Dovo Bismarck pictures?

[Luc]

I've been playing with the idea of buying a brand new straight because I don't own one. I know, there are countless good brands out there that I can buy and there might be some better than Dovo but the Bismarck is tempting me because I can get it in 6/8, thumb notch and shoulderless...

I could get one but I'm looking at pictures and cannot imagine how a modern Bismarck will hone. I mean, if the hone will eat the nice gold finish, there might be no point for me to buy a Bismarck as I want it to look nice. Or at least, I would like to see what a modern Bismarck looks like when honed? Do I need to tape the spine every time I hone? I don't tape any of my straights and I don't want to have any exceptions... I might end up buying something different in the end...

So please, post your pictures of honed Bismarcks! Just to be sure, I borrowed the picture from Amazon so we all know which model I'm talking about.

 

[dancraig]

I've always wanted one of those.

 

[johnmrson]

Luc, I had a Bismarck and I taped the spine when honing it to protect it. A very nice razor though. I preferred the Bergischer Lowe which is a keeper in my collection.

 

[Drybonz]

I don't tape any of my straights and I don't want to have any exceptions...

Is there a drawback to taping the spines when you hone? It seems like it would be a good thing to do to protect the razor?

 

[azmark]

Taped spines are mostly for protecting the spine of razors that have excessive hone wear, need to remove enough metal to correct an edge, protect gold wash or worked back or just hone a wedge and save some time. It's all YMMV though and not really a have to.

 

[Luc]

Luc, I had a Bismarck and I taped the spine when honing it to protect it. A very nice razor though. I preferred the Bergischer Lowe which is a keeper in my collection.

Thanks John, from what I see, not taping the spine wouldn't damage the gold plating by much if any...

Is there a drawback to taping the spines when you hone? It seems like it would be a good thing to do to protect the razor?

Putting a bit of tape changes the angle a bit, I know, not by much but honing directly on metal feels like that's how it was done back in the years... I don't want to start a debate on tape vs no tape.

 

[Drybonz]

I don't want to start a debate on tape vs no tape.

Sorry that was not my intent either... I was genuinely curious as to whether there was some disadvantage to taping the spines that I wasn't aware of.

I'm going to be diving into honing very soon and was just trying to gather some information.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Luc]

Sorry that was not my intent either... I was genuinely curious as to whether there was some disadvantage to taping the spines that I wasn't aware of.

I'm going to be diving into honing very soon and was just trying to gather some information.

Thanks for the reply.

No need to be sorry, I can see this turning easy into that kind of conversation.

However, Mark did answer the question up here very well. It's more for a protection point of view than anything else.

 

[johnmrson]

Dovo's don't come shave ready from the factory which means that you need to hone it yourself which means you should go back and set the bevel and then work up the progression until it is shave ready. Setting the bevel on something like a 1k hone will take a reasonable anmount of the gold off the spine area of the Bismarck IMHO. I decided to use one layer of tape on mine. I don't tape many of may razors and I keep a record of the ones I do so when I touch them up, I can use tape again to keep the angel the same.

 

[dancraig]

I keep a piece of black electrical tape, cut the correct length, with my hones. I use the same piece many times. Takes about 15 seconds to apply. I lay the tape in my palm, sticky side up, and place the razor spine in center of the tape. Smooth over the edge with fingers and hone.

 

[heirkb]

If you pick up the razor and flip when honing, you won't damage the spine even if it has gold wash. I do this now for all my razors, because flipping with the razor on the hone scratches up any spine when I do it.

 

[Luc]

Dovo's don't come shave ready from the factory which means that you need to hone it yourself which means you should go back and set the bevel and then work up the progression until it is shave ready. Setting the bevel on something like a 1k hone will take a reasonable anmount of the gold off the spine area of the Bismarck IMHO. I decided to use one layer of tape on mine. I don't tape many of may razors and I keep a record of the ones I do so when I touch them up, I can use tape again to keep the angel the same.

That's what I think, surely someone honed one without tape one day...

 

[Utopian]

I keep a piece of black electrical tape, cut the correct length, with my hones. I use the same piece many times. Takes about 15 seconds to apply. I lay the tape in my palm, sticky side up, and place the razor spine in center of the tape. Smooth over the edge with fingers and hone.

The more you use the tape the thinner it will get. This will alter the angle of the bevel. If you frequently refresh your tape, the bevel angle will be more uniform.

 

[Luc]

So, any pictures?

 

[Peto]

I've been playing with the idea of buying a brand new straight because I don't own one. I know, there are countless good brands out there that I can buy and there might be some better than Dovo but the Bismarck is tempting me because I can get it in 6/8, thumb notch and shoulderless...

I could get one but I'm looking at pictures and cannot imagine how a modern Bismarck will hone. I mean, if the hone will eat the nice gold finish, there might be no point for me to buy a Bismarck as I want it to look nice. Or at least, I would like to see what a modern Bismarck looks like when honed? Do I need to tape the spine every time I hone? I don't tape any of my straights and I don't want to have any exceptions... I might end up buying something different in the end...

So please, post your pictures of honed Bismarcks! Just to be sure, I borrowed the picture from Amazon so we all know which model I'm talking about.

Maybe you should also consider Revisor, they also have shoulderless 6/8 blades, really nice ones .

 

[ouch]

Luc- I have that exact Bismarck (and the BL). The gold wash is on the "far" side of the spine. I haven't seen any removed by honing yet, as it doesn't seem to contact the hone at any point.

 

[Luc]

Luc- I have that exact Bismarck (and the BL). The gold wash is on the "far" side of the spine. I haven't seen any removed by honing yet, as it doesn't seem to contact the hone at any point.

Coolio... Was yours honed with tape?

 

[ouch]

Coolio... Was yours honed with tape?

Yes. I could say it was for a unicot, but it was really out of fear.

I hone it without tape, too. I don't see much of a difference.

 

[Luc]

Yes. I could say it was for a unicot, but it was really out of fear.

I hone it without tape, too. I don't see much of a difference.

Ah ha!

You wouldn't have a picture of the spine post-sans tape-honing?

 

[MaverickPL]

Here's my brand new dovo. I love it already

I don't worry about the taping - this one is a work-horse