Quote Originally Posted by honedright View Post
I've brought this up before, long time ago, but there are degrees to the HHT.

For instance: C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+ are all passing grades in many schools. But a C and an A+ are two very different grades.

I've found the same holds true for the HHT. While your razor may pass the HHT, it may be doing so with less than an A+. And in that case the shaving quality will be commensurate.

Just something to consider.



Scott
I would agree. I have very fine blond hair on my head. Ultra fine. So fine that for the first six months of trying to hone my own razors, I could get edges that would pass HHT easily with my wife's hairs (not coarse but less fine than mine) but could NOT no matter what I tried, use my own hairs to pass the HHT. Keep in mind these edges were still shaveable edges. Not dreamy, but virtually no to no irritation.

A few months back, an older barber was nice enough to just give me a few older razors, one of which is a sweet Dubl Duck Dwarf spike point. I stropped it up when I got it from him and wow, my own hair....."tink" passed the HHT. It became my "reference razor".

Since then, I don't stop tuning an edge (chromium oxide has sure helped with this) until using my own hair passes the HHT easily.

Also, speaking to the degrees of HHT, a hair pressed on the edge that bends and then cuts to me is not as sharp as an edge that severs the hair in two with no hesitation, bending, resistance, etc.

This sounds crazy, but now when my edges are "there", I can take one of my ultra-fine hairs and when one is touched to the razor's edge, the hair almost explodes in half. Each half of the cut hair actually lands a small distance away from the edge rather than falls at the foot of the razor. It's really cool. No hesitation, no bending, no futzing with the hair to only have a 1/4" from the root end hit the edge, etc.

I still believe what some have said: An edge that does not pass the HHT or is polished past the point of passing the HHT can be a great shaving edge. With that said, I have yet to have a shave ready razor of my own NOT pass the HHT easily.

Chris L