When you buy a dovo, sharpness?

[Christopher_loaf]

I know they claim to be shave ready but aren't really. Do they just need finishing on a coticule or extensive treatment? Thanks yall!

[Seraphim]

Depends if it's warped or not.

[plpenn]

I shaved with mine but it wasn't great.

[cb91710]

Depends if it's warped or not.
LOL!

I've got 3 Dovos, a Wacker, and a Boker.
Dovo:
5/8 Stainless Pearlex
6/8 Bismarck
5/8 Astrale
Wacker:
15/16 Gadsden Spanish Point
Boker:
5/8 Stainless

All were supposedly "professionally honed" by the vendors. Only the Wacker and the Pearlex were what I consider to be "nice". The rest... I put a better edge on them with my FIRST try at honing.

The Bismarck takes an edge and shaves the nicest of any of the Dovos, but it isn't even close to the Wacker or the Boker.
The Astrale is warped and I can't get a good edge on it.
The Pearlex... Got it from SRD, first shave was buttery smooth but it went downhill quickly. By the end of the 2nd week (about 8 shaves) I was ready to break out the hones.
I honed it, the Bismarck, and the Wacker.
First shave on the Pearlex was a bit nicer than the "out of the box" shave. 2nd shave was still okay, but a little rough. 3rd shave last week I went to the Bismarck.

Here's the Wacker and the Bismarck after my first hone job. Most recent job I doubled the number of passes on the 12k and they are much smoother, but I didn't take photos.
These are both 400x magnification.

214213214214

My order of preference based on shave quality and blade feel?
1 - Wacker
2 - Boker stainless
3 - Bismarck
4 - Pearlex
5 - Astrale (I've used the Astrale only 3 times)

[jcborr00]

my dovo was perfect out of the box

[Christopher_loaf]

All I have is a coticule bout.

[mrmotley]

All I have is a coticule bout.

How big's your bout? :001_tt2:

[Seraphim]

All I have is a coticule bout.


How do you pronounce that?

[Christopher_loaf]

Deck of cards sized.

[mrmotley]

Deck of cards sized.

It can be done with that size. Do you have a slurry stone? You don't need much of a slurry - just a mist really (1 pass back and forth) - but for that you need a second stone.

[Christopher_loaf]

Don't have a slurry. Have a tiny sliver of my bout that broke when I dropped it though. :( Luckily the rest isn't damaged.

[Obiwan]

How do you pronounce that?


Trouble maker, lol

Do you have a slurry stone? To answer your question, I've had to go as far as resetting a bevel and starting from scratch all over again with some of the dovos I've bought. Yours may be good, but I'd plan for the worse. If you have a slurry stone and some patience you should be ok though.

[mrmotley]

Don't have a slurry. Have a tiny sliver of my bout that broke when I dropped it though. :( Luckily the rest isn't damaged.


If you've got enough of the sliver that you can raise a slurry then you'll be fine. I haven't owned as many Dovo's as some folks around here, but for the few I've owned I can't recall ever needing to start with anything more than a very light slurry - and not for long before going to plain water.

[Wid]

I've had a couple new Dovos and done one for another member none were what I considered shave ready.

[Christopher_loaf]

Funny stuff Seraphim....:p

[Doc226]

I got mine from the superior shave so yes, Jarrod put a nice edge on it. I had to take the shoulders back, I kept catching it on the edge of the stone. It is my first and will be my only Dovo

[CyiDev]

I got mine from the superior shave so yes, Jarrod put a nice edge on it. I had to take the shoulders back, I kept catching it on the edge of the stone. It is my first and will be my only Dovo

What dovo do you have? My Dovo Astrale did that and I hated it, but my other two Dovo's were fine. Dovo Pearlex and Dovo best were the two that had no problem with the shoulders.