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Comment on Saturday SOTD Thread, October 11th, 2025 (#851)

djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

Day 11/31 of TabOKtoberfest

Brush: Zenith 506B MB (27 mm × 51 mm Manchurian badger)
Razor: Dovo Barbarossa Inox (5/8", shortened blade, stainless steel, Spanish tip)
Lather: Stirling Soap Company – I, Rich Moose (sub-exclusive sheep tallow)
Post Shave: Sir – Irisch Moos
Fragrance: Atelier Rebul – 1895

I was at a conference in @PorkButtsNTaters666@sub.wetshaving.social’s home turf and we met for a lovely dinner, where he surprised me with his Dovo Barbarossa to try. The Barbarossa is a fascinating and odd little razor. It’s a 5/8" blade, seemingly made from the same blade blank as the regular modern Dovo 5/8"s, see my Dowo 41 Inox blade for comparison (which I happened to travel with, coincidentally), but the blade is about one third shorter. The Spanish tip makes it look even more stubby.

I’ve been curious about this for a while because I don’t really understand why traditional straights have a ~75 mm edges. Anyone who, like me, has a patch with horizontal direction in their beard growth pattern in the hollow bits under the jaw line knows that the long blades get in the way where the shorter blade of a DE or a traditional kamisori don’t. In short (pun unintended), the design made sense to me.

So, how does it shave? First off, with the short blade and the wooden scales, this thing is so light it’s a bit unsettling at first. Then, I wasn’t aware how much I’m usually just keeping the tip of a straight in view, and this short blade always tried hiding behind my hand. Both of these issues are just small deviations that play tricks with muscle memory, though, and easily overcome with a bit of focus.

The shave was uneventful, and the shorter blade wasn’t the superpower I thought it was, but I probably need to play a little with the new geometry to figure out how to best exploit it before floating the idea of a sub-exclusive short-blade cleaver out of Ulrik’s new 9/8 blanks 😅

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gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

figure out how to best exploit it before floating the idea of a sub-exclusive short-blade cleaver out of Ulrik’s new 9/8 blanks

I’m currently working with Ulrik on razor that will allow me to test the Damascus steel he uses. As usual, he is just a pleasure to deal with. (This will be my fifth Koraat 🙄)

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- djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  I’ve been having some less pleasant dealings with Ulrik recently. I was one of the first customers for his bigger 9/8 blanks. He accepted an order for a custom blade with engravings, then made it without and wanted me to buy it. Only after I asked about the engraving, he said that he couldn’t do that any more because his engraver quit. I asked whether he’d be looking for a new one, but haven’t gotten an answer. He’s been ghosting me for about two months now. Very disappointing
  
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  - gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Wow! That may be the first unprofessional thing about him I’ve heard. I guess he figures you’re at stalemate.
    
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    djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    
    first unprofessional thing about him I’ve heard.
    
    Same. Very disappointing after all the great interactions
    
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gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
I was sent a very short stainless, hollow ground razor from Portland Razor Company to hone. You can see the length in the photo below. I also thought that there would be significant advantages to the shorter size, but found that I am so comfortable with all the technique work I’ve done, the short blade felt like more of a hindrance than a help. Image

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- djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  
  I’m certain I could learn to take advantage of the smaller form factor, though.
  
  This is what I’m thinking too. There should be an advantage, but we learned to deal with the longe edge, so we’re not seeing it immediately.
  
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PorkButtsNTaters666@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
It is a bit awkward in the hand. Once your back home, could we see a size comparison with your kamisori of decadence?

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- djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Similar, but the Kami is bigger
  
  Image
  
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  - PorkButtsNTaters666@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    I see - but the edge on the kami seems to start at least a cm further away from the pivot - which is probably better
    
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    djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Yes, and the edge is also further away from the spine, making it easier to get into hollow areas
    
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