What's new

Recommendations on 7/8 quarter hollow straight

Good day everyone, I tried a friends vintage 7/8 quarter hollow Wade&Butcher straight a while back and found it to have the perfect weighting and performance for my needs.
Interested in getting my own...

[FONT=Roboto, sans-serif]Looking for suggestions on a good 7/8 quarter hollow.[/FONT]
 
Not quite 7/8 and not quite quarter hollow, but the Gold Dollar is about 1/2 hollow and 13/16.
Or if you are not interested in the tinkering required to get a Gold Dollar to shave and be presentable, the Titan and the Bakkus both have the same form factors.
 
Hart, I have three and love them.
Zowada carbon series, I have one and love it.
Take a look at Nate's Straights, I don't have one but he is Tim Zowada's sone and his reputation is impeccable.
 
Brown Razor Works

Nate's Straights (Zowada): not sure he does a 7/8, you might have to ask for a custom. I have a 6/8, but his last couple batches have been 5/8.

My Tim Zowada carbon series is a 13/16, but I don't care, it's perfectly crafted. Each piece complimenting and blending into a whole.

I have a Parker 7/8 quarter grind that's simplistically perfect as well. The Japanese are like that.

Hart 7/8 just feels bigger, due to the mass in the blade. To me, Harts want to be what a Zowada is.
 
Last edited:
The grind on my 7/8 Brown Razor Works is hollower than my 7/8 Hart.
The BRW is more like 15/16, the Hart more like 8/8.
 
To me, Harts want to be what a Zowada is.

I'm curious as to what that means... Zowada's can be really nice, I've seen some I can't appreciate. Wasn't Zowada a consultant to hart? So there is that potential connection on style, I've seen some cool harts lately that go outside the basic hart range.. But if that's true, then what do we call Nate, regardless of being zowada's son, his blades look like small harts.

All 3 put out nice stuff, price wise they seem to align on merits of custom ness and price differences. But I like my plain hart and I don't see it trying to be something it's not...
 
Both Zowadas blades have to me a level of refinement greater than Harts. My Hart feels clunky and overly heavy comparatively. It's bigger and builkier than it needs to be I guess. I might have liked a 6/8 more, but I haven't held one. The scales especially are finished to a minimumly acceptable level. I actually had to sand my scales to remove an orange peal series of bumps of whatever sealant they used, from the bottom edge. I haven't seen a better job of blending each piece of a scale into the other, than from both Zowadas.

Yeah, Harts are a utilitarian, minimalist blade, but at their price point, they should be perfect. My "shave ready, finished on a Thuri" also needed a touch up out of the box. I thought based on workmanship, they are overpriced by about $50 or so.
 
Yeah, Harts are a utilitarian, minimalist blade, but at their price point, they should be perfect. My "shave ready, finished on a Thuri" also needed a touch up out of the box. I thought based on workmanship, they are overpriced by about $50 or so.

That's a fair point on its own. The appeal to me is the utilitarian look.

I had no issue with my Hart, the acrylic scales it came with were perfect (though I swapped, later, to Maple and didn't have the "orange peel" you note - it could have been finished a little smoother and with a better sealing job as mine was thin).
I really wanted the heavier razor - price aside. While I would have been very happy with it being $50 cheaper: it's what I wanted and could justify it.
 
My scales are curly Koa.

my Carbon Series is minimalist in its own way, but more refined to my mind. It's very plain, simple, and clean, but everything is perfectly proportioned. Harts are big, clunky, and not nearly as nimble. Similarly with my Nate's

some comparison pics. ebony scales is the Zowada, Nate's in Cocobolo.

$1.jpg$2.jpg$3.jpg$4.jpg
 
Last edited:
I like all of them, but the Zowada is the best looking one. It definitely stands out from the rest.
 
Last edited:
The Nate's was about $30-40 more than the Hart. The Zowada was my cheapest payout, because I got it used.

granted, $330-ish for a 5/8 Nate's isn't as close a bargain compared to a 7/8 polished Hart.
 
Last edited:
Those all look the same same to my eye, price…not so much.

I would say that is correct until you hold the Zowada razor in your hands. Tim's work is stunning and the closer you look, the better it looks. Don't get me wrong, I love my Harts and they will always have a place with me, but when you closely inspect one of Tim's razors you can't help but be impressed.
 
I've held larrys lmarkows zowada. I was suprised, nicely made for sure, sweet scales. I expected a wider spine (for no real reason)

Took a nice edge, nothing i would turn away, but nothing that significantly different.

Now some of his more custom french tips with multiple metals and fancier scales... Yes, please
 
Top Bottom