Thread: "Shave Ready" ... Yeah, Right.

Originally Posted by Bruno

HHT is a fickle thing.

Many razors that are properly finished on a very fine natural stone will NOT pass the HHT, even when it is truly shaveready. The reason is that the edge becomes smoother, rather than sharper.

A razor honed on a 325 grit DMT plate will pass he HHT with ease. Ditto for higher grits with synthetic stones. Synth stone had sharp cutting grit -> them make scratch lines and a toothy edge -> teeth grab hair -> hair rips.

Whereas with smooth edge from natural finisher -> no teeth -> smooth edge -> hair doesn't grip -> bounce
The only real test is the shave test. The HHT is a trick, and other tests require some experience in order to judge the results.

Ok... so what you guys are saying is that a razor may well be shave ready but not cut a hair, or vice versa. Hmmm... I guess I'll try one, then. Worst case scenario is I cut my cheek off. There's a hospital nearby, so