Description
Providing the best of both worlds in a Dovo straight razor, the “88” borrows the form of their Bergischer Löwe flagship razor and gives it some mild practical ‘enhancements’ so you’ll hopefully use it often!
This razor will be a “blank face” version of the familiar Dovo Bergischer Lowe shape, similar in that way to our famed deceased “Dovo Palisander”.
Peerless, Collectible Dovo Straight Razor
No Gold to Just Wear Off
First off, the gold spine wash has been eliminated as the first practical touch. Gold must be covered with tape, or honed away. Both options stink! Taping spines changes razor geometry for the worse, however minute. The razor becomes a “trophy case queen”. The 88 eliminated the gold so its bevel stays as acute as possible. That is an important change!
Satin-Matte Handfinish
Secondly, the blade faces here are satin-matte, by hand. Currently, only our own Sunday Shaver and Dovo’s flagship (“Flowing” #118) share the finish. The finish is slightly more practical, inhibiting oxidation’s growth should one neglect the carbon steel (don’t do that, yo!)
Spanish Point
Furthermore, the Dovo 88’s Spanish point style (only shared among Dovo straight razors with the ‘BL’ and ‘Sunday Shaver’) is terrific for getting under the nose and maintaining a crisp mustache/goatee.
Tremendous Concavity
Finally, the grind is wafer thin. The Dovo 88 is hollow ground by Dovo’s most senior master grinders. The Dovo 88 straight razor is substantially thinner than all 5/8″ Dovo round point models with the exception of “Prima Klang”. Indeed it is as thin as the PK, even if only designated full hollow.
No Pesky Shoulder
The 88 is a “shoulderless” razor, as secondary ridge is near the tang. This is a rare feature on any 5/8″ razor. Furthermore, it involves extra skilled steps by master grinders during production. Shoulderless razors lack a ridge to avoid during stropping and honing.
There is no finer production Solingen straight razor in a 5/8″ size made today, and it has a practical finish and handle to boot.
Limited 110pc Run
Dovo devoted <1% of 2018’s capacity for this 88’s 110-piece production run. This is a “manufactured rarity” cut throat razor, this being opposed to materials-scarcity rarities (genuine-mother-of-pearl or wooly-mammoth-tusk scaled Dovo straight razors, deceased blanks, etc.) Whisky distilleries adore the “manufactured rarity” shtick, so it is nice to see it pop up in the str8rzr industry.
Wood Handle in Two Finishes
The production of 88 is offered scales of yew or redwood scales as here, and we do not intend to re-scale this particular razor, given its small run and presumed demand for a ‘blank’ razor.
Select Yours From Images of Our Actual Stock!
You’ll receive the exact razor YOU pick.
“Shave Ready”?
This business is wholly centered upon the sale of one hollow ground straight razor to one shaver one at a time; “1 str8rzr alone” is ~50% of all our orders. You may elect to have your “88” with factory edge or further honed by ‘TSS’, as only you see fit; there is not a right or wrong answer. ‘TSS’ rather doubts the worth of debating this ‘Shave Ready’ concept today; anyone can bandy that term about as if objective, meaningful information (like a sprinter’s time), but in fact it is completely subjective.
If you elect for the factory edge (= do nothing, no note needed @ checkout), you’ll receive your razor exactly as its manufacturers intended…pretty simple! The factory seal’s been breached, yes (but obviously not on the ‘factory sealed’ option), and only so you could peruse from individual pictures of stock.
If you elect for The Superior Shave to further hone your razor [plz add “note to vendor” @ checkout], this Dovo Blank Face shall be honed in the manner taught in 2016 to The Superior Shave’s proprietor by two kind Solingen master grinders (whom did/do not work for Dovo, but do use similar 1840s grinders’ textbooks methods). Regardless of their poor refinement compared to further-honed ‘Honemeister’ edges on offer, some physical elements of factory edges remain superior to most further honing attempts. The Superior Shave will devote the extra time to your razor a dying industry cannot afford in overhead, without taking away the factory edge’s inherently advantaged geometric metrics. We’re confident we offer the materially thinnest further-honed-by-vendor edge available for purchase – you’ll need to try that to understand why it matters. Please note: in the professional opinions of German and French razor grinders, a straight razor is not properly honed unless flush to the hone, without tape, so visual evidence of honing is unavoidable when honing is performed correctly according to its makers (we add Vaseline to your razor’s faces and use compatible honing fluid to help a little).
We hone with a method best coined as “the opposite of tape“ where a hone’s geometry’s wholly catered to performance of the razor and to no other concern. Unfortunately, this topic cannot be discussed upon any English-based straight-razor-centric forum because a select group of e-enthusiasts cannot abide such open discourse. Be encouraged to think for yourself, and let your beard and sense of touch be the judge; there is a lot of misinformation out there, much purportedly from experts! We wish you good shopping, and Happy Shaving.
