Thread: How consistent are your honing results?

hi_bud_gl you're very clear, I appreciate what you mean. I never said the HHT is crucial, I have shaved for many years with razors that cut arm hairs effortlessly but not hanging hairs. Lately I acquired a taste for HHT positive edges. I love to experiment and just wanted to share my experience with everyone interested in honing.

I usually find a strict honing stroke, repeated, is the first key. In the end I often find myself just randomly experimenting with variables to achieve MY HHT. Mine is done with rough gray chest hair and pretty easy to pass. I often find proper use of a strop in the honing mix as part of my final honing. Honestly, if I ever do find a honing recipe I'll just give up honing. WTF would life be like with another fail safe process.

Originally Posted by Kees

1. why do I get a sharper edge going down the grit ladder?
2. what is your routine that invariably gets you a HHT positive result?

BTW until recently I agreed with those who say that very thin hair is unsuitable for the HHT. Nowadays I feel that if the edge is sharp enough it does not matter what quality hair you use for the HHT.

You have accepted that the edge is sharper or somehow better at the standard of HHT. Going down in grit makes the edge more aggresive, but does that equate to a better shave for you? If so, it is a good benchmark for what works for you.
As I get more experience, the TPT give me much better feedback to let me know that the edge is ready.

Originally Posted by Kingfish

You have accepted that the edge is sharper or somehow better at the standard of HHT. Going down in grit makes the edge more aggresive, but does that equate to a better shave for you? If so, it is a good benchmark for what works for you.
As I get more experience, the TPT give me much better feedback to let me know that the edge is ready.

That's it right there. 'Teeth' reach out and grab a hair that normally wouldn't pass a HHT on a polished edge with fewer teeth. I can get one of MY hairs (like silk) to pass a HHT right off the 8k. After the felt and the leather the HHT fails. Has my blade gotten dull? I don't think so. Are my shaves more comfortable after the felt and the leather? Absolutely.

My thumb and my shaves tell me when an edge needs to revisit the hone.

Originally Posted by Kingfish

Going down in grit makes the edge more aggresive, but does that equate to a better shave for you?

Yep, bletter shave with edge that passes HHT. I only do ATG pass, the sharper the edge the smoother and faster the shave.

Originally Posted by tonycraigo

'Teeth' reach out and grab a hair that normally wouldn't pass a HHT on a polished edge with fewer teeth.

Kees,

This is why and how edge prefence becomes a personal prefence. All things being equal, and that is a very big assumption, much discussion and money spent for high end finishers is for the last bit of finishing. There is for me a sweet spot somewhere in between aggresive and completly refined. For me it comes naturaly(pun intended) with the finish left by a Jnat or an esher. Electron Micro Pics show the teeth set by a Jnat to look wavey like the way hanging curtains form soft folds, I suspect that an Escher would look similar. On synthetic stones the edge is uniform, but teeth are more angular. I long stopped doing the HHT diagnosticaly, it just did not do it for me.
For your present style of shaving, I can understand how you would like the slightly toothier type of edge.

My hair is pretty fine and is useless for the HHT so I've never used it as a measure. As I move up through the progression I like to do a minimum of 70 laps per stone. After the 70 laps, it's just feel of when to move to the next stone. When I use the Frankonian to finish, I don't count laps at all. It's all feel. When the blade feels like it's sliding on glass, I know that it's pretty good.