Dovo Bismarck and new to straights

[Garethtoogood]

I'm new to Sr shaving. Maybe 2 months now. I discovered de a couple of years back. I always fancied a go so I bought a restored joseph rodgers but that along with a couple of other restored all drag and burn. I know my poor technique has a lot to do with it. I shed blood under my nose virtually every time! I thought what the hell go for a brand new and see what happens! Went on dovo's site in germany great prices! They have a sale on. got a brand new bismarck with 2 free solingen steak knives thrown in for free for less I can get one in uk and £5 postage.
Despite people on here saying some dovos aren't shave ready....omg what a shave! Wow. Dream. Second shave with it and no blood. I know partly my technique is to blame as I've got better but the difference was remarkable.
Love it. bbs.

Any one know where I can get my rodgers rehoned in london? I have to do it as it's a thing of beauty. Also the experience was so good I need to get rid of a couple of years worth of razor blades!

 

[ajduplessis]

Cant help with honing, but sure you will find a reputable one quick with assistance here. The Bismarck is a great shaver. for sure. Out of the box they should be comfortable after some quality stropping. My Bismarck and Bergisher Löwe are the only Dovo”s I own that shaved OK out of the box after stropping, others like the BQ’s required a refresh before use. This does not mean it can”t be improved and for sure more performance will increase quite a bit.

 

[Steve56]

Maybe Joseph at edge dynamics? Jamie Mahoney is in Wales and Gary Haywood is another gentleman with an excellent rep.

 

[Seveneighth]

Jamie and Gary are on this forum - you could DM them:

@Mr Bedlington
and
@gary haywood

 

[godek]

If you liked the dovo from factory so much, something has gone terribly wrong with your other SRs. Don't laugh, but do you strop your SRs? If yes, how? I find out what before I send my dovo to a rehone.

HTH
godek

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

If you liked the dovo from factory so much, something has gone terribly wrong with your other SRs. Don't laugh, but do you strop your SRs? If yes, how? I find out what before I send my dovo to a rehone.

HTH
godek

I'm missing something. Even if Dovo razors are often not very sharp (and I'm not saying that's the case, but I have heard allegations to that effect) if doesn't mean some Dovo factory honed edges won't be very sharp (on the broken clock is right twice a day theory). Am I wrong?

Why not trust what the gentlemen who has used the edge says about it?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[ajduplessis]

If you liked the dovo from factory so much, something has gone terribly wrong with your other SRs. Don't laugh, but do you strop your SRs? If yes, how? I find out what before I send my dovo to a rehone.

HTH
godek

Do you even own a new Dovo Bismarck? Having an opinion without any experience means nothing...

 

[godek]

Why not trust what the gentlemen who has used the edge says about it?

See thread title. "new to straights". An opinion is a great thing.

But for some things it is important to have a comparison. Only having a first straight means nothing to compare to.

br
godek

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

See thread title. "new to straights". An opinion is a great thing.

But for some things it is important to have a comparison. Only having a first straight means nothing to compare to.

br
godek

When I read his OP again just now I discovered the Dovo was not his first straight. In fact, he compared it extremely favorably to his first.

"Despite people on here saying some dovos aren't shave ready....omg what a shave! Wow. Dream."

He may be a newbie to the straight razor, but I'm going to trust him on the excitement and on the comparison.

That's just me.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Ice-Man]

I must admit when I bought mine it was in fact shave ready, all i had to do was strop it and only touched it up once on the stones.
So yes they have got something right

 

[alpster]

Dovo gets a lot of rough reviews, both here and on other forums. I'm convinced this is because some expect their cheapest, entry level "Best Quality" blades to exhibit the same quality and workmanship as their Bergisher Lowe and Bismark blades which sell for 2 or 3 X as much. I am a fan of Dovo. I have only had one "Best" and got rid of it. All the others (about a dozen) are stellar blades. JMHE

 

[godek]

"Despite people on here saying some dovos aren't shave ready....omg what a shave! Wow. Dream."

We just lack enough information to judge. If he never used an SR before, how could he be able to know how a really good bevel would feel?

