very poor finish on a DOVO best quality + introduction

[ThomasR099]

i'm a college student from Belgium and have been lurking around for a bit now. this being my first post i figured some introduction would be nice.
i started wet shaving with a DE a few months ago because of a huge ingrown hair problem in my neck area (and it has improved hugely!) and now love the 15 minutes of calm it brings.

Anyway, the thought of a straight razor has always fascinated me and i bit the bullet last week and bought a DOVO best quality "entry level" razor.
out of the box it was OK, after a few passes on a pasted paddle strop with red paste it passes the HHT and shaves rather smoothly.
I assume that this 'll improve more once i get my technique down.
besides being a (to me at the moment) nice shaver i figured you guys might want to hear this:

The grind is uneven; as if one side has been ground down more than the other, there is some heat-stain near the end of the blade and the scales don't center properly

because it 's a nice shave, all i can afford a the moment and does take an edge i'll keep it; but i hope my future DOVO's 'll be better built.

greets,

Thomas

 

[life2short1971]

Welcome Thomas! Can you post some pics?

 

[ThomasR099]

it's rather late in this part of the world now; but tomorrow i'll get out the camera to show you.

 

[life2short1971]

thats great.

it's rather late in this part of the world now; but tomorrow i'll get out the camera to show you.

 

[Danricgro]

I have two Dovo best quality razors and could not be happier with them. The fit and finish are very good and they are great shavers. They were honed by Lynn Abrams who seems to know what he is doing. Hee hee.

 

[johnmrson]

I would send it back. There is no excuse for poor quality control, even on an entry level razor.

 

[life2short1971]

+1 on the exchange. I didn't pick up you just bought it. Sounds like you got a lemon. Whoever you got it from shouldn't give you any trouble and if they do let us know who so we can avoid them.

 

[michiganlover]

+1 on the exchange. I didn't pick up you just bought it. Sounds like you got a lemon. Whoever you got it from shouldn't give you any trouble and if they do let us know who so we can avoid them.

+2 on returning it.

However, it also sounds to me like this razor has the factory edge on it, and has not been properly honed to shave ready status. Dovo razors are never ready for shaving fresh out of the box. Then need to be honed by a professional who knows what they are doing.

That being the case, this razor sounds like it's in a sorry state, and any reputable vendor would have probably never sold it, after inspecting it during the honing process.

 

[ThomasR099]

here you have the pictures; i'll contact the place i got it from to see wat they'll do.
I'm sure they didnt hone it; since the package was still sealed from the factory.
they did offer to do this should it not be sharp enough (but claimed that it should be ok from the factory)
overall i really don't have the feeling they wanted to be unfair and were very helpfull so i'll contact them before spraying their name around

the first one was taken top down, the pin is actually that crooked.

 

[life2short1971]

I agree with you on not spreading their name without the opportunity for them to make it right first. Nobody is perfect and how you handle the problem thats important. It looks like it was training day at Dovo and you got one from somebody's first day on the job.

 

[bradyarz]

regardless of the state of the razor and your return, i can say it's clearly not shave ready. if you look at the bevel in the second to last picture, there are still grind marks. the bevel should be glassy smooth and polished to a mirror finish.

 

[petr]

I would have it replaced. How will it ever hone properly with the grind so uneven?

Many razors I have seen do have imperfect grinds - a surprising amount. I don't understand it.

But, it is going to be tough enough learning to hone without the blade being a variable.

 

[natchez]

regardless of the state of the razor and your return, i can say it's clearly not shave ready. if you look at the bevel in the second to last picture, there are still grind marks. the bevel should be glassy smooth and polished to a mirror finish.

That looks almost like a raw bevel without any polish, at least from what can be seen.

I have seen some vintage razors that were ground unevenly, but I just attributed that to the hand grinding process. They seem to take an edge, although the bevel is uneven and may not be as ascetically pleasing.

I would return that one, does not seem to meet ISO 9000 to me

 

[johnmrson]

Crickey, it looks like one make by the work experience kid.

 

[ThomasR099]

today i got a response from dovo (through the shop where i bought it)
, i figured you'd want to read it.

"We will exchange the scale. The blade must not touch the scale, this is our
mistake. The overheated point at the end of the blade we will repair too.
Concerning the shape in the front view, this is because it is still
handcrafted. There may be differences that have no influence on the shaving
result.

Please excuse the mistakes but there are still people working by hand on
these items."

 

[bradyarz]

today i got a response from dovo (through the shop where i bought it)
, i figured you'd want to read it.

"We will exchange the scale. The blade must not touch the scale, this is our
mistake. The overheated point at the end of the blade we will repair too.
Concerning the shape in the front view, this is because it is still
handcrafted. There may be differences that have no influence on the shaving
result.

Please excuse the mistakes but there are still people working by hand on
these items."

that's a very nice half-apology. somehow they think it's still not their fault. i hand craft a lot of things, and I make sure they're perfect before i'm done.

 

[Oglethorpe]

that's a very nice half-apology. somehow they think it's still not their fault. i hand craft a lot of things, and I make sure they're perfect before i'm done.

+1

Lots of people purport the changes made by Dovo and their QC but this failure coupled with the condescending tone of the "apology" email are enough for me to continue to stay away from their razors.

 

[Go West Young Man]

I don't see that as 'half assed' - they apologized for the quality issue and pointed out that hand-made items are subject to some variation in finish. I'd take that at face value and let them fix the item.

 

[KeNd0]

That`s exactly the same as my Dovo. Thread here

It never did shave great, and I couldn`t get a decent edge on it. Unfortunately, I bought mine in the US while on vacation, and decided it would be too much hassle to try and return. So I took the hit. It now serves as a valuable lesson in inspecting straights much more thoroughly before buying.

 

[Seraphim]

If it were made in, oh let's say... China, it would be chalked up as a piece of junk. But since it is made in Germany, that makes it "hand crafted".....