Description
The long-running Dovo Prima Klang bocote flagship 5/8″ razor achieved its hollow grind to the highest (= thinnest) standard, with its face dutifully and highly polished with decorative SOLINGEN crest. The Prima Klang is a nimble blade with an intentionally-smooth tang, and weighs 40-41g.
In 2018 the Prima Klang’s produced in redwood scales shared with the Forestal and Sunday Shaver razors. Historically, however, Prima Klang saw many timbers over the years (all ceased, due CITES restriction). The bocote seen here’s included in this history. And now, the Prima Klang itself is deceased in 2021+.
Classic 5/8″ Size, Extra Hollow Ground, Rounded Point
5/8″ hollow ground carbon steel razors with round tip are Germany’s defacto production the last ~40+yrs. This is the ultra-exclusive extra full hollow ground variation, sometimes referred to as a “singing” razor. Extra hollows are highly demanding of all facets of straight razor use. Edge condition, stropping skill, beard prep, and the angle of blade to skin… An expert’s touch is truly required. However, the reward’s an extra close shave and extra brief “signature of severing”.
Extra hollows aren’t a good choice for new users. Even an expert cannot call an extra hollow an easy easy razor (try a Bismarck for that!)
But for an experienced hand, any extra concave razor is a must-try. These razors can go against the grain in sensitive spots and, if administered perfectly, reward as few others. Other such razors we offer are Bergischer Löwe and Sunday Shaver.
“Shave Ready”?
If you elect for the factory edge (= do nothing, just add a note @ checkout denoting which ‘specimen’ you wish to receive from the “police lineup” pictures of our final stocks), you’ll receive your razor exactly as its manufacturers intended…pretty simple!
If you elect for The Superior Shave to further hone your razor [plz add “note to vendor” @ checkout denoting both your ‘specimen’ preference AND that you want it to be further honed post-factory], your Prima Klang will be delivered to you Guaranteed Shave Ready!
The Superior Shave hones via a method best coined (by the old Thiers-Issard director) as “the opposite of tape“, where the hones’ shapes cater to performance and little else; you begin with your coarsest stone that’s shaped as the smallest imaginary wheel, and you progress to finer abrasives that are shaped as larger wheels, thus sharpening the bevel from the spine toward the actual edge, and leaving a *thin*, concave edge first and foremost.
At one time, years ago, natural stones were used for the establishing and refining of a bevel. But the lapidaries necessary for such extremely refined stones no longer exist, to say nothing of sourcing the strata itself from Earth. So today, Dovo uses a pair of manmade, convex spinning discs to establish their bevels, and thereafter refines with bench stones hand shape to be mildly convex, before finishing on a pasted strop. The spinning discs are coarser, and have a shorter effective diameter, while the bench stones are finer, and have much longer effective diameters. Thus, the bevels are indeed concave, same as ever.
But the steel itself can withstand much more concaving than practical today at any factory, with no negative effects for the longevity of your razor, so long as you keep exclusively to shaving with it, keeping a low spine angle, and keeping skin well stretched and lathered; for its intended job, concaving a razor bevel toward its metallurgical limits only benefits the shaver. If you intend to use your razor at an angle outside of normal shaving work or upon a surface unlike a well lathered and stretched beard, however, a flat or even a convex bevel will better endure such odd usage of these tools.
There is no wrong or right choice for factory edge/further honed, but please do not believe all factory edges are never ‘Shave Ready’ – that is an absurd, yet common, belief. It is certainly the intention of Dovo when producing the razor that you to only need strop (after wiping off the factory oil!) just prior to shaving to receive a terrific shave. Thanks for reading this, and happy shaving!