Anyhow, I have just obtained my first dovo. Sold by a fellow member of a German forum. It arrived not shave ready at his site. He even bought a 2k/8k Naniwa to try to fix it but failed. Yes, we did make several attempts at helping him fix it. I did not buy it by private message, he posted it in our version of BST, so I have a clear conscience.

I'm not bashing dovo here. I grew up 10km from Solingen. A former close pal worked at Böker for 15 years.

Last year I bought a new Böker Baumwerk Micarta. From a reseller, not from the factory. It was barely acceptable. After quite some stropping it did shave, but not comfortable. Similar to a Chinese Titan. Okish from factory but really nice once you put them on the stones.

br
godek

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

We just lack enough information to judge. If he never used an SR before, how could he be able to know how a really good bevel would feel?

Anyhow, I have just obtained my first dovo. Sold by a fellow member of a German forum. It arrived not shave ready at his site. He even bought a 2k/8k Naniwa to try to fix it but failed. Yes, we did make several attempts at helping him fix it. I did not buy it by private message, he posted it in our version of BST, so I have a clear conscience.

I'm not bashing dovo here. I grew up 10km from Solingen. A former close pal worked at Böker for 15 years.

Last year I bought a new Böker Baumwerk Micarta. From a reseller, not from the factory. It was barely acceptable. After quite some stropping it did shave, but not comfortable. Similar to a Chinese Titan. Okish from factory but really nice once you put them on the stones.

br
godek

I have a couple of Dovo straights which I acquired in a BST trade. I don't know what model of Dovo they are. They arrived shave ready, but might have been honed by the member from whom I
acquired them. I like mine okay (just fine really) not that I use 'em much.

Otherwise I don't know anything about Dovo razors except what I've read.

Happy

 

[Slash McCoy]

Dovo's entry level razors have probably done more to damage the company in the eyes of potential customers than the good from the revenue stream. After my third Dovo with all three being horrible, I was one of those who trashed the brand at every opportunity. Then I got hold of a Prima Klang, followed by a Silver Steel and a Dovo Bismarck that a friend had and wanted honed, (which at first I declined because of the bad experiences with the Conk and the two Bests) and same day, I went shopping for my own Klang and Bismarcks. Couldn't find a Prima Klang at an affordable price but ended up scoring in one day two Dovo Bismarcks, one new and one not, and a pre-Dovo Bismarck #2. The nicer Dovo razors changed my view of the company quite a bit, though I still remember how badly those entry Dovos treated me. Now I know that most of the wonky "Worst Quality" Dovos will shave just fine, once you get caveman on them and force a bevel in spite of the twisty warpy geometry. But you shouldn't have to do that with a razor made by a big name company. You shouldn't have to do that with ANY razor. You expect it when the razor comes from China at $4 shipped, but not when it says Solingen on it and costs $100 or more.

Now I own several Bismarcks, both Dovo and pre-Dovo. Great razors, great design.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Dovo's entry level razors have probably done more to damage the company in the eyes of potential customers than the good from the revenue stream. After my third Dovo with all three being horrible, I was one of those who trashed the brand at every opportunity. Then I got hold of a Prima Klang, followed by a Silver Steel and a Dovo Bismarck that a friend had and wanted honed, (which at first I declined because of the bad experiences with the Conk and the two Bests) and same day, I went shopping for my own Klang and Bismarcks. Couldn't find a Prima Klang at an affordable price but ended up scoring in one day two Dovo Bismarcks, one new and one not, and a pre-Dovo Bismarck #2. The nicer Dovo razors changed my view of the company quite a bit, though I still remember how badly those entry Dovos treated me. Now I know that most of the wonky "Worst Quality" Dovos will shave just fine, once you get caveman on them and force a bevel in spite of the twisty warpy geometry. But you shouldn't have to do that with a razor made by a big name company. You shouldn't have to do that with ANY razor. You expect it when the razor comes from China at $4 shipped, but not when it says Solingen on it and costs $100 or more.

Now I own several Bismarcks, both Dovo and pre-Dovo. Great razors, great design.

What a lovely razor this one is! Honed entirely by me which makes it even sweeter.

Happy shaves,

Jim