Thread: How sharp should a honed blade be?

I had my razor honed before it was shipped to me.

When I got it I tried the HHT. The blade just pushed the hair away.

Next I tried it on the tips of my arm hair and the result was the same. The blade would only cut at the base of the hair and with some pressure applied.

I then took a hair and folded it in a loop over the razor's edge. As I lifted the blade I felt the hair stretch slightly then cut. Is this an acceptable level of sharpness?

I managed to get a pretty decent first shave with it, but having looked at the level of sharpness some are managing to obtain when honing I can't help but wonder.

I hadn't stropped the blade prior to these tests.

I have since checked it under a microscope and there is no sign of the blade having been rolled and no burring.

Try those same tests with a single edge razor blade straight from the package, You'll find yor results are similar. The single edge might be a tad sharper though.

The only test that matters is shaving. If you got a decent shave your first time out, thats pretty darn good. Most guys experience a bit of tugging and pulling, even pain during their first few shaves, and the razor has nothing to do with it. It takes some time to find the best angles, amount of stretch, strokes and grip for a really comfotable shave. Even once you find all of the above it takes a while to get really consistent in your use of all the above for every shave.

I would keep practicing your shave technique before I blamed my tools.

The shave did not make me question the sharpness of the blade.

I had read this and that about sharpness of blades in the honing forums before I got my razor, so I thought I would try some of the tests mentioned.

Hence the above post.

I had my second full shave today and similar results to my first, so no complaints there.

I guess I'm just having those newb moments we all have.

Thanks for setting my mind to rest.

Originally Posted by Black Beard

I managed to get a pretty decent first shave with it, but having looked at the level of sharpness some are managing to obtain when honing I can't help but wonder.

I hadn't stropped the blade prior to these tests.

First, I would say that you have done very well to get a good shave on the first time out!

Second, the hanging hair test is an indicator but not the acid test of shaveability. The shave is the real test.

You are doing great! Welcome to the world of str8 shaving.

There are many factors that go into whether a blade will pass the HHT, how fine the hair is, the angle you hold it at, etc.

If it shaves well, it is sharp enough. And it sounds like yours is just fine! Congrats!

You may also find that improving your stropping technique will get the same blade to pass some of those tests.

You can get a blade to pass those test after honing but it can also shave worse for the effort.

It's amazing how a little bit of reassurance can make you feel better about things, even at the ripe old age of 43 .

Just as a point of interest, I have managed to aquire a mild dose of RAD.

I now have my second shave ready razor on it's way to me from 'The Invisible Edge'. It's a vintage Ragg from Sheffield and is a near 7/8 in practically new condition.

I can't wait to shave with it

Thats awesome! You'll find the sharpness requirement will be a little less with a big heavy blade. It'll kind of shave all by itself and then ask for more.

Originally Posted by Black Beard

I had my razor honed before it was shipped to me.

When I got it I tried the HHT. The blade just pushed the hair away.

Next I tried it on the tips of my arm hair and the result was the same. The blade would only cut at the base of the hair and with some pressure applied.

I then took a hair and folded it in a loop over the razor's edge. As I lifted the blade I felt the hair stretch slightly then cut. Is this an acceptable level of sharpness?

I managed to get a pretty decent first shave with it, but having looked at the level of sharpness some are managing to obtain when honing I can't help but wonder.

I hadn't stropped the blade prior to these tests.

I have since checked it under a microscope and there is no sign of the blade having been rolled and no burring.

Old barber texts taught the student barber to hone their razor until it passed the thumb nail test. Whether or not that level of sharpness coincided with the hanging hair test is unknown, or may vary from case to case.

I suspect that a lot of the guys who are using multiple hones, and using honing progressions, are effectively using their high grit hones as reverse strops, and all that additional honing is a waste of time and metal off of the edge. Better results can be achieved by incorporating the strop sooner than later.

Once the razor meets the requirements of the thumb nail test, it's best to stop honing and go on to stropping. Either on the leather alone, or alternating both leather and linen, until the edge is keen as indicated by the thumb pad test. At this point, the razor will most likely pass the HHT.

Scott

As has been said many times above it's all about the shave. If you're happy with the shave, great!

In my experience stropping made all the difference. I got my razor from a member here and then sent it to another member to be honed. The honed razor didn't pop hairs, either hanging or on my arm, but did shave wonderfully. Though at this time I didn't have a strop. A couple weeks later when I got the strop the first thing I did was give it a few passes, 10 or so, on the pasted side and then 20 or so passes on the non-pasted side. Let me tell you, it made all the difference. I was worried about rolling the edge since it was my first attempt stropping but when I ran the blade above my arm and heard those lovely "tink" sounds I smiled. Now the blade pops hair all along it's edge.