Thread: New Hart Steel razor

My Hart was tuggy out of the box. A five minute touch up got it going for a few months without another.

touch up stropping or hone?

Originally Posted by Fabe60

touch up stropping or hone?

Five minutes on a finishing hone, then strop. Then properly shaving.

My Hart was not shave ready out of the box. More like bevel set, end of process. Stropping, as you say you have, after the first shave attempt did not improve the edge. Honing 4K, 8K, and 12K set a very nice edge on it. As it was my first razor and I didn't realize what was going on until I bought a second properly honed razor, it caused a lot of grief for me.

What did you end up doing?

Depends on the person that made it I guess. My Hart is fairly new and came out of the box wickedly sharp. A bit more than shave ready actually, I was extremely surprised with how sharp it was. I have a new standard to strive for. I only have two razors. A Boker was my first purchase and it was honed by a well known honemeister. It was very shave ready when I got it. The Hart was far sharper. The bevel was more aesthetic for me on the Hart. Equal on both sides (perhaps a 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch and perfectly straight), easy to see, and polished to an extreme degree; under a 10x loupe I could only just see the scratches.

Doubtless it will take me a long while to learn to hone and strop this well. The Hart is also easy to maintain with a pasted strop. So I think it comes down to the skill of the person who made / honed the Hart you get. I'm glad I lucked out, because I have a standard to strive for now.

Best,

Ed