Thread: HHT Levels?

Originally Posted by RoyalCake

All I know is I'm quickly resembling an Olympic swimmer after these once hairy arms have been subjected to countless HHTs.

Razor mange is a common affliction for learning honers. Somehow it tends to clear up after awhile and in my case didn't come back.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Razor mange is a common affliction for learning honers. Somehow it tends to clear up after awhile and in my case didn't come back.

I hope so - I had to switch to my leg

There is no need to go off-site for the information; we have it here: Hanging Hair Test, from trick to probing method - Straight Razor Place Wiki. (see section 3 for the HHT numbers)

I don't use HHT numbers.
The thing that's most important to realize is that one guy's HHTx is not the same as another's. HHT4 for me might be HHT3 for you. When someone posts "I just bought the flavor of the day Wonder-Hone and got HHT5!!!!" it's pretty much a meaningless post (but HHT5 sounds cool, right?). Even if I did know what their HHT5 translates to for me, I still don't know if they have a good shaving edge.

Originally Posted by HNSB

There is no need to go off-site for the information; we have it here: Hanging Hair Test, from trick to probing method - Straight Razor Place Wiki. (see section 3 for the HHT numbers)

I don't use HHT numbers.
The thing that's most important to realize is that one guy's HHTx is not the same as another's. HHT4 for me might be HHT3 for you. When someone posts "I just bought the flavor of the day Wonder-Hone and got HHT5!!!!" it's pretty much a meaningless post (but HHT5 sounds cool, right?). Even if I did know what their HHT5 translates to for me, I still don't know if they have a good shaving edge.

Theres the answer to the question.

I gave the reference to the Library article on the first page of this thread and, being tired of arguing the point, I thought I'd just let it go at that, but......

Despite all the negative press the HHT gets, lots of guys who are well-respected here use it and use it productively.

What doesn't work is for a new guy to pick up a hair, apply it to a blade of unknown sharpness and try to make some conclusion from the result.

The HHT is certainly NOT bullshit.

With the help of a respected mentor here (whose name I won't mention because of the inevitable HHT backlash), I worked on getting the HHT to a point where I could really use it to my advantage. The result of that is that it is an indispensable part of my honing routine.

Hair variability is not an issue for me. I have collected hairs from friends, male and female, and have two sandwich bags full of them. Of course they are all different, but that is a plus, not a minus.

I don't bother with HHT testing (and never worry about HHT numbers, although I see the point of them), until I get a razor close to shave ready. Usually that is somewhere in my progression from 8K to 12K and then on to the Gokumyo for finishing (and, yes, my expensive Escher now goes unused).

The truth is that if I didn't have the HHT, I wouldn't know when to stop honing. I have gotten to the point that using the HHT tells me, without fail, when a razor will shave well. I use different hairs, observe the results, and when finer hairs are getting snipped easily, I know the blade will shave. I can take any blade I have out of my storage cabinet, check it with the HHT and know whether it will shave or needs a touch-up.

There is no question that the shave is the most important thing, but I'll be damned if I'm going to have to lather up and shave to test a blade when I have found an easier, quicker and infallible way of checking the edge while I'm honing. With all the different hairs I have to test with, and with the experience I have developed in years of using it, it NEVER fails to predict precisely how the shave will be.

Why doesn't it work for Newbies? It doesn't work for the same reason that a person who has just learned to drive can't be expected to jump into a 1963 427 Chevrolet Impala SS and turn a sub-13 second quarter mile. It takes practice and experience to achieve success in either case. But don't blame failures on the HHT, anymore than you'd blame the 427 for missing shifts or a bad start. It's not the test that is at issue, but the talent and experience of the person taking the test.

I don't think anyone is against the HHT.
What's a problem is people that are brand new not understanding how it works or what it's for: "I just bought a razor. It shaves great but doesn't pass HHT. Now what?"
I think most of what's perceived as negativity toward HHT is just an effort to get the new SR user to understand it doesn't work that way.

I don't use numbers but I do use a variant of HHT every time I hone.
I don't post the results of it as a means to describe the greatness of my hones/honing, and I don't use it as the determinant of shave readiness.

I do use the HHT to gauge where the blade is at. I was shaving/honing for a good year before I had any kind of consistent success with HHT. I got a DFS out of many blades that didn't make HHT in that first year. So my honing improved to some extent, and my skill at a successful HHT improved. The whole is the sum of its parts and there is a lot more to it than trying to cut a hair with a razors edge. So for guys that aren't getting it, don't fret. As long as the shaves are good, and they can be, don't worry about something that is relatively inconsequential in the scheme of things. IMHO.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I don't think anyone is against the HHT.
What's a problem is people that are brand new not understanding how it works or what it's for: "I just bought a razor. It shaves great but doesn't pass HHT. Now what?"
I think most of what's perceived as negativity toward HHT is just an effort to get the new SR user to understand it doesn't work that way.

I don't use numbers but I do use a variant of HHT every time I hone.
I don't post the results of it as a means to describe the greatness of my hones/honing, and I don't use it as the determinant of shave readiness.

With all due respect, I would make the point that if the HHT is described as "bullshit" or referred to as a mere parlor trick, then that is reflective of a negative stance toward the HHT. It is similar to someone saying that a straight razor is "bullshit" or that using one is a parlor trick because the person wielding it is not yet experienced with it. As for me, my experience and due diligence with the HHT have allowed it, for me, to be an absolute predictor of shave readiness with universally positive results. As a result of using it, my shaves are never "shave tests", just great shaves.

Is no question that popping hair off your arm or leg is a usefull test.Thats not in dispute,is the 5 levals of HHT that I find ridiculas.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Is no question that popping hair off your arm or leg is a usefull test.Thats not in dispute,is the 5 levals of HHT that I find ridiculas.

I find they are actually good markers and can be easily distinguished. What they do not encompass, is the angle and speed at which the hair touches the edge. I find that those two factors make a definite contribution to the outcome of the HHT.

Just yet, I had a brilliant HHT and matching shave. With two cuts as a result from over-confidence