Remember when straight razors actually came shave-ready from the factory?

Got an old Dovo from the 90s at an estate sale last month, honed it up once and it was good to go. Every new one I've bought in the last 5 years needs at least an hour on the stones before it'll even pop arm hair. Did the old makers just heat treat better, or am I getting unlucky with stock?

2 comments

2 Comments

perry.lee1mo ago

Man, that bit about "skipping the final finishing steps at the factory" really hits home (and it stings a little, honestly). I picked up a "shave ready" new production Boker last year out of curiosity, and it literally felt like it had been ground and then tossed in a drawer for a decade before they put it in the box. I had to spend a solid 90 minutes on a coticule just to get it to cut arm hair, which is insane. I'm glad you said the steel itself is still okay though, because I was starting to wonder if I'd wasted my money on a brick. It's just frustrating that you can't trust the "ready to shave" label anymore.

elliotr391mo ago

Those old Dovos from the 90s really were something else. I've got a 1994 Special that I bought new back then, and it came shaving off the hones right out of the box. Honed it maybe twice in 30 years and it still shaves like a dream. The new ones, say post-2010, they seem to skip the final finishing steps at the factory. I figure it's a cost cutting thing. They grind the blade, set the initial bevel, and then ship it out half done. You're not getting unlucky, that's just how it is now. The steel itself is still good, maybe even a touch harder than the old stuff, but the final edge work is way more sloppy than it used to be.