Yep sanding is an option. Any large chunks can be glued back with rubber cement first.I fear that I may have to bin my strop. Unless its possible to sand it down. There are a few nicks & cuts in it, that may be damaging my blade
I will DM you the Ebay vendor
For me some soaps just don't work well for straight shaving. It might be divisive but I do like Mitchell's because it seems to hold a lot more water and still retain some body. Razorock soaps are also good. I find TOBS creams and similar need a lot more water to make them work well for straight shaving.
All of this may vary based on the hardness of your water.
Yes similar products I guess - Mitchell's has tallow in it as well.I used Prorasso red white and green, I liked it a lot, I have other soaps, creams triple milled soaps etc but prorasso was my go to...after a wee talk to fergiebilly he gave me a vitos sample and explained some things to me... I used the sample three times then bought a kilo, it without a doubt made for a much better shave, not just marginally better but distinctivly better, now as a convert I would not reccommend prorasso as a straight razor soap, probably fine for DE, but for me vitos is now my go too...I got a kilo so no rush to go back to prorasso.
This is just my opinion, I'm sure others straight shave fine with prorasso, it is all about choice.
Thanks Billy. It was purchased new, and I was informed that the blade would be honed before it was sent to me (as we all know that Dovo shave ready are most definitely not!).
When the blade arrived, I was surprised to see that the security seal had not been broken, so contacted the seller to ask why it had not been honed. I was informed that it had, and the sticker is very carefully put back (do I smell BS?). So I sent the unused blade back.
I was informed that I must have damaged the blade in some way, and he honed it for me.
On receipt, I noticed a chip, so it had to go back again (I still had not properly shaved with it at this point). I was told it may be because I stropped it incorrectly (I did not even have a strop then).
Anyway, I received it back - and had a 3-4 unsatisfactory shaves with it, before going back to my trusty shavette.
I then came to The Shaving Room and asked for help. I have had so much help & advice, it has been fantastic.
Since buying a vintage from a recommendation on eBay, I have now realised that not all blades are like butter knives in comparison to my shavette (which was my original take due to this bad experience).
I am now very much looking forward to getting my Dovo back, and appreciate having my thoughts confirmed - that the hone is not correct.
This seems to be a fairly common experience with Dovos. I have Ten. Eight of them needed a fair bit of bevel correction. Two were OK but still needed a chunk of work. 1 in 5 is not good enough odds. In any other industry it just would not be tolerated. Those two good razors I bought in a bricks and mortar shop and was able to inspect and choose the ones that were ok before buying. The other razors in stock were not so good.
Compare this with Boker and my personal experience has been quite different. They still aren't shave ready but the bevels have all been pretty good. I reset them all but it didn't take much.
This generally upsets me. Dovo should be doing more to support their customers and especially first time users like yourself, ensuring you get a great shave first time. After all, why are you buying a straight razor if not to have a better shave? I strongly believe that in this day and age if you pay attention to customers and have a good product you can grow your business. It's possible like never before to reach customers around the world. The fact that the Solingen razor market is so stagnant (aside from the Skyfall effect) is a real indictment of what these manufacturers are not doing.
The community of users are picking up the pieces for Dovo's lack of customer focus. People like @Fergiebilly make up for poor customer service from the razor manufacturers.
OK - I'll get off my soap box now.
Bear in mind that once sharpened the Dovo may feel very different to the Sheffield, because the steel is different. This is nice - you get to experience two different types of razor.Thanks Billy. It was purchased new, and I was informed that the blade would be honed before it was sent to me (as we all know that Dovo shave ready are most definitely not!).
When the blade arrived, I was surprised to see that the security seal had not been broken, so contacted the seller to ask why it had not been honed. I was informed that it had, and the sticker is very carefully put back (do I smell BS?). So I sent the unused blade back.
I was informed that I must have damaged the blade in some way, and he honed it for me.
On receipt, I noticed a chip, so it had to go back again (I still had not properly shaved with it at this point). I was told it may be because I stropped it incorrectly (I did not even have a strop then).
Anyway, I received it back - and had a 3-4 unsatisfactory shaves with it, before going back to my trusty shavette.
I then came to The Shaving Room and asked for help. I have had so much help & advice, it has been fantastic.
Since buying a vintage from a recommendation on eBay, I have now realised that not all blades are like butter knives in comparison to my shavette (which was my original take due to this bad experience).
I am now very much looking forward to getting my Dovo back, and appreciate having my thoughts confirmed - that the hone is not correct.