Thread: American made Hart Steel

Originally Posted by CAMPINNGUY

Does anyone know where I can buy one of those screws without mortgaging my house? thanks

Let me check out in the shop, I have replaced quite a few of their scales over the years, I never specifically saved a bolt but then again I never toss anything that might be useful later

Cross yer fingers if I find one you can have it

Originally Posted by groomingguru

OMG...Now I know what all the fuss is about!

I am a newbie at str8 razor shaving and wanted to try my hand at a traditional, "REAL" straight razor, so I had purchased one of these a while back.

I rated pricing a 10 because when Hart Steel razors debuted at ClassicShaving.com, they were being offered at $230 for their only "model" at the time, which was a: 6/8" size blade with black resin scales, satin finish square point, without jimps. Shopping around on the internet, checking out different vendor's pricing, I got a hell-of-a deal!

? You can get superb Ralf Aust razors for less than that price.

I have two and am very happy with them.

I have one in my 10 day rotation, it's a keeper.

I have one. Thankfully it is one of the earlier production razors; the current ones seem to have some quality issues. It is an ok razor. No great shake. A Ralf Aust is a far better bargain and for a few dollars more, a Brian Brown can be had...and THAT'S a razor!!

I am not sure if my problem is with Hart or Classic Shaving. but I bought a Hart razor from them after reading both Harts Website and Classic Shavings description, it sounded like a great razor. Well it showed up it was not oiled or really clean it was in pretty rough shape. I tried to shave the hair on my arm just to see if it had an edge and could not get it to cut anything even pushing down hard, so I tried running it on the strop well an hour latter and around 400 or so passes it now shaves the hair on my arm but no way will it shave my beard.

so I wrote to Classic shaving since there is no telephone number on Harts website and the site sends you to Classic shaving for any issues, well apparently it is my fault that the razor is not sharp:

Mike,
If you will send the razor back in, we will re sharpen that for you.
Sometimes stropping can be a difficult task. If you are even slightly misusing the strop, it will completely dull your razor. If you had done 400 passes, there is no doubt that any razor should have been sharp enough.
Another thing to be sure of is that you are keeping about a 45 degree angle when shaving. This angle is also very important.
There are a lot of YouTube videos that can help you with perfecting all of these factors.
If you would like to send the razor to our facility, we will get it touched up and send back out as soon as possible.

The Grooming Network
130 McGhee Rd. Suite 100
Sandpoint, ID 83864

Also, a side note, we do not accept any returns or exchanges on personal care items so we can assure you that your razor was brand new.

Breanna Buchmiller
Customer Service
The Grooming Network

The thing I find funny is I had no problem cleaning up the failed attempted at using this razor with a $29.00 BOG razor my freind bought from Classic Shaving. and it only took 20 passes on a web belt and 40 passes on a leather belt (same one used for the Hart) to bring that razor back to a bbs capable shaving edge.

Also when did 45 degrees become the go to angle for shaving? I have always used 30 to 35 with my feather ss, and my Portland Razor Sprite.

So my question is do I send it back to them, or since I am already paying for shipping, do I just send it to a trusted site to have it honed, since returning it is not an option. I know the time I sent my Sprite back for rehoning (after a year of use and a few falls of the floor) it came back like new. And did not have to see the strop for a week or so.
any advise is greatly appreciated....

You could tell them that you had it honed and ask for a refund of this charge.

With the way they are handling this I am pretty sure I am not getting a refund on the honing charge. They will want to do it in house since they have a $25 honing service. but if the edge that came on the razor is any indication of what their honing shop does then I will be wasting $15 in shipping for nothing. Their website said:

The blades are surface-ground before and after heat-treating in a molten salt bath. The salt protects the blades from decarbonization and oxidation. The blades are then frozen in liquid nitrogen, which assures dimensional stability. Each blade is triple-tempered for a final hardness of 62 – 63 HRC, and finish-honed on a vintage Escher hone and hand-stropped. Every blade is “shave ready” right out of the box.

So I am assuming that if I send it back it will be honed on the Same Escher hone and hand stropped by the same person, which did not work out that well the first time around.

Where for the same shipping and $15 I can send it to Portland razor co, and I know it will come back bbs shave ready.

Both of mine were received in just Super sharp condition. I'm sorry your experience is not as positive.

Well, they are certainly misinformed about the proper straight shaving angle to use. At most, you're looking at roughly 30 degrees for WTG strokes, and then progressively lower from there as you move to XTG (15) and ATG (5) passes. A 45 degree angle is 50% too much...about what you see them doing cluelessly in the fantasy world of cinema and TV.

If I were you, I would seek out an alternative honing solution and avoid the vendor. I recommend you send it to Gssixgun who happens to live a few miles north of Sandpoint. He'll finish the razor on any stone that strikes your fancy.

Good luck, and I too am sorry you received such dissatisfying service acquiring your new razor.