Hart Steel Razors?

I only have one Hartsteel and it is a 7/8 square point in 01 tool steel.

Buying this razor turned out to be an interesting experience for me. The Hart shop sent the razor to a vendor in Texas without setting a bevel on the blade. The vendor sent the razor to me without even looking at the blade to see if it was properly honed.

When I took the razor out of the box. I immediately checked the blade under 60x magnification. No bevel. It looked like a hacksaw blade or worse. Not being one to run from a challenge, I decide to hone the blade from start to finish. Shaves like a dream.

Then I wrote a steamy email to Hartsteel about the inadequate edge. Hartsteel sent me a twenty dollar credit for the inconvenience of honing my own razor. So I got compensated and enjoyed the whole experience of honing a razor made of 01 tool steel.

All in all it was a positive experience for me. I only have one other blade in 01 tool steel and that is a Max Custom 8/8 with Mokume Gane scales. Beautiful shaver also.

End of story................

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Originally Posted by MJC

OCD - Wondering how old your Hart is, does it have Jimps and have you ever contacted Hart about the chipping?

One of my "razor exchange buds" purchased a used Hart, had a problem similar to the one you describe. He contacted Hart, they replaced the razor with an exchange. After getting a chance to try the replacement I became a fan and now have three.

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The razor is not that old. It's about one year old. My wife purchased it for my birthday last year. It has always been difficult to hone and it doesn't seem to hold its edge very well. I may do just as you say and contact them regarding it.

I have two, and have found that one of them came with an incredible edge, and has been maintained with nothing but stropping and one CrOx touch-up. I love the heavy feel and it's a fine shaver.

The other, my second purchase, is of the same generation (both the newest models), but the edge is incredible harsh. I've yet to lap my Naniwa 12k, so I haven't been able to put it on the stones yet, but CrOx would not save it. I'm probably gonna take it all the way down to 8K to get it popping arm hairs, then polish up from there.

Overall, I like the razors, but the second one is presenting the challenges everyone seems to experience intermittently with them. The real question now is whether or not to tape. I've never used it before, but I am an inexperienced honer at best.

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Originally Posted by vmathis12019

I have two, and have found that one of them came with an incredible edge, and has been maintained with nothing but stropping and one CrOx touch-up. I love the heavy feel and it's a fine shaver.

The other, my second purchase, is of the same generation (both the newest models), but the edge is incredible harsh. I've yet to lap my Naniwa 12k, so I haven't been able to put it on the stones yet, but CrOx would not save it. I'm probably gonna take it all the way down to 8K to get it popping arm hairs, then polish up from there.

Overall, I like the razors, but the second one is presenting the challenges everyone seems to experience intermittently with them. The real question now is whether or not to tape. I've never used it before, but I am an inexperienced honer at best.

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On the one that is harsh, how has it maintained its edge? I've noticed on mine that I can get a sharp edge from time to time by finishing it on a pasted strop but it doesn't hold an edge very long. I don't consider myself an expert at honing but this one was not a razor that I expected to have so much trouble with. I've had better luck with Sheffield wedges than this. I emailed Hart. I'll see if they have any advice I have not yet heard here from others.

It's "shave ready" edge that came from the retailer lasted maybe 2 shaves, maximum. It's not even cutting arm hairs like it should. It's become the standard by which I measure a bad edge in my rotation. Pasted stropping isn't helping. It needs to go to rock, but my rocks ain't ready for it. Maybe this weekend. I have a four day. I will report back on what I manage to come up with (or if I throw it out the window).

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Originally Posted by vmathis12019

It's "shave ready" edge that came from the retailer lasted maybe 2 shaves, maximum. It's not even cutting arm hairs like it should. It's become the standard by which I measure a bad edge in my rotation. Pasted stropping isn't helping. It needs to go to rock, but my rocks ain't ready for it. Maybe this weekend. I have a four day. I will report back on what I manage to come up with (or if I throw it out the window).

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Did you actually get two decent shaves with it? If you did, that would be my same complaint. You should be able to hang on to an edge a lot longer than two shaves. My Hart falls down rather quickly and thats why I ask. If/when I get a reply from Hart, i'll let you know what they say. As I stated, I'm not an expert at honing but I have been able to get a decent edge for most of my razors one way or another. This razor has no obvious problems like warping or an uneven grind. It makes good contact with the stone but does not do what I expect it to. Eh, we'll see what comes of my email. If nothing comes of it, I'll remove it from the rotation and continue to tell my wife that its my favorite anyway.

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Originally Posted by vmathis12019

The real question now is whether or not to tape. I've never used it before, but I am an inexperienced honer at best.

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They are initially honed with a single layer of tape.


rs,
Tack

I have three Hart steel razors and while they were sharp enough to shave when I bought them. They were not what I consider shave ready for me. So I just ran them through my hones starting with resetting the bevel no big deal. They are great shavers and hold an edge very good.

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Originally Posted by unit

If you contact them, they will likely help you out/fix the problem. They told me that binding in the scale hole is the problem. When I made my scales, I kept this in mind.

This thread needs photos.

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Nice buckeye scales!
I am very impressed with the Hart razors. I've shaved with many different types and brands of razor and these rate very high .....

I had a similar issue with my hart razors. The first one I bought was great, shaved good and was easy to maintain. As a result I bought one more, which came with a chip in it from the factory. It was sharp, but gave a harsh shave. I tried to hone this on my synthetic hones (resetting the bevel), finishing with my 12K Naniwa and a hanging strop. Still the edge was not as smooth as my first hart razor and the edge did not hold up. As you I was about to give up on this razor. I then bought a JNAT (asagi stone) which gave me a comfortable lasting edge. I also threated my leather strop with some CBN which really brought the edge to a new level. So in my opinion don't give up.

The photo is how the edge looked like when I bought it..