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I purchased this razor new from Hart's vendor and noticed what appears to be blemishes in the steel on both sides of the blade. This is the first one I've ever had
one and not sure whether this is normal for their razors. Is this something to be concerned about?
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Whether you should be concerned depends on what you think a brand new razor ought to look like AFAIC. IOW, if it does not meet you expectations for a NOS razor then contact the vendor and state your case. It certainly does have what looks to me like 'water spots' on the blade. Some of mine will get that from my tap water no matter what I do to try and avoid it. Some mysteriously won't. If it were mine I would contact and if it didn't bother me enough to go through the hassle of a replacement I would at least want a partial refund for the less than mint finish. YMMV. :gl:
Please repost your picture. Your link isn't working
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Sorry, here it is again.
Thanks Jimmy. I guess I expected a polished blade to be pristine in appearance. I never considered it may have some staining or spotting as you described. Especially not in that price range. I already emailed the vendor with a pic so we'll see what they have to say. I wanted to check with you guys to see if I should expect what i expected, or is this common.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
I would expect a pristine finish and I would say that is far from it. On the one hand, I figure with use I'm liable to end up with water spots anyway, but I still wouldn't want to pay full retail for a less than mint razor if it was supposed to be brand new. If you are the type of end user who really takes care of his stuff ask for a new razor or a refund. If you are the type of end user who is more carefree in maintenance, and the razor might look like that in a few months anyway, ask for a discount. That is just my point of view. Looking at the pic again I'd have to ask if those are more than water spots ? IOW, is that pitting or divots in the steel ? If it is I'd send it back no question.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilligan
Gilligan: I agree: A new razor from Hart Steel should not arrive in this condition. Hart Steel razors appear to be losing all the initial momentum created when they entered the S.R. marketplace.
I'd agree with Jimmy's take on it and it seems like you have gone that route. For me any factory new razor, regardless of price, should not be blemished.
Bob
I don't know what's going on at Hart lately. troubling.
Maybe they do not pay the artisans enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
If you work with independent people, it's hard to stay profitable I guess, because there are many people that need to get paid.
The benefit of people who do everything themselves is that the guy doing all the work gets all the money. There is no overhead. If you work with many people you have to orchestrate without doing significant work on them, it basically means you have to skim a good bit off the top to pay your own salary
This only works well if you're moving large amounts of razors so that your cut is very small percentage wise. If not, you need to take a bigger percentage to get a decent salary and pay for rent, an accountant, etc, which in turn means less money for the people doing the actual work.
An artisan who works for himself and a guild is not the same business model?
OTOH, brings to mind an old saying from retail biz ..... if you get a satisfied customer he will tell 10 people, get a dissatisfied customer and he will tell 100 people. So in the past week there have been 2 razors Hart sent out that seem to illustrate a lack of QC. I'm wondering how many were sent out that were fine and had no spots, grind lines or what have you. If they sent out 30 or 50 and 2 got through the QC, such as it is, that isn't bad. Only they know the percentage though. These last two should lead to them tightening up their inspection process I think.
I am dealing with my own demons right now pertaining to less-than-great Hart QC issues.
But...if it helps, I have a Dovo which developed spots like those. Some judiciously applied Maas polish solved that problem quicksmart. A lot simpler solution than the return process. Mine was sent back....it's been a month.
You would think at this juncture,A representive of the company would chime in and explaine the situation.
It's called capitalism ........ :boohoo:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruno
Workers ........ Arise and break the chains that bind you !!! :soapbox:
Don't get me started ........... :rofl2:
I was reading somewhere about using toothpaste to remove the spots of one type or other, but since I do not know what they are i am hesitant to do anything before hearing back from the vendor. Anyway i hope you get your situation squared away soon. I can't believe it would take a month to respond to a qc issue. I wouldn't have a job if it took that long to respond to our customers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix51
Yeah, if you are thinking of a replacement or a refund best to leave it as found.
