Thread: Custom Razors...Perhaps You Don't Get What You Pay For

for that kind of money you shouldn't have to do any tweeking.

Why be annoyed by the poor alignment of blade to scales every time you pick up the razor when a simple phone call to Classic can probably fix the problem ? These are 'cookie cutter' scales. Not one offs, so call them, let them know what is going on, and ask them to send a new set of scales for that blade size. Same material, same color if that is what you want.

Just to be very clear,,

You have 3 Hart razors ???

2 Razors are in Hart Scales and they center ???
1 Razor is in Custom Micarta scales and they do not center ???

You have not tested the Razor that is in the Micarta scales to see if there is an issue with the Steel or if the issue is with the Scales.. ???

Although as has been pointed out multiple times this should not be your concern - BUT - if the issue is with the steel then a new set of scales will not solve the issue, in fact it could exacerbate it.. This is why I pointed it out to you

But in the end it is your razor your money and your issue to deal with but having the accurate info is always a plus when doing so

OK...

From the top-

I have the following components:

One Hart Steel Blade (Square Point)
One Hart Steel Custom Blade (French Point)

One set of Hart Steel scales (maple, they are the set that originally came with the Hart Steel Square Point razor)...plus,
One set of Hart Steel scales (cocobolo, I bought those for the Hart Steel Square Point razor after the fact as I like cocobolo).

One set of Hart Steel Custom scales (micarta, they came originally with the Hart Custom razor)

Now then...all is good except for the Hart Custom micarta scales. The pictures posted earlier (originally) are of the Hart Steel Custom French Point blade closed inside the micarta scales with which the French Point Custom was delivered.

The picture of the aforementioned French Point blade closed in the Hart Steel maple scales was taken after the suggestion of gssixgun that maybe the blade, not the scales may be the problem. As shown, the French Point Hart Steel Custom blade rests perfectly within the Hart Steel maple scales (as does the Hart Steel Square Point razor which came originally with the aforementioned maple scales; we have no problems with the Hart Steel Square Point blade or either the maple or cocobolo scales. Hence I draw the conclusion that the Hart Steel Custom French Point blade is fine and that in fact...the micarta scales are not.

Q.E.D.

In Reality,can you really call any Hart Razor a custom??

Originally Posted by Phoenix51

Hart Steel Custom French Point blade is fine and that in fact...the micarta scales are not.

I thought that was very useful. You don't have to do any troubleshooting, you should be able to send the razor back to the vendor and have them fix whatever needs to be fixed. But since it's a very simple troubleshooting (given that you have these other scales you can swap) it's worthwhile determining whether it's a blade problem or scales problem.

As Max said - you should contact the vendor and deal with them. Depending on when in April you made the purchase you may still be able to file a chargeback with your credit card company, and force resolution of the issue.

If you can't get it resolved in any other way - a good restorer/razor maker should be able to fix the fit by filing off some scale material and/or adding a washer or two.

IMO if your spending big $$$ on a razor it should b in mint almost perfect condition.. My two cents a custom razor is exactly that a craftsman taking time to use his craft to build a razor to your specifics.. And it should b something you can use .. With no issues before it leaves his hands it should be perfect.. When u take a car to be painted you ask for red.. If it comes out red with blue polka dots something's wrong.. Y should u get involved with fixing something u paid bog money to have someone else do for you that's an expert in there field

Well....seeing as how most of y'all took the position that I should do something about those scales, I called Classic Shaving and to make a long story short, they have something in the mail for me as we speak. I can only presume it's a set of replacement scales; we shall see.

Speaking with the folks out there, they seemed more than willing to try and rectify the matter. One thing I wasn't up for was sending that razor back for "inspection" (bird in the hand issue applies here); that was the first suggestion..nah, didn't want to play. the rationale for the return was to see if heating up the scales and trying to bend them would solve the problem, or if hogging out the offset pivot pin hole via re-drilling it would work. I wasn't going there. A) Micarta is pretty heat resistant and as it is obvious the holes are caddywhompus, logic says bending then won't do anything. B) re-drilling wouldn't work as the pivot pin/sleeve requires a flush fit at 180 degrees (90 degrees perpendicular to the scales). Elongating the offset hole will not do much other than make for a sloppy fit of the pivot pin sleeve. The guy at Classic Shaving seemed to see my point(s).

Subsequently we talked some and in closing, he advised he would be sending something my way (didn't say exactly what) that would hopefully put the problem to rest.

He did say that yes...they had a healthy supply of the "standard" Hart Steel scales, but that those micarta items were somewhat unique to that razor and not necessarily an off-the-shelf item.

Nonetheless..Classic Shaving has seemed to step up to the plate here. That's always a good thing. Now let's see what shows up in the mail.

EPILOGUE-
Today a brand new set of Bocote scales show up; they are very, very nice. I am more than satisfied with the efforts and good will of Classic Shaving. I never had any problem with the quality of the blade and still have the OEM micarta scales to fool with if I think it necessary. Good job Classic Shaving. Thank you.......

...and Classic Shaving came through. See above.

You can sometimes fix this by removing the blade, and then lightly sanding a bit underneath the washer that needs to angle away just a bit. That is how I fix this issue when pinning my own razors