Thread: My Experience with a Hart quarter Hollow/Near Wedge

I have been shaving with straight razors for a few months now and am getting comfortable with my technique. Most of my razors are full hollow or extra hollow. I can get comfortable great shaves with them. Recently, Classic Shaving listed some of their Hart Steel razors on sale for half the normal price. They are still on sale, but for 2/3 the regular price. I decided to broaden my collection and my experience without completely flattening my wallet by getting a Hart 6/8" with square tip on sale.

I have shaved twice with the Hart, but my experience has been rather painful and somewhat bloody.

Since the Hart is a full 3" length compared to about 2 3/4" on my other razors, I knew I would have to be careful of the tip. The tip has not been the issue. If that were the issue, I would blunt the tip.

I have gotten a couple of cuts from the blade itself. My normal practice is to adjust the angle of the blade by setting it three spine widths off my face. This usually works whether it is a 5/8", 6/8" or 7/8" blade. I do not know whether my issue is with the stiffness of the blade, the extra weight of the blade, or the lack of audible feedback. Most of my razors are "singing" blades, and I know when I have the pressure and angle right by the sound when the edge contacts my face. I do not have that audible feedback with the Hart.

I have read several posts indicating from people indicating that they use the same angle and pressure with a wedge that they use with a hollow, but I am having trouble finding the sweet spot.

Any suggestions from the wedge experts?

Sounds that you got a Hart Steel razor that is not shave ready. Any chance to post pic of the razor?

The Hart are supposed to be shave ready from the factory, but I know that shave ready means something different to everybody. Before my second shave, I did strop on .5 and .25 micron CBN and that helped some, but did not eliminate the issue.

I do have a full set of Naniwa Sharpening Stones (new SuperStones) all the way up to 12K. If I cannot fix the problem with shaving technique, I will reset the bevel and take it through the entire sequence. I understand that Hart razors are honed with one ply of tape, so I would use the tape. On hollow ground razors, I do not normally use tape.

No difference with angles for me on my Harts. Maybe two spine widths if I had to guess. I do reset the bevels and hone them without tape though.

I killed the edge on my Hart and plan to reset the bevel tomorrow. I will probably go with tape the first time I hone it. The next time, I might skip the tape. I will let you know how it turns out after honing.

The only Harts they had on sale were the satin finished razors. The grind marks were as bad as those on Gold Dollar razors. It will take quite a bit of work to polish out the grind marks. While I expect that on a cheap Chinese razor, it is not something I would expect on a US made razor that lists for nearly $300. So I am not impressed with Hart Steel. If I had not gotten the razor on sale for half of the list price, I would have returned it.

I shave the same with my wedges and hollows. The hollow grind blades give more feedback and I prefer them for daily shaving, but the wedges are terrific for multiple day's growth! Hopefully once you get the edge fixed up it will be better for you

Classic was sold and we suspect the Harts may not be the same as they used to be. Time will tell. You're experience is not encouraging.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Classic was sold and we suspect the Harts may not be the same as they used to be. Time will tell. You're experience is not encouraging.

I started setting the bevel on my blade this morning using tape, but I cannot seem to get it set uniformly on both sides, even though the tape is applied evenly. I am going to remove the tape and try again. I think there are places the spine needs to be worn down slightly to get an even bevel.

I was aware that Classic was sold to The Grooming Network who also owns Grimm Blades. Shortly thereafter, they put the satin finished Harts on sale. My speculation is that this might be one of the Harts from their earlier years before the craftsmen "honed" their skills, pun intended. The razor does bear the initials of the craftsman, so it was made after Tim Zowada became involved.

It is my understanding that Tim also consulted with Grimm Blades for a while, but is no longer involved with either company.

Grimm Blades and Hart Steel seem to be made with similar tool steel and with similar heat and cryogenic treatment, probably due to Tim's influence. The primary difference between the blades seems to be in the degree of grind. I wonder if TGN will drop the Hart Steel brand entirely and manufacture all blades under the Grimm name, but keep the difference in grind, or will Hart disappear entirely? Only time will tell.

Originally Posted by RayClem

Grimm Blades and Hart Steel seem to be made with similar tool steel and with similar heat and cryogenic treatment, probably due to Tim's influence. The primary difference between the blades seems to be in the degree of grind. I wonder if TGN will drop the Hart Steel brand entirely and manufacture all blades under the Grimm name, but keep the difference in grind, or will Hart disappear entirely? Only time will tell.

I love vintage blades, they were done the right way.

I was finally able to get a decent shave off the Hart. Initially, I tried to hone the Hart using tape, but never got a decent bevel. I then removed the tape, killed the edge and went through the entire honing process from 1K all the way up to 12K on Naniwa superstones. I stropped on clean cloth to remove any honing abrasives, then on green CrOX on Balsa, 0.5 micron CBN on Balsa, 0.25 micron CBN on basswood and finally on clean cloth to remove any remaining compound. I then finished on Tony Miller bridle leather. With that process, I was able to get a decent shave, but still not as comfortable as with my "singing" razors.

In my collection I have vintage Wostenholm and Shumate blades, a few Gold Dollars that I purchased to develop honing skills, a Ralph Aust, Boker silver steel, Dovo Bismark, Razoir Sabre Le Grelot, and now the Hart.

I get great shaves using every straight except two. One is a vintage Shumate 5/8 Irish point. The other is the 6/8 Hart square point. Both of those blades were made in the USA; one is vintage, one is modern. Other than the country of origin, the other trait that these two blades share is that neither give significant audible feedback. All my other razors, including the Gold Dollars are "singing" blades, although the 6/8 Boker silver steel extra hollow and the 7/8 Le Grelot give the most feedback.

As a lifelong musician, perhaps I am relying on the audible feedback from a "singing" razor as an integral part of the shaving process for me. I know some have said they do not like the "noise" from a singing razor, but for me, it is music in my ears.

Does anyone else have problems with razors that give little auditory feedback?