I just emailed CS earlier today so was not expecting to hear from anyone over the weekend, but monday afternoon i'll be on the phone. Does anyone from Hart monitor this site? Would like to hear from them if they do.Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelfixed
Are people that advertise on SRP, that also sell hart Razors,weather they are members or vendors,I have no clue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilligan
I don't remember ever seeing anyone from Hart posting here, especially in regard to problems with QC, except for Tim Zowada when Hart first got started. He hasn't been a part of that operation in quite some time. I imagine they like to keep their interactions with customers private. From what I've seen and heard they will do what it takes to make the customer happy if it is open and shut a problem with the product.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilligan
That is consistent with what I've read about them which is why I was surprised to hear Phoenix has been at it for a month. At any rate; I got the answer to my original question and appreciate all the response. I'll take it up with the vendor I bought it from and see where things go from there, and update you all on how it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
SRP is not a customer support for any vendor - in fact our policy is to keep this site from being involved in resolution of issues between a customer and a vendor. The best way to address these is directly between the involved parties.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilligan
Hart is a company, not a guild.Quote:
Originally Posted by feltspanky
As soon as you have a company and people that 'do business', the 'business people' need to be paid without actually producing anything.
If 5 equally qualified guys make blades and sell them in a group, everyone gets 1/5 of the proceeds.
If 5 guys make blades, but there are 2 additional people doing the buying and selling, advertising etc, then everyone gets 1/7 of the proceeds.
And usually, the non productive people in the business, the ones doing all the business-y stuff get the best cuts as well.
So no, an artisan working for a company is not the same as an artisan working for a company.
It's true that there is a business overhead, but without the name, design and training from TZ and the marketing savvy and muscle of CS it's extremely hard to get a couple of completely unknown 'artisan technicians' with no experience a full employment in a niche market. Especially when the end product requires less skills, work, and equipment than the competing products and is priced at two to three times the competing products on the market.
It certainly works but it probably wouldn't if the big brands chose to produce wedge grinds and wider sizes.
Tell them you want a return authorization, followed by a credit upon receipt. Call them first thing Monday, or call your credit card company and dispute the transaction. When the sale is charged back, the vendor will be very eager to visit the issue with you. These razors, at this price point should be pristine. Sending it out to some unknown artisan whose work is the source of the problem, is not an answer. Quality control is their problem. Alternatively, they can source a first class blade from their inventory to replace this razor. They have a problem which they need to address. Sorry that this is happening.
How did you make out with Hart?? I'm over 30 days waiting for a set of repaired or replacement scales.....
Thanks for asking Phoenix. I just received the replacement today although after my experience with that vendor's customer service I'm left wondering if they just polished up the return and sent it back. Anyway it looks the way I expect a new razor should and I'm glad to finally have one in my rotation. I hope you get your scales back soon and i wouldn't hesitate to call them if in your shoes.
bcw - They issued an exchange authorized rma without hesitation however subsequent emails with their csr implied the issue had not been settled, even though it was via a phone call and the rma email. That is why i made the comment about not being sure what they sent me. Fortunately there is at least one other vendor who sells em so If I decide to get a second then i'll give him a call. He'd be the one on the east coast:)
Welp..gotta run and try out that new blade.
cya
Repaired or replaced??? pics?
Quick update! Just wanted to confirm they did replace. I forgot the artisan's initials are stamped on the tang and the initials on this new blade are not the same as the one I sent back. I should have opened it and checked that before my last post. I finished shaving with it a few minutes ago and that mofo performs every bit as good as I expected. I'll post pics tomorrow.
Here's a pic of the new HS.
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Nice looking razor....mine is still..well........
Attachment 181811
It finally made it...yay!!
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Very nice, I quite like the shape of the scales...I have a few razors with similar shaped scales, very nice in the hand, I'm sure you'll some great shaves with that beast.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix51
Hey Phoenix51, that is good news. Im glad you have it back now. Interesting shape of the scales. Does it feel better in hand with that shape?Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix51
Actually yes. The taper is such that it allows the blade to be maneuvered around easily when using and holding the thinner end. The widened part really is nice when stropping. It makes it much easier to handle and helps with properly keeping the blade in contact with the strop.
Glad you guys have yours back. I have been waiting for a month now with no news. Who knows...maybe the mail carrier will drop it off tomorrow!
I for one am sad to hear all these Hart quality control issues. I like my Harts but I too also received a 7/8 that was far from perfect and had to return it. The vendor was very accommodating and promptly sent me a postage email to return it on their dime and a new razor arrived within a week. Would I buy another Hart? Probably not right now. I would like to know that they have resolved the quality issues first
