diff --git a/hex.c b/hex.c
index 0519f85..60541c9 100644
--- a/hex.c
+++ b/hex.c
@@ -39,16 +39,8 @@ int get_sha1_hex(const char *hex, unsigned char *sha1)
 {
 	int i;
 	for (i = 0; i < GIT_SHA1_RAWSZ; i++) {
-		unsigned int val;
-		/*
-		 * hex[1]=='\0' is caught when val is checked below,
-		 * but if hex[0] is NUL we have to avoid reading
-		 * past the end of the string:
-		 */
-		if (!hex[0])
-			return -1;
-		val = (hexval(hex[0]) << 4) | hexval(hex[1]);
-		if (val & ~0xff)
+		int val = hex2chr(hex);
+		if (val < 0)
 			return -1;
 		*sha1++ = val;
 		hex += 2;