(07-03-2021, 11:25 AM)Dave in KY Wrote: (07-03-2021, 11:00 AM)luv2shave Wrote: Just curious. Are the DOVO made and TAOS branding quality straight shavers. I've heard a lot of QC issues and warped blades for entry level DOVO razors on many forums. Are these worth a buy at the discounts or are they indeed just expensive bread knives ?
My comment is not from experience but similar to your reading of needing attention to be truly shave ready. Perhaps someone with first hand experience will chime in.
The AOS branded $50 Dovo sale razor is no doubt just a rebranded Dovo Best 101 - exact same specs. That being the case, and FWIW:
I recently purchased two Dovo Best 101 razors from an eBay seller who temporarily had them on sale for $50 each. I purchased them about a week apart.
Both razors seem straight and I couldn’t detect any geometry issues, although I haven’t honed them yet. One razor did have a slightly over honed edge right at the toe, causing a very minor upturn along the last few mm of edge, but for $50 this doesn’t really bother me because A. This will eventually even out over time with normal honing, and B. I bought these razors to use for comparative purposes so the minor difference in the toe means I’ll be able to easily differentiate between the two razors. The scales on both razors are the usual cheap plastic: They function as they should but that’s about it. They aren’t significantly different than the black plastic scales on my Ralf Aust which cost 3 times as much.
Shave ready? I was curious so I shaved with both right out of the box - not even stropped. Butter knives? Definitely not. Both razors were honed well enough to shave with, better than I expected based on some on-line comments I’ve read. I think the half hollow grind and 5/8 size help, since the blade flexes less than a typical full hollow. Overall: Not the smoothest or the sharpest edge you’ve ever used for sure, but certainly “shave ready” at the most basic level.
Next, I stropped one razor on linen and leather (25 laps each), and left the other as it came. Definite improvement in smoothness and slightly better cutting ability after stropping when comparing the two. Still not an edge that’s going to make a decent honemeister worry, but a very serviceable edge, though I have no idea how long it will hold yet. If you have a finishing stone or pasted strops, you could easily take the edge to the next level and keep it going a long time, no need for a bevel set/full hone if it’s not quite sharp/smooth enough for you out of the box.
Overall, for $50 I think the Dovo Best 101 is a fantastic deal, hard to imagine getting more bang for the buck in a newly manufactured razor. At full price I’d be inclined to look elsewhere, particularly if 5/8 or half hollow doesn’t float your boat. And
“Shave Ready” being such a subjective thing, you may still feel the need for a better edge, but if you only pay $50 for the razor, you could send it off to a honemeister for a killer edge and still be out less that $75-$80 and you’d have a crazy good shaver that functions as well as many razors 3-4 x the price. Honestly, my Ralf Aust only had a marginally better edge out of the box, not sure if this says more about Dovo’s current output or Ralf’s………
The AOS branded version of this razor seems to still be on sale. I can’t say anyone’s experience will be the same as mine, and unfortunately returns are not an option with this particular sale, so maybe it’s a roll of the dice, but my experience with the two bottom of the line Dovo’s has been surprisingly good. Hope this helps.
CK89,
jesseix and
Dave in KY like this post
Not sure what changed but got one inbound.
