Description
The Dovo Square Point Straight Razor 125810812 “Apex” (formerly known as the ‘Prima Silver Steel’) is a 5/8″ carbon steel razor (~4.6mm thick, weighs ~43 grams) with square point and ebony wood handle. File jimps are upon the bottom of the Silver Steel’s tang, and one can use its fine ebony scales without any concern. This razor’s unique in the Dovo lineup as the only carbon steel model with a “blank” face (the spine and tang are dipped in gold).
Classic 5/8″ Size in Full Hollow Grind and Square Point
It would be nearly fair to say that the Dovo 255831 is the only true square point razor we carry. This is because the others so marked have either a barber’s notch, a wee bit of inward curve, a “45° corner” at the toe, etc. The Dovo square point employs no such concessions. It is not a ‘spike’ point as we call old Victorian era blades with an absolute 90° turn at the tip that scratch faces and strops. This is because the very last <1mm or so of the tip is a teensy bit turned for safety. But nonetheless, you can use the Dovo square point incredibly well to align a goatee, trim sideburns, etc.
‘Noble’ Ebony Wood Scales
Dovo makes these ebony wood scales, by hand. The ‘blanks’ are oversized by intention, and then aged. The wood rests some months before being cut to scale. This is not as inert as micarta, for example. But it is still durable, stable, and of course more natural. It has earned the German reference of “noble wood”. These scales are also available upon the stainless 415835, and if you’d fancy a ‘matched’ shaving brush do consider Dovo’s premium faux-badger #918218.
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“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 Dovo 25 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, 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, the Prima 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 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.
