Thread: Sale on Hart Steel

Originally Posted by MJC

Well it was a great idea at one time.
I have four from the "middle period" as I call it - I'm the 2nd+ owner of all of them.

The earlier razors (w/o jimps) seemed to have chipping problems - which West Coast was addressing with replacements. (at the time)
My two 7/8 Square points are good shavers but they respond best to a Zowada style honing progression/finish. They also seem to spend a lot of time in "waiting to be honed-time out section" than something like my pre-1891 W&B Celebrated Hollow FBU - which hit 84 shaves without a touch up the other day... (now there was a gang who knew how to make a razor...)

The Hart custom shop Kamisori style fixed blade does not get enough use to give a fair comment, it might need a new home.

The 6/8 SP Hart/Baxter "not a replica" is one of my favorites. In fact I used it for the 1K challenge recently and it was shocking-good.

Attachment 271325

It is sad that the current regime has decided to pivot to "sales prevention" mode.
But it is a useful reminder of the value of quality and craftsmanship in the long run - at least to those who can see, understand and appreciate...

When you say they are best with zowada style finishing, do you mean with tape and a microbevel? That's generally a sign of a razor that's not quite right. I've got a kikuboshi razor that's a dud, and it shaves well with three layers of tape, but it won't hold its edge with none, which is a real bummer (it cost me a lot of money, too, because I bought it unused in its original packaging).

(I just looked up their old ad copy - they made razors 63 hardness. That's too much for O1 and was a mistake to choose (and would explain the need to have some layers of tape to avoid chipping). They'd have had a better razor at 60 hardness, but it doesn't sound as good to say that.

The good news is that if someone has one of these razors and they chip, the tempering schedule can be found pretty easily online - but it will require taking the razor itself out its scales. There's a fair chance that they'd do better if they were tempered to 60 hardness, which can be done in an oven around 400 degrees F, perhaps up to 450 if 400 doesn't do it (I'd do 400 first for an hour). A razor is a lot more responsive to a strop (and natural stones) at 60 hardness than it is at 63, too.

I should've added Heribert Wacker to the list of razor finishers earlier. Of the modern razors that I've seen, his look really nicely ground and finished. I've never bought one because they're generally out of my price range, but they do look great and very skillfully done.

Originally Posted by DaveW

That's what I'm thinking, and that's my kind of tooling. Even a double hollow setup could be done for fairly low money, but there is a chance of a pinch with a setup like that. Lots of momentum and then a pinch would be bad.

Is lewis the one who has a double wheel belt grinder setup on youtube? That one is pretty cool.

Do any of the current custom razor makers do a double hollow with a very thin grind?

Yes, Charlie is the one with the frequently copied double wheel belt grinder and video of same.
For thin double hollow artisan razors, I would assume Brian Brown (username milemarker60?--I'm not certain of the number) is good option.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Do any of the current custom razor makers do a double hollow with a very thin grind?

How's this.

That's lovely. What is it? I'm surprised to not see a bit of a bulge below the first hollow. Does it sing on the strop?

Originally Posted by DaveW

That's lovely. What is it? I'm surprised to not see a bit of a bulge below the first hollow. Does it sing on the strop?

Here is one with the belly. Yes they sing on the strop.

Did you make that? I just noticed your link at the bottom.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Did you make that? I just noticed your link at the bottom.

Yes........

Originally Posted by bluesman7

How's this.

Victor, I'm very sorry that I forgot about you!

I only can blame too much alcohol and not enough sleep!

Originally Posted by Utopian

Victor, I'm very sorry that I forgot about you!

I only can blame too much alcohol and not enough sleep!

No worries.