DOVO DOVO Shavette Blade Razor

Bottom Line Up Front: This is a great razor if you know what you're doing!I use a Parker safety razor everyday, and I thought to try this shavette razor out. My goal was to get as close of a shave as possible, every time. For the record my facial hair is somewhere around the middle of the road as far as coarseness is concerned. My daily shaving routine consists of shaving with the grain first, followed up by shaving against the grain (if I want a close shave). If I only shave with the grain (no matter how many times) and then slide my hand upward on my face I always still feel stubble. If I shave against the grain right off the bat, I wind up either cutting myself or getting bad razor burn.Now, I decided to buy this razor with a 100-pack of Shark double-edge super-chrome blades. The only reason I bought so many blades is that they still fit my safety razor, and you simply split each blade in half in order to use them with the Dovo razor. If you are familiar with razor blades then you already know Sharks are pretty damn sharp, so I knew beforehand what I was getting myself into.When setting up the Dovo razor you can use one of two razor sleeves, depending on if you have a long single-edge blade, or as in my case, a split double-edge razor blade, which winds up shaving a significantly smaller coverage area. For me, I used the red sleeve. You snap a double-edge blade in half, and then open the razor sleeve. Next you line up the holes in the razor with the guide-pegs in the sleeve, and then fold the sleeve shut. This sleeve slides into the handle, and you are ready to bleed, I mean shave.When you use a straight razor, make sure you are not in a hurry, heavily caffeinated, under the influence, and so on. Now I use pre-shave oil, and a lot of hot water to start off with. It probably wouldn't hurt to throw a semi-wet towel in the microwave for a little bit to help open your pores up. Once I lather up the shaving cream I use short quick (not too quick though) strokes to scrape the hair off my face. The Dovo does feel comfortable in your hands as it's not heavy, and it has a rubber grip on the handle. I have used this razor at least ten times now, and I am just not smooth enough with it to warrant everyday use. I have slipped twice with it, though I caught it just enough to minimize the damage. The razor sleeve also creates enough of an angle with the blade in order to prevent serious injuries from occurring, but only if you're very careful. I will continue to use this blade every now and again. I like the idea of shaving with a straight razor, and this product is made very well. However, I do not possess the necessary skill and steady hand to convince myself to use this more, even though I'm sure I could get the hang of it over time. Each time I use this razor I think of how smooth my face will be at the end, but as soon as I splash on the aftershave that thought is burned away in a fire of pain.

Overall, I like this shavette. Most of the attributes are just as easily pros as cons depending on your preference, so the list below is more just FYI than anything else.Pros:- The size is pretty comfortable. It's smaller than my other one, but not enough so as to cause trouble. It will accept both the shorter and longer blades- The system for holding the blade in place is pretty solid. I'm confident the blade won't shift or slide, and it's very easy to clean.- The lighter feel is a mixed blessing. On the plus side, it's easier to feel which areas are stubble free. There is sort of a . . . gritty sensation in the hand holding the shavette when it moves over an area that isn't completely smooth. It's hard to describe, but it's something that has been very helpful.- The plastic piece that holds the blade in place has a tiny protrusion that covers the corner of the blade. In my experience 95% of my nicks come from the corner of the blade scraping me, and that'd be almost impossible with this shavette. In my opinion, it's worth the price of the shavette alone to fix that problem, but if that doesn't happen to you, it's not going to be of major benefit.Cons:- The flip side of the lighter weight is that it doesn't have quite as solid a feel as some of the other shavettes out there. It's nothing horrible, but I could see someone complaining that it didn't have the premium sensation that some of the heavier ones had.- I could see someone not liking the smaller size. It doesn't bug me, but it would be understandable if it did.- The system that holds the blade in place, while really easy to clean, is a tiny bit harder to seat the blade into. It's a small thing, and only took a day or two of getting used to, but I thought I'd mention it.- If I were actually designing my own razor with the people from Dovo, I might let the blade hang out just a hair more. I'm probably just used to a little more blade hanging out because that is the way my last one was. It's by no means hard to work with.I'd definitely pick up this shavette again, but a ton of personal preference is going to play into your opinion on it. From a "just the facts" perspective, it seems well made and does a fine job holding a razor for a shave, which is it's real purpose.

Nice straight razor to start out one's straight razor journey. This item comes with three holders (red holder for half of a regular double edge razor blade, black closed comb holder for half of a long double edge razor blade and a black open comb holder for a long double edge razor blade), one regular platinum coated double edge razor blade and one long double edge razor blade. The blades are already split in half, so be careful when handling the little packets. The ability to practice with a long blade & short blade ads to the versatility of this razor. The only thing I would improve would be the weight of the blade. It is very light and does not handle like a regular straight razor.