Description
Because of those clever rascals from you-know-where famous for their trademark-and-copyright-ignoring “loving copies” of anything and everything on this planet, DOVO is not going to exactly spill the tea, as the cool kids say now, in regards to the geometric progressions present in this new PRIMO from the standard Merkur three piece type head.
But suffice to say, the native angle of incidence of the blade to the skin, the degree curvature of the double edge blade created by the head cap and base plate, the exposure [protrusion] of the blade edge beyond the head-cap-to-guard-bar geometry, the size of the gap between the cutting edge and the guard bar itself, and the cutouts for lather/water/whiskers on the guard bar have all been altered from the Merkur designs.
I have compared the two styles directly side-by-side, and can report that while the weight of the top two pieces is only ~1g heavier on the DOVO model, the difference in the intermediary and top segments [the guard bar and head cap] are quite substantial between the DOVO and Merkur; the slope of the stretching surface on the DOVO guard bar is notably steeper (= pointing more closely to the line from the center of the head cap to the bottom center of the handle, for a reduction in the null/native angle of the blade to the skin), the bar itself much smoother, and the guard is now continuous – no more ‘fluting’ below the blade. The Merkur style has the ‘fluted’ straight comb with a bit less space between the guard bar’s top and the bottom of the cutting edge (the ‘gap’), and a standoff angle of the guard bar that is bit higher° relative to the handle axis than the DOVO, about ~5°. Furthermore, the chrome plating uniformity on the DOVO model is very much superior to the Merkur norms.
The curvature of the top cap upon the DOVO model is a bit steeper. And the total space afforded for the passage of lather has been slightly increased upon the DOVO version (~0.2mm wider on PRIMO).
It is hard to estimate this precisely without critical infrastructure, but ‘blade exposure’ – that is, the total space the cutting edge extends beyond the curve created between the head cap and the guard bar – is undoubtedly increased on the Dovo. In fact, the guard bar’s width is 0.4-0.5mm narrower on the new model, while the size of a double edge blade obviously does not change.
While an increase in blade exposure generally correlates with a more aggressive blade feel, if combined with a reduced native cutting angle the result can be both high efficiency and a mild feel, always the ever-elusive goal.
That is what Dovo has achieved here with the PRIMO, they have increased exposure, decreased native angle, increased gap, and increased cutouts space as compared to Merkur 3pc and 2pc classic design (3pc and 2pc Merkur designs, excluding Slant and the adjustable Progress, do not vary their native angle, blade gap, angle on the side of the guard bar, or head curvature).
- Greatly improved chrome plating
- A more durable screw/thread interface that’s also further away from the blade head and requires more turns to affix
- Increased curvature of top cap
- Increased gap between blade edge and primary skin-stretching surface of intermediary bar
- Increased cutouts in guard bar for lather/water to pass
- Reduced angle of guard bar’s primary face ~-5° [the facet intended to meet flush to skin and align with the head cap]
With the remarkable PRIMO, Dovo has made the cutting angle more gentle, and more parallel to the handle stem [technically the relation to the handle stem to the blade edge is of no consequence, it is the blade’s relation to the guard bar facet and head cap that matters, but you’ll find most aggressive razors increase the angle between the blade and the handle, while most milder razors tend to decrease that angle].
To combat a reduced native cutting angle’s tendency to produce a razor too mild for the closest possible shave, they increased the gap and blade exposure.
It is remarkable that the deep engineering that went in to something so critically and systematically altered, with all of the unequivocal empirical changes denoted above, could still appear to the self-appointed/self-declared forum “expert” as “just the same”. Be careful of your online sources of information, you can always trust the content here at The Superior Shave to be the truest “straight shooter” stuff, we’ll tell you the good and the bad alike for any SKU, where else can you get that combination of insight and forthright?!?
The strong recommendation here is to vote with your money for the kind of content and approach to selling that you want to continue to exist in the world, you can buy this Primo I from the “River of Fakes” any time and if you do PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use this link so we can earn a tiny commission. Just don’t expect anything but entirely insight free pom-pom rah-rah cheerleading content made mostly from AI, and of course a plentiful helping of fake reviews to let you know how great everything is.
A free pack of the new Dovo German-made DE blades is also included.
There’s two grip patterns, and in an initial observation, the “II” as here is perhaps the more grippy of the two, and the “I” cooler looking. To me, “II” is the grippier handle, somewhat. However, I’d advise to buy based on the handle appearance that you prefer, because the variance in grip is distinctly less than the more acute visual variance. Over a goodly sample size now, when both were in-stock and identically priced, >90% chose the “II” version (which you’ll note is also out-of-stock most everywhere), so frankly I think it unwise to even stock the “I” at this point… Why give people two pieces, Dovo? You’re just making a stockist’s nightmare and a paralysis-from-analysis consumer’s dilemma. Kill off the “I”, drop the “II” off this and just call it PRIMO, and let people know they can have it any color they like (as long as it is black).
Enjoy in good health, and happy shaving!
