Review on Dovo Horn Handle Straight Razor by Karen Avance

1 star is the least I can give to the famous SCAM company Dovo and that's not enough! This is the third Dovo I've bought in 10 years and will definitely be the last. First off, Dovo's "Ready to Shave" claim is a complete scam, so don't be fooled. Such a lawsuit is typical of Dovo's industry as it is fraudulent and they should be prosecuted for it in international courts. For reasons unknown to me, the truly razor-sharp factory edge of the razor is virtually nonexistent across the industry, and there aren't many practical reasons. Shipping can't be a problem as most professional sanding jobs need to be done and sent back. by email. If you don't have the equipment and skills to set up a bevel and sharpen it yourself, you'll need to find a man who will do it for you at the aftermarket with most straight razors you can buy. Dovo is no exception, and the only exception to Dovo, aside from the fact that they lie about it, is the ridiculously high price. Also, the scales (handle material) are exceptionally unreliable - you don't need to tighten them, as you risk breaking the scales on the anvil if your hammer eventually slips! This has been my only consistent experience with Dovo, it's a particularly low level of craftsmanship and at this point in my razor customer experience I think I'm in a position to make a judgement. Finally, remember that you will not do it. I could grind a Bergischer Lowe without scratching the thin gold coating on the back - I suppose a saner person than me would have treated my item as a collector's item, but I was being too practical. and thought losing that crappy corrosion resistant layer for the original mirror finish would be more sensible. Other razors I own: 1 THIERS-ISSARD (France) - arrives tomorrow, thought it worth mentioning without seeing the eyes not only because it's another dominant European brand. That makes the pressure more honest. I even read somewhere that Thiers comes closer to the straight razor than Dodo's "ready to shave", for which a 1000 grit stone to set the bevel, a 4000 grit water stone to sharpen, and one side of that stone with a 8000+ chromium oxide were required. This used to be acceptable for my face (and I have alligator skin) 1 AP Donovan (Shirogami) - got it today and am very happy now that I had the bevel installed and sharpened. The monstrous 7/8 high carbon steel Shirogami blade is perfectly balanced with the scales (handle) made of beautiful red hardwood with a beautiful metallic accent. Comes with a decorative box for 1/3 the typical Dovo price and having shaved with it I can say I will have no qualms working with a bobby pin! I have been wary of cheap unknown items that break the 'you get what you pay for' rule and am very glad I chose the consumer list they appeared on - it is a rare and exceptional one Offer. PUMA 3/8 PUMA Special 7/8 (Solignen) Both Soligen carbon steel, both great razors that hold up much better than my first blade (you guessed it Dovo) and sadly the brand is no longer made. Check out Ebay if you're interested and good luck! Since straight razors tend to sit around for years before they can be found on Ebay, I had to scrape the corrosion off mine (which meant losing the special PUMA engraving, *tears*) before sharpening it. However, both are great examples of how a fully finely crafted blade can perform superbly generations later with minimal maintenance. SPIKE (Olean, NY) – Out of production but I like it. More wedge shaped than the hollow versions made today, but still I find this to be the most serviceable blade I own. Perhaps that's because the wedge style doesn't require additional volume and weight in the spinal area, as well as better balance compared to traditional, cheap, and otherwise underweight plastic weights. It was probably an easy and cheap thing to do back then, but the guy in that Olean factory holding the scales was no fool! Still my favorite after 8 years. Kinsfolk's WEDGE (unbranded) is another great example of a wedge. As with my SPIKE, nothing fancy or lightweight at 5/8 but easy to care for and feels great on the face.