Thread: My New Hart Steel!

Well I got home today and there was a surprise waiting for me from Classicshaving.com. I took a leap of faith and ordered a Hart Steel knowing full well that there are other proven commodities out there in the price range.

Well, upon opening the package and removing the razor, I was blown away. The craftsmanship and trim on this razor is flawless. This is a thick, heavy tool that will probably take some getting used to, but man is it gorgeous. It is simple, modern, and has a custom feel to it. It comes packaged in a leather sheath as well as a tiny wooden box.

What I am most astounded by is that the scales are plastic. These can't be plastic can they? They feel like a high grade ebony.

I only have one other razor at this price point that I own. A Wacker Mod. 4 wedge that has some minor flaws in the scales. Aesthetically, the Hart blows the Wacker away. In my opinion. Needless to say, I am very happy with my purchase based on the appearance alone. Tomorrow is the true test....the shave test. If all goes well, I definitely see myself adding another to the rotation soon.

Very nice indeed. Congratulations. Strangely enough this one has my initials. I bet it shaves great.

Originally Posted by ganboyi

Very nice indeed. Congratulations. Strangely enough this one has my initials. I bet it shaves great.

I'll keep you posted on the shave Brad.

I also had another surprise today. My "Solgen" came in from Jim R. Today was a good day.

Great looking razor! Congratulations!

Very sweet. Let me know what you think of the Solgen. I hope you love it, I love mine.

I'm a big wacker fan, and have eyed the Hart for about 3 mo. I was spooked by it's not having the name, harder to sell if I didn't like it, etc. I love the clean, naked look. Although a nicely worked back can hook me, I don't like the other eye candy items - etching, goldwash, etc. The Hart is the only 'production' razor that 'gets' the clean look. Pls. tell all your impressions on your first and maybe a few subsequent shaves. I have the Mod 4 wedge also, and love it. The only thing I like better has been the 1/4 hol. spanish point. After that, its radically different - the ugly duckling Genco fluid steel.

Originally Posted by pinklather

I'm a big wacker fan, and have eyed the Hart for about 3 mo. I was spooked by it's not having the name, harder to sell if I didn't like it, etc. I love the clean, naked look. Although a nicely worked back can hook me, I don't like the other eye candy items - etching, goldwash, etc. The Hart is the only 'production' razor that 'gets' the clean look. Pls. tell all your impressions on your first and maybe a few subsequent shaves. I have the Mod 4 wedge also, and love it. The only thing I like better has been the 1/4 hol. spanish point. After that, its radically different - the ugly duckling Genco fluid steel.

I'll keep you posted on how it shaves.

Also, it is listed as a 1/4 hollow, but this thing is very close to a wedge.

Very clean and simple. Beautiful razor. I too am interested in your results.

Congrats, nice razor.

The Hartsteel razors have a very elegant, clean, modern vibe. It's charisma just doesn't seem to come across in pictures, but is there in spades in person. I was totally unimpressed by them, until I handled a "factory QC reject" used in a teaching demonstration at the 2010 RazorCon. It had such a dense, tight, narrow, and precision rotating feel in the hand. I loved the feel of the smooth, rounded edges on the fat tang. Had to have one, and bought one a few months later.

In some ways, because of it's "denseness" it handles more like a high-end knife than a razor (I don't mean that in a bad way). The simple elegance strikes me as very Japanese, almost like an Iwasaki razor or samurai short sword or something. I generally prefer very hollow grinds, but the Hartsteel is more of a 1/4 grind or even a wedge, and a fine shaver. The handling alone makes it worth the trip.

Congrats on the Hart. I love mine. Hands down the best out of the box edge I've had. Down right outstanding shaver. IMHO of course.