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.

Nice Hart Frank. Enjoy both it and the Sölgen. You are certainly going to fall in love with the Sölgen. Shorter blade, but just as efficient and more maneuverable as its cousins.