Getting a straight razor of my choice for my 30th. Recs?

[Loner16]

Best razor for the money spent?? Absolutely no question in my mind that this would come from Revisor! And still ground by Old World craftsmen!

http://www.revisor-solingen.de/html/rasiermesser.html

 

[oakeshott]

Be careful with the Dovos. From what I have read here and on other forums, they are frequently warped even when new.

 

[Loner16]

The internet is a great place to glean information on any subject. Unfortunately, is is also the home of the greatest amounts of misinformation and downright disinformation! Myths that are started by people that purport themselves to be "in the know" are perpetuated just like this. And it is often difficult for someone looking for good information to separate the "wheat from the chaff," and the internet can sprout very few kernels of wheat in relation to mountains of chaff!
Any, and I mean any razor can suffer a warped spine, and I daresay that all spines, perhaps saving the Harts which are reportedly surface ground both sides, have some degree of bend....It is a function of the various stages of the heat treating process, and very few blanks will be immune. I happen to own a new DOVO from recent production, and while there are brands I hold in higher esteem for various reasons beyond pure "shaveability," my DOVO performs it's function just as well as any of them.

 

[Brianskeet]

Hart!! Very high quality. American craftsmen using American steel and American know how. Works for me to shave this american face.

 

[oakeshott]

The internet is a great place to glean information on any subject. Unfortunately, is is also the home of the greatest amounts of misinformation and downright disinformation! Myths that are started by people that purport themselves to be "in the know" are perpetuated just like this. And it is often difficult for someone looking for good information to separate the "wheat from the chaff," and the internet can sprout very few kernels of wheat in relation to mountains of chaff!
Any, and I mean any razor can suffer a warped spine, and I daresay that all spines, perhaps saving the Harts which are reportedly surface ground both sides, have some degree of bend....It is a function of the various stages of the heat treating process, and very few blanks will be immune. I happen to own a new DOVO from recent production, and while there are brands I hold in higher esteem for various reasons beyond pure "shaveability," my DOVO performs it's function just as well as any of them.

Noted. It may be that the Dovos are more commonly numerous and so they are the unfair recipient of criticism when their QC is, in fact, no worse than any others. I honestly don't know from my own experience and am relying on the comments of people who've been posting on these matters for much longer than me. From my experience buying used razors, it seems that every other razor regardless of manufacturer is warped.

What I don't understand, and I have a background which at one time decades ago required that I know a little about metallurgy, is why any blade leaves a factory warped. Anyone who deals with metal knows that it "moves" when subjected to extremes of temperature and that the final product cannot leave the factory without ensuring first that either the heating or quenching has not thrown it out of tolerances. Razor makers must be heat treating when the metal is a solid blank. If the grinding takes place afterwards, then why would there be any warpage at all? If they're heat treating ground blades needing only a final sharpening and whatever cosmetic treatment is appropriate, then that sounds to me like a mfg problem.

This is all asked in the spirit of curiosity as I genuinely don't understand how this can happen with modern manufacturing methods.

 

[Loner16]

Noted. It may be that the Dovos are more commonly numerous and so they are the unfair recipient of criticism when their QC is, in fact, no worse than any others. I honestly don't know from my own experience and am relying on the comments of people who've been posting on these matters for much longer than me. From my experience buying used razors, it seems that every other razor regardless of manufacturer is warped.

What I don't understand, and I have a background which at one time decades ago required that I know a little about metallurgy, is why any blade leaves a factory warped. Anyone who deals with metal knows that it "moves" when subjected to extremes of temperature and that the final product cannot leave the factory without ensuring first that either the heating or quenching has not thrown it out of tolerances. Razor makers must be heat treating when the metal is a solid blank. If the grinding takes place afterwards, then why would there be any warpage at all? If they're heat treating ground blades needing only a final sharpening and whatever cosmetic treatment is appropriate, then that sounds to me like a mfg problem.

This is all asked in the spirit of curiosity as I genuinely don't understand how this can happen with modern manufacturing methods.

I did not mean this to be an attack of you personally, and I certainly hope it was not taken that way... More of a diatribe on the internet itself, and the way in which myths, once posted, seem to take on a life of their own, and sometimes have a tendency to become "fact," whatever that term may mean.
The rank and file straight razors are normal production items for the masses, designed and built to a price point in the market, And, as such, they are scrutinized by Quality Control only superficially and at random. Items not up to snuff can, and I'm sure do get through. I've read the same as you about DOVOs, and most any other brand one would care to name, but I've learned over time to process the information with an inordinately large grain of salt!

There was a good video around showing the way by which DOVO produces their razors... and there is plenty of room for human error...

I'll try to find it..

 

[oakeshott]

I did not mean this to be an attack of you personally, and I certainly hope it was not taken that way... More of a diatribe on the internet itself, and the way in which myths, once posted, seem to take on a life of their own, and sometimes have a tendency to become "fact," whatever that term may mean.
The rank and file straight razors are normal production items for the masses, designed and built to a price point in the market, And, as such, they are scrutinized by Quality Control only superficially and at random. Items not up to snuff can, and I'm sure do get through. I've read the same as you about DOVOs, and most any other brand one would care to name, but I've learned over time to process the information with an inordinately large grain of salt!

There was a good video around showing the way by which DOVO produces their razors... and there is plenty of room for human error...

I'll try to find it..

Loner,

Didn't take it as an attack, but thanks for the clarification anyway. I think the lesson I walk away with on this matter is that any new blade may be warped. Certainly makes the custom blades sound more attractive for the long term.

oake

 

[Brianskeet]

Not to harp, but I have never heard of a warped Hart blade.

 

[oakeshott]

Not to harp, but I have never heard of a warped Hart blade.

I doubt you would find it in any reputable custom made blade. It's all hand work and I'd be shocked if that wasn't specifically one of the things that got tested before being sent to the buyer.