Thread: Hart to Hart

I have a Hartsteel 6/8 round point razor. I have been using it for several days now. It is sharp, I have touched it up with the same process that I use on my other razors. I have noticed that I do not get as close a shave with it as my other razors. Can this be because it has a different grind than my other razors? It gives a good shave but just a tad bit less than my other razors. Not bbs, even on my cheeks, but sooo close to it. Any ideas why? I did use tape when touching up. Then I touched up again with 3 layers of tape on barbers hone ad 12k to see if a micro bevel would help. I think it helped a little, but still not quite where I want it to be. With the money I spent on it, I would hope that this would be my go to razor, but not if I cant get the shave I want.....maybe, I hate to say, its not for me.

Your comments are welcome.

I'm not sure if I understand. Did you finish on a barbers hone, or a 12k. If a 12k, what exactly is it?

I have honed several Harts and they are generally fantastic razors that can achieve a high degree if sharpness. They are quite hard though and some report difficulty achieving results.

Did your Hart ever shave the way you expect? Did you get it new?

Is it a Gen I or a Gen II. Gen I's don't have jimps..

There are quite a few posts about challenges with honing the Gen I..

I agree with unit, the Hart is capable of taking a very good edge and seems to hold an edge well too. I have two of them, honed one after 50 shaves and just did the other after 27 shaves, not because it needed it but because I wanted to try a little different method. The second one turned out surprisingly well and is now among my very best shavers. IOW, they will do the job if we do ours.

I've found that when I have trouble getting a razor dialed in that I have to take it back a notch or two and resurface the bevel. As Lynn and Glen have emphasized many times, 90% of the edge is in the bevel. All the work in the world on a finisher is wasted if the bevel isn't just right.

rs,
Tack

ps- BTW, I use a single layer of tape.

Originally Posted by unit

I'm not sure if I understand. Did you finish on a barbers hone, or a 12k. If a 12k, what exactly is it?

I have honed several Harts and they are generally fantastic razors that can achieve a high degree if sharpness. They are quite hard though and some report difficulty achieving results.

Did your Hart ever shave the way you expect? Did you get it new?

I initially went with 12k, didn't like the results, went down to 8k, then barbers hone, then 12k. Still not quite there so I went with 3 layers of tape on barbers hone, then 12k. A little better but still not as good as my other razors. I did not get it new. It was "used once". I may shave a couple more days with it, if I am not happy, I may go back down to 8k and start from there with 1 layer of tape.

Originally Posted by unit

I'm not sure if I understand. Did you finish on a barbers hone, or a 12k. If a 12k, what exactly is it?

I have honed several Harts and they are generally fantastic razors that can achieve a high degree if sharpness. They are quite hard though and some report difficulty achieving results.

Did your Hart ever shave the way you expect? Did you get it new?

Maybe the hardness is affecting my honing. I am going to try a couple more shaves, then maybe go back to the 8k with 1 layer of tape and work my way back to the 12k.

Originally Posted by Tack

I agree with unit, the Hart is capable of taking a very good edge and seems to hold an edge well too. I have two of them, honed one after 50 shaves and just did the other after 27 shaves, not because it needed it but because I wanted to try a little different method. The second one turned out surprisingly well and is now among my very best shavers. IOW, they will do the job if we do ours.

I've found that when I have trouble getting a razor dialed in that I have to take it back a notch or two and resurface the bevel. As Lynn and Glen have emphasized many times, 90% of the edge is in the bevel. All the work in the world on a finisher is wasted if the bevel isn't just right.

rs,
Tack

ps- BTW, I use a single layer of tape.

Yes, I agree, bevel is everything. Since it was very sharp when I got it, and I looked through my loupe, I thought it may just need a touch up. Even after working up from the 8k, still not quite there. I didn't do the marker test on the edge. I think it is just sooo close now, but still lacking just a bit.

Originally Posted by Chugach68

I have a Hartsteel 6/8 round point razor. I have been using it for several days now. It is sharp, I have touched it up with the same process that I use on my other razors. I have noticed that I do not get as close a shave with it as my other razors. Can this be because it has a different grind than my other razors? It gives a good shave but just a tad bit less than my other razors. Not bbs, even on my cheeks, but sooo close to it. Any ideas why? I did use tape when touching up. Then I touched up again with 3 layers of tape on barbers hone ad 12k to see if a micro bevel would help. I think it helped a little, but still not quite where I want it to be. With the money I spent on it, I would hope that this would be my go to razor, but not if I cant get the shave I want.....maybe, I hate to say, its not for me.

Your comments are welcome.

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If your Hart is made of O1 Tool Steel and it probably is, it may require a different number of strokes either during the 1k 4k 8k portion of your honing progression or it may require more of less strokes when honing on your finishing hones. My theory will be proved or disproved by your extensive experimentation. If you are not going to use the Hart everyday, know that it should be stored with the blade oiled. They tend to form corrosion rather quickly. This fact was posted rather recently by another member, I believe it was bigspendur.

Keep experimenting with it until it shaves well for you. Mine is a great shaver.

I think I am going to go down to the 4k and see if that is what it needs. 8k was almost enough, so hopefully 4k will take car of it.

Originally Posted by Chugach68

I have a Hartsteel 6/8 round point razor. I have been using it for several days now. It is sharp, I have touched it up with the same process that I use on my other razors. I have noticed that I do not get as close a shave with it as my other razors. Can this be because it has a different grind than my other razors? It gives a good shave but just a tad bit less than my other razors. Not bbs, even on my cheeks, but sooo close to it. Any ideas why?

Maybe you're not familiar with the heavy grind or maybe it's not ideal for your face.

I prefer a finer grind & can usually get a closer shave with one tho as you're finding there's not much in it. Hard steel & thick grind means you likely can't hone it the same as your other razors either.