Description
The Dovo Special is a 5/8″ width carbon steel razor (~4.5mm thick, weighs ~47 grams) with classic rounded point and resin handle made to resemble mother-of-pearl. File jimps are upon the Special’s tang, and one can use its fine scales without any concern (in contrast to using the Best Quality 100/101 models). A trademarked sunburst pattern is given to the face of the Dovo Special, with a laser-engraved pattern also upon the tang.
Classic 5/8″ Size in Full Hollow Grind and Rounded Point
The 5/8″ width fully hollow ground carbon steel razor with rounded tip is the defacto standard in German production the last ~40-50 years. It is “easier” to learn than thinner grinds (definitely a relative term here – mastery of straight razors takes dedication). It isn’t a limiting comfort factor like thicker ones (half-hollow grinds like “Astrale”, by contrast, are easier learning but ultimately not equally comfortable for many). Round points offer a safer experience at razor’s tip, and facilitate a toe-leading stroke. If you wish to maintain a goatee, however, do consider a Spanish point razor.
“Shave Ready”?
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, your Dovo Special will be delivered to you Guaranteed Shave Ready! Observe this precise model of razor being honed by TSS here! 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!
