good to go even if it is not quite so pretty and should hold up longer than you or I.
One of my favorite shavers, likewise, is a seriously over-honed kamisori. I'm thinking that maybe the reason it's one of my favorites is that it now has a lower shave angle than the others.
 
I usually use the cast iron on my table saw as a flat reference, which is pretty reasonable but I'm sure I can find some float glass or granite - what sort of tolerance is normally acceptable?

I'm just gearing up for a ****-fight if I do go back to the retailer and want to make sure they can't baffle me with bull****. Like I said, this is a new world to me so the norms are not exactly clear and I am not particularly keen to get put over a barrel.
Any of your ideas would do fine for flatness.

If the razor wobbles, then wobbling it on the retailer's glass counter might be a particularly convincing demonstration.
 
Any of your ideas would do fine for flatness.

If the razor wobbles, then wobbling it on the retailer's glass counter might be a particularly convincing demonstration.
Online unfortunately, but reputable - will do the test when I can get in the shed tomorrow and we will go from there. But I certainly feel better about the long-term prospects given both of your experiences.

Cheers to both of you.
 
My new friend if you are new then you sure as hell will have a guilty thing like this in your collection before too long.
I know, I know, you aren't going to have a collection.
 
Not a big deal imo. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to keep the grind straight as long as you hone evenly on both sides of the blade, a total non concern.

As far as manufacturing Dovo razors are drop forged with all the appropriate geometry pre formed into the forging. They are heat treated in this state and are ground in their hardened state using double wheel hollow grinders with running water for cooling. Plenty of footage online from inside the factory.
 
Please?

I'm new and I'm sure it will be educational. :)

I think it's in the interest of the community at large that we see the photos.
Here you go then as long as no one else sees it
The first side doesn't look too bad or wouldn't if the razor was an oldie.
The front side I found it difficult to get any kind of a bevel on it so I saw red as they say.
You can see a trifle of spine wear towards the heel!!!!
20220313_185031.jpg


20220313_185049.jpg
 
My god man.

If this is the standard that is too embarrassing to show then I am in for a rough ride.... You should see our some of our kitchen knives.... and don't even ask about my hand sharpened drill bits. They are very special.
 
Not a big deal imo. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to keep the grind straight as long as you hone evenly on both sides of the blade, a total non concern.

As far as manufacturing Dovo razors are drop forged with all the appropriate geometry pre formed into the forging. They are heat treated in this state and are ground in their hardened state using double wheel hollow grinders with running water for cooling. Plenty of footage online from inside the factory.
Interesting, I will definitely check it out. That does explain the bottom notches where the tang meets the blade, but the flats seem very poorly formed, I imagine something wasn't 100% right, the dies were offset perhaps? Or there was a graphite chip etc.?
 
Here you go then as long as no one else sees it
The first side doesn't look too bad or wouldn't if the razor was an oldie.
The front side I found it difficult to get any kind of a bevel on it so I saw red as they say.
You can see a trifle of spine wear towards the heel!!!!
View attachment 1423421

View attachment 1423422
I have TI's that's fairly new and look worse. I don't care, because I never sell razors and if that is what it takes to make it shave, well done.
Still a very good looking razor!
 
Welcome to the disappointed with DOVO club. With that writeup you do know quite a bit. I can't add much to herrenberg's wisdom, but if you keep it and put the work you're already aware of into it you'll learn more about razor honing than you would with 40-50 years of touching up a perfectly ground one.

I didn't have the patience to send back my two bananas. My sense of trust died a bit more, but I don't regret the time spent.
 
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