Thread: Finally have a big boy razor! - Hart Steel Not A Replica

Nice! That razor will be a fine, smooth shaver that will do you good.

Mine, about a year ago, was not quite shave ready, so I reset the bevel and honed it up to a 12k Naniwa. Now it's as smooth as silk. Others say theirs was. Let me us know. Good luck and enjoy.

I came home to find my Not a Replica at the door! It seems pretty close to being shave ready. I'm going to strop it on some crox leather and see what it feels like.

It is so much heavier than my Boker, I can't wait to shave with it.

I have 7 Hart Steels great razors I shave with nothing else all of mine have come shave ready out of the box you made a great choice give it a go and if not to your liking then put it to the hone let us know how it shaves.

Last night my Not a Replica got 15 laps on a 10k Naniwa, 20 laps on rough leather strop with crox, 30 on the scrub leather portion of an SRD paddle strop, then 70 laps on the smooth leather strop.

Shaved with it this morning and it performed very well! It was very comfortable and close shave. This was a great purchase.

Hi Guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the photo and thanks for all the support! And yes, the blade is intentionally black. Baxter requested that Hart produce a blued razor specially branded for Baxter and right now you are only able to get a blued Hart razor through Baxter, and this razor is the only iteration (6/8" 1/4 hollow).

Hart Steel really put together an excellent package and I wanted to take a photo that could showcase the work they put into everything. The outside of the box is very professional looking as well, a matte black and silver that clasps together with a magnet - definitely top shelf packaging. I was surprised on how nicely the photo turned out myself, I just took it with my phone! (LG really did a great job on the Nexus 4, aside from people seemingly breaking the glass all the time... so far mine has stayed out of harms way! *knock on wood*)

As far as the razor goes, I took it straight to my face to see just how "shave ready" this thing was... and you guys were all correct, the razor required some stropping. I did 10 cloth / 30 leather part way though my first pass and that brought the razor right to where I would like it.

I generally do 2 WTG passes on 2 or 3 day intervals and call it a day since I like the stubble and the transition between smooth-ish and stubbly. Sometimes I'll go with a XTG and ATG pass if I want to look more polished for whatever reason but today wasn't one of those days so 2 WTG passes (and then I needed some touchup still) was all she wrote.

I've been shaving with a Dovo shavette for a number of months now (oh wow almost 6) and the biggest thing I noticed was just how big that spine is, I'll definitely need to adjust my technique on my neck to accommodate the extra size since all of my cuts (there were 3) came from the the spine being somewhere I didnt expect and catching the skin slightly which caused a funny angle on the blade. As far as blade length, I've been using the Dovo black blades for the shavette and the extra length of the Hart wasn't anything to be concerned about, just made my shave more efficient! ... although I guess I'm losing time to stropping now.

The razor performed as expected/hoped with my soaps, wasn't sure if this would be an issue but I was using Ogalalla Bay Rum Lime & Peppercorn with some Glycerine (which I recommend, that Ogalalla line is excellent) and everything held up nicely.

I'll see if the current honing is what works for me over the next few shaves, if not I'll take the blade to my 8k Norton and see if I can polish it up a bit and then maybe get some CrOx on my strop, although I'm hesitant to put CrOx on the back side of my strop since I really like my strop... maybe I can find an old belt or something.

I'm not sure how the razor will perform on XTG and ATG passes for me, but this is a personal thing so that probably isn't really relevant for everyone. I'm considering getting a Dovo Flowing and form what I've researched it should give a better XTG & ATG shave (1/1 hollow compared to 1/4 hollow) but I won't know that until I try it. The other razor on my list is a Theirs Issard Spartacus Dreadnought in 6/8" 1/2 hollow which *should* run in between these two. All that said, this Hart razor was purchased to be my "daily shaver" and those other two would just be for variety.

All in, the razor was just what I was looking for and I could get some nice feedback in terms of vibration and sound on 4 day old whiskers. The weight was also a nice benefit, the shavette felt as if I could manhandle it but this Hart gives presence in my hand.


If you guys would like I could give a XTG & ATG shave on Saturday to tell you all how this razor performed - let me know.

That's only way I hit the skin with my Baxter HS.. WTG,XTG,ATG And that's all she wrote. I must say the BHS is one of my faves to reach for out of my rotation ranging from Dovo,TI,s,Wade&Butchers 8/8 and my two BB customs

I've had the same experience most have had with the Not a Replica razor. Mine was so close to being shave ready when I got it but not quite there. After some work on my hones its just an amazing shaver. I decided to put mine in pearlex scales from classicshaving and now my Not a Replica is just drop dead gorgeous.

Originally Posted by xplodngKeys

If you guys would like I could give a XTG & ATG shave on Saturday to tell you all how this razor performed - let me know.

So I was impatient and couldn't help myself, honest! so I decided to go for WTG, XTG, ATG and let me tell you this. This razor just gave a shave that easily made my top 5. I do not do XTG and ATG as often as I should, so I know that there are better ways of shaving my face, but in a straight (hehe) comparison with the Dovo Shavette this blade really showed its merit. After my months with the Dovo I felt that I couldn't get much more from the blade but this Hart is ready and willing to teach me a whole tonne of new tricks.

Originally Posted by Steelstubble

I've had the same experience most have had with the Not a Replica razor. Mine was so close to being shave ready when I got it but not quite there. After some work on my hones its just an amazing shaver.

Originally Posted by IamStr8ght

Mine, about a year ago, was not quite shave ready, so I reset the bevel and honed it up to a 12k Naniwa. Now it's as smooth as silk. Others say theirs was. Let me us know. Good luck and enjoy.

I'm inclined to agree with you guys (and everyone else that mentioned throwing the blade on the hones) that the blade could use some touching up.

Can I get by with just my Norton 8k? I'd really like to do without the 12k and CrOx (and apparently Newspaper (so says a local guy) to finish? who would have thought) if I can. I'm not sure my credit card can take a hit for the aforementioned kit, even if it would only be under $100 for the lot. I'm very sure I'll pick that stuff up eventually but hopefully my Norton can tide me over for the time being.

Originally Posted by Steelstubble

I decided to put mine in pearlex scales from classicshaving and now my Not a Replica is just drop dead gorgeous.

I didn't even think of changing out the scales, what a good idea! I'm liking the black on black at the moment but sometimes change is the spice of life and having more options is always better!

Is the Not A Replica a specific model? I didn't find anything at the Hart site...

Originally Posted by Jes

Is the Not A Replica a specific model? I didn't find anything at the Hart site...

Hart Steel makes that razor for Baxter of California. Its only available through their site Baxterofcalifornia.com