Dovo scales, hit or miss??

SavantStrike · May 6, 2009

I just ordered some red bone scales from Classic shaving, and they came today. I really like the color, and I really like one side of the scales. The trouble is the other side of the scales is considerably smaller than the other. It's like the wrong two sides were mated with each other in the factory.

Is this a normal occurrence with Dovo scales, or did I get a pair of lemons?

mparker762 · May 6, 2009

The razor I shaved with this morning is a chrome-plated Koeller wearing a set of Dovo ebony scales, and when I opened it up I remember thinking what a great looking combination the chrome and ebony made.

I've got a half-dozen Dovo scales from Classic on a variety of different razors and never seen this problem.

I've got those same red bone scales on my Wapienica (commie razor's gotta have red scales after all) and they look good as well, no problems at all.

SavantStrike · May 6, 2009

mparker762 said:
The razor I shaved with this morning is a chrome-plated Koeller wearing a set of Dovo ebony scales, and when I opened it up I remember thinking what a great looking combination the chrome and ebony made.

I've got a half-dozen Dovo scales from Classic on a variety of different razors and never seen this problem.

I've got those same red bone scales on my Wapienica (commie razor's gotta have red scales after all) and they look good as well, no problems at all.

Okay so I got a dud pair. That's good news because I really wanted these red bone scales.

I'll contact Classic shaving to see if I cant get a replacement set.

BEAR DEN · May 6, 2009

I was going to order some from classic shaving, and was wondering if there is another recomended place to order pre cut scales primarily for the newbie,

SavantStrike · May 6, 2009

BEAR DEN said:
I was going to order some from classic shaving, and was wondering if there is another recomended place to order pre cut scales primarily for the newbie,

Order them from Classic Shaving. Their customer support is absolutely fantastic!

I emailed them this morning and they are going to give me replacements for the set that came defective. From what I just heard the Dovo scales are usually quite good. I probably just got a bad set, but Classic Shaving made it right!

lax1mxr · May 7, 2009

I have ordered DOVO bone scales as well. I honestly thought the fit and finish was sub-par. the edges were square and appeared to not have had any type of finish work done (rough edges). They were a bit square and thick. I put them on a BOKER King Kutter and they threw the balance off. Probably my mistake for that. I eventually ended up spending two hours sanding and shaping them to get them to look and feel right. On the plus side, they do sell them for a good price. Don't know of anyone that sells bone scales anywhere near that price. I also think they would match up better with a heavier grind blade, but not any bigger than a 6/8, as they lack the width, and you may end up with the blade peeking out the bottom of the scales.

SavantStrike · May 7, 2009

lax1mxr said:
I have ordered DOVO bone scales as well. I honestly thought the fit and finish was sub-par. the edges were square and appeared to not have had any type of finish work done (rough edges). They were a bit square and thick. I put them on a BOKER King Kutter and they threw the balance off. Probably my mistake for that. I eventually ended up spending two hours sanding and shaping them to get them to look and feel right. On the plus side, they do sell them for a good price. Don't know of anyone that sells bone scales anywhere near that price. I also think they would match up better with a heavier grind blade, but not any bigger than a 6/8, as they lack the width, and you may end up with the blade peeking out the bottom of the scales.

Oh I've seen the scales you make, your standards are naturally high my friend :lol:

. Seriously you do nice work.

I had considered sanding the scales I got, but it would have required a LOT of sanding in this case. One side was WAY smaller than the other. That and I was concerned the dye in the scales may not reach far enough into the bone and I would be left with partially non-dyed scales. I'll see how the replacements are. I'm not expecting something drop dead gorgeous, but I'm expecting something nice enough to tide me over to whenever I finally manage to make a set on my own (however long that ends up taking, it's my first job with intricate finishing work...).

jamesbeat · May 7, 2009

I'd love to find a source of white bone scales, Dovo only seem to do red and I think green and grey.
I'm casting my own scales in resin at the moment because I'm assembling a set of seven razors, different blades but matching scales.
I hope one day to replace the scales with bone, but I want white bone, and the only way I can see to do it is either make my own (beyond my skills) or get custom ones made (very expensive).
I did think of buying the Dovo ones and sanding them back to white, but (and this is the point of this rambling post) I tried sanding some bone scales on a cheapo penknife I have and the colour seems to go quite deep into the bone.

lax1mxr · May 7, 2009

The bone is stabilized so the color and acrlylic go all the way through, so If you want to tidy them up, you wont lose any color or finish.

garyg · May 7, 2009

I have received a couple sets of replacement scales from Classic, also from Vintage. No knock on either of those sources, but the scales are far from good .. Red Bone & Red Pakka are the same scales for example, the bone scales were 1/8" difference between left & right. Wish I had the skills to make me own

jamesbeat · May 7, 2009

What I find particularly frustrating is that the penknife I referred to above has some very nice bone scales. It is made by a company called 'Rough Rider'. They are very inexpensive knives (and amazing quality considering the low price, knife nuts take note)
The frustrating part is that this proves that there is nothing inherently expensive about making basic bone scales. The ones on my knife are nice quality and properly stabilised. The knife cost under $5.

I guess Rough Rider must sell 100 pocket knives for every one razor Dovo sells, so there is an economies of scale

biggrin

aspect to it, but the knives with bone scales are the same price as the same model with wood scales, so the price difference can't be all that great.

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Dovo scales, hit or miss??

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