Look what I found on my doorstep this morning, 5 business days from California to BC via FedEx.
Attachment 121136
Cant wait to give this a go tomorrow morning!
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Look what I found on my doorstep this morning, 5 business days from California to BC via FedEx.
Attachment 121136
Cant wait to give this a go tomorrow morning!
Congrats, let me know how you like it. I was thinking about buying one..
I think about buying one often.
I just got mine. It's a great shaver. Just one thing: Make sure to give it a good stropping because mine didn't come as "shave ready" as expected (although not my much, mind you).
very nice !!
i love the look of those , kinda evil looking ..lol
like everyone olse i also have been thinking bout one , but i keep buying other stuff ...:)
Good luck with the beautiful, new razor. Have loads of fun with it. BTW, I like the way you setup the picture. Looks very professional. You should work in Hart's advertising department.
Looks very nice. Enjoy!
Is the blade black? I don't recall seeing that option. (or maybe it's just the light)
You're just gonna love it!
Nice razor, congratulation.
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by xplodngKeys
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steelstubble
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by IamStr8ght
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.
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!Quote:
Originally Posted by Steelstubble
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.comQuote:
Originally Posted by Jes
So I took the razor to the 4k/8k Norton this afternoon.
To test I shaved half my face with the razor as is then half after my sharpening/honing to see how my honing would effect the blade.
I went 8 laps (up/down, as opposed to circular) on the 8k first and tested like Lynn suggests by cutting some arm hair, I felt it wasnt sharp enough so I took 6 laps(up/down) on the 4k then another 8 laps (up/down) on the 8k and felt satisfied.
Off to a 20 cloth laps and 80 leather laps on the strop; unfortunately, my strop fell victim to two nicks that I repaired thanks to a few threads on the site (they happened during the first shave of half my face) - just used a nail file as suggested to smooth it out and then some oil to rub in.
Turns out that this was all I needed to feel comfortable, or at least with the level of hair growth I have currently (which was just a little over 24hrs, we'll see how a 3 day growth will go if I can last that long without shaving again haha). Looks like my face doesnt need as much sharpening work as BrandonPHX (thankfully haha, your sharpening sounded like it took a bit of time!).
I checked out the site. If I'm not careful, that place just might empty my bank account.
That razor is beautiful, but they don't cheap, and I've now seen more than one thread about Harts not coming shave ready. I don't find that acceptable. Especially because a) unlike some here, honing for me means sending it out and paying more on a brand-new razor, and b) one of the things that the Hart guys have been trumpeting from the get-go is that they're bringing quality, artisan-level razors back to North America. This ain't the way to do it.
If I wasn't trying to save up for a Hart none of this would matter, I guess. Or if I knew how to hone a razor. Might be an excuse to learn...
Jes take a look at this sight Balsa Laptop Strop ... I picked up my hart steal blue steal from Baxter a year ago it came shave ready and I loved it when it did need a little touching up instead of hitting my Norton wetstone I did 4 round trips on my laptop board and that's all the girl needed. The board it self is very cheap saves you a ton of cash and gives you a scary sharp edge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jes
Hey thanks for this, I think this is exactly what I need to get my Hart and TI in perfect shaving condition. I was idly looking for something to help keep my razors in shape without having to send them out. I'll have to pick one up soon!Quote:
Originally Posted by PLJ
More than welcome. You will love itQuote:
Originally Posted by Tribade
Iiinteresting. I may just give that a go. The price is certainly right. Chromium loaded is the way to go, I imagine?Quote:
Originally Posted by PLJ
Yeah it's worked great for me. Give one a tryQuote:
Originally Posted by Jes
That's sounds nice! Could you please post a picture of it? (even a bad one). I just ordered the razor and I'm wondering what that black blade would like like with different colored scales.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steelstubble
My Baxter HS in cocobolo
That's beautiful. In the HS stock pics of the scales, the cocobolo and bocote are my favorite. In other pics I've seen there's not as much of a distinction between the two in grain pattern. I guess they're all a little different even within the same wood. I don't think you could go wrong either way though. Thanks for sharing.
i should buy a Hart Steel
Just received my first straight razor, it's a Hart "NOT A REPLICA" which I immediately put in Cocbolo scales, I love the variety in colour from one piece of wood:
Attachment 124980
Attachment 124981
Bit disappointed with the sharpness out of the box, certainly wouldn't pass the HHT, so I'm now eagerly awaiting my LM stone.
This is getting expensive...
that is a beautiful razor, but don't be disappointed yet! alot of razors dont pass the HHT but still give an excellent shave, just like my dovo 5/8 bq from SRD. just try shaving with it before putting it to a stone. as everybody here says "the only true test is the shave test". enjoy it and happy shaving!Quote:
Originally Posted by se7ensport
Don't let that HS full you. I thought the same with mine and decided to shave with it first before hitting the hone and it mowed done the hair like a champ.
I've had a couple of shaves, first one I felt a lot of pulling; very similar to the point at which I'd change blades on my old shavette. I have since given it quite a few laps on the strop prior to this evening and it is improved but not quite there yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by moehal
I have the exsaxt same one in cocobolo I wish I could say how long my edge held but I've only used it once since buying it and now it's back in the box.
My experience with the same razor.
Gotta tell you tho - I'm still having a heck of a time shaving with it as well I I do with my Dovo...
