Thread: Shave ready??

Is this razor sharp?

HHT: sometimes, sometimes not.
I also passed it about 1/4 inch above my forearm and I could feel a slight pulling in the hairs and they would be cut off.
I managed to get a decent shave with it (my first time)

Should I send this razor off for sharpening or is it good to go? I would really like not to have to send it away and do the whole waiting-thing over again.

The hanging hair test is relative, it depends a lot on the hair you are using. Passing the shave test is the one that counts.

The problem is that I don't have any shaving-experience, so I don't know the difference between a decent shave and an awesome one.

I think the following two Wiki articles might help: The Shave Ready Razor - Straight Razor Place Wiki and Sharpness tests explained - Straight Razor Place Wiki.

The rest is, unfortunately, entirely up to personal experience. I strongly recommend getting one razor that has been honed by a honemeister, and using that as a benchmark for your other razors.

I’ve got blades that pass The Hanging Hair Test and I can’t shave worth squat with them. I have blades that don’t pass this hurdle and shave well. As mentioned before, the actual shave is the only test that matters. Give the degree of sharpness you have described, you can definitely get A+ shave ready results with two things. First is a leather strop. I am assuming you have one, but if you don’t you will need it for every shave even if you have a perfect edge by the world’s best honemeister. Second item is a paddle strop pasted with .5 micron Chromium Oxide. Think of it as a very high grit stone. This means it will polish more that cut/sharpen the blade, but it will sharpen just enough to keep honing trips few and far between. It will be difficult to ruin your blade with it, and if it does nothing then you know it’s time to get stones and learn to hone, or send your blade off to someone who does that kind of thing. In a perfect world, the best thing is to send your toy off a honemeister, but if you want to shave now and you are that “do it myself” kind of person, you can definitely have success if you learn hands on.