Hi All! So I jumped into this amazing hobby about 7 months ago with a brand new Hart Steel "Not A Replica" that was gifted to me. I took to straights like a fish to water and within a month, was already eyeing up my next toy, which I wanted to be a hollow ground. With razors in shortage this summer, I reluctantly went to AOS to pick up one of their AOS etched TI's and have been regretting it... I love their product and continue to buy it today, but I don't think I could ever purchase any more hardware. The story begins....

My first faulty assumption was that the TI quality would be in line with my Hart. WRONG. I grabbed the razor never inspecting it in the store, got home, wiped off the grease and the blade was totally warped and the bevel was completely jacked up. Wide in some spots to nearly non existent in others. I went to take it back to the shop (took several visits) and I finally with the manager, who clearly knew what she was doing, immediately saw the problem, and exchanged for a new blade. A quick inspection showed even hone wear, and an even edge.

I shaved with the factory edge for a few weeks which was nice, but after making the newbie mistake of rapping my Hart on the faucet during a rinse, I figured I would get both blades dialed in by a pro. I drove over to Ken Rup's place (RupRazor) to fix my Hart and tune up my TI. While honing, Ken told me that TI had been having quality issues in the past, but that they should have been fixed. Being the awesome guy Ken his, he showed me the magnified view of the blade as he moved to each hone, and explained the progression. When he got to the 20k though, the edge crumbled. He took it back two more times, and eventually it held, but he had never seen that before. Also noting the slight warp in this blade too, that I did not originally notice.

Fast forward a few more months of shaving and reading SRP forums about honing, and I picked up my Chinese 12k for bimonthly touch-ups and eventually a Norton 4k/8k combo. Never putting the TI to a stone myself, I decided to give it a whirl. I was effortlessly popping off hairs after the 8k, and took it to the 12k for finishing and it happened again. Just like on Ken's 20k Shapton, the razor became useless... I tried taking it back to 8k then 12k a few times with no results and settled for shaving off of the 8k.

Is this common with TIs? I have honed my Hart once (and some 12k touch-ups) and have since purchased a Dovo and have no issues there either, so I know my skills are well enough to get a smooth edge.