Description
The Dovo Bismarck is a beloved classic 6/8″ carbon steel straight razor. It stands the test of time, with production in Dovo’s Solingen facility’s running more than sixty years as a result. A Bismarck’s always a ‘blue chip stock’ in straight razors. To sum up, finding a ‘hater’ of the Bismarck is nearly impossible.
Shoulderless Style 6/8 with A Modern Oxidized Take
This 26830 version (new for 2018) has the oxidation process upon the steel. The distinctive finish is shared with the ‘Diamant’ and ‘Black Star’ straight razors. Bismarck (26830) weighs ~55g, with ebony wood handle with “BISMARCK” SOLINGEN pattern. Bismarck’s also currently produced with another ebony wood handle, sans oxidation. Furthermore, if you fancy hunting vaporware, Bismarck’s your boy. Many decades of production featured handles from a {retired, along with his gear, 2012} distinguished gent in bone (2687) or acrylic with genuine mother-of-pearl inlay (2681 and 2683).
6/8″ Size Great for Big Hands
First, a 6/8″ razor in this classic shape is ideal for those with large hands. Secondly, the shoulderless S-curve thumbnotch falls naturally to one’s thumb. No ridge exists to avoid on strop or stone as with a normal-bodied razor. Consequently, no file jimps (small ridges on tang) are needed here! The Bismarck is above all an easy razor to handle on face, stone, and strop alike.
Rare Oxidized Treatment
The steel’s oxidized in a controlled environment, and thereafter abruptly stopped, in a process occasionally referred to as ‘blue steel’. Oxidation makes the steel especially grippy, and takes on a signature blackish-blue finish.
“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 Bismarck with its 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, you’ll receive your razor exactly as its manufacturers intended…pretty simple!
If you elect for The Superior Shave to further hone your razor via the drop-down menu, this Dovo Bismarck will 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 maker.
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.
