Thread: What about a honing contest?

I like the idea, but I actually don't think that those of us that are honing, lets say, more than 10 razors per week, for money, should even be allowed to participate....


Except maybe as judges...

Originally Posted by Bruno

Personally, I'd say let everyone use what he uses best.

Great!
I'll use Lynn.

I think it is a bad idea. The only way to make it fair would be to have the contestants physically present together and have them all use the same hones in the exact same condition and use the exact same razor in the same state of dullness and time them. All pretty impossible eh? otherwise there are too many variable. How will you judge the results, with microscopic examination, shaving? Its all too subjective. What if the razor shaves like a dream but the bevel ain't too good? or the bevel looks great and passes a microscopic test but doesn't shave good?

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the responses so far. I've read many good points.

I would like to emphasize on the fact that it's just a contest. As some of you have pointed out: for fun, although it could offer some feedback to the contenders as to where they are with their honing.

As far as I'm concerned, it would be free to do anything you like with the "competition razor". I would not remove the Double Arrow's smile up front, nor do I think it should be blunted prior to shipment. (DA's don't even shave arm hair out of the factory) If someone feels it will shave the jury's faces better with the smile removed, by all means, remove the smile. You feel you should regrind it to a 5/8? No problem. Magnetize the blade? Having it pïssed on by a voodoo witch? Fine with me. The jury will disinfect it prior to shaving, rest assure. . I would also leave it completely up to the contender how he hones the blade: Shaptons, pasted strops, natural stones,... I think it could be very surprising to see what some of you can do with just a Norton and a CrO strop.

Of course such a contest would only reflect how well a bunch of razors shave 4 particular faces.
Of course the hone arsenal of a contender plays part in what he can accomplish. That is part of the whole idea, imho. As much as I like the idea of flying everybody to NewYork, for the World Series on Honing, to compete in eachothers presence on various honing skills, I don't see that happening. What I proposed surely has it's limitations, but it may be the best we can manage.

Gssixgun, I was hoping the pros would volunteer for jurying. You could still enter a blade outside competition.

Bruno made a few fine additions/remarks to the rules:

The oiling of the blade is to prevent corrosion during shipment. It would be sad if someone's efforts were wasted even before the razor arrives at the destination. I don't see this as a strict rule, more as a recommendation. The jury members, however, will need to maintain a strict corrosion prevention plan. It might take awhile before all razors are assessed by all members of the jury. Long enough to have issues with microcorrosion at the edge, if we don't take precautions.

"Jurors should not know each others applied score to a specific blade to prevent bias / expectation".
A valid addition.

Thanks for all the encouragement. I think, if we gain enough interest, we could make this happen. Please pass on the word. 20 contendors should be a minimum, to have a good game.

Bart.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Great!
I'll use Lynn.

utopian i like how you think lmao

How about a poll...?

Originally Posted by smythe

How about a poll...?

I added a poll to this thread so that people can vote.
I've made it so that your choice is visible. That way, Bart (if he is the one who will organize things) knows whom to contact or not.

The idea itself is great but I totally agree with what the 'bigspendur' said. He's right on the bat imo.

If there was a contest that did not end with a 5 way, 10 way or greater tie then I would imagine something was very wrong.

I think it would be great fun but we have to keep in mind the winner is not necessarily the best honer: the smoothness of a test shave depends on too many variables. The sharpness of a blade is a function ot the razor, the hones and the skill of the honer.

Suppose 200 members enter a razor, how long will it take to complete all the test shaves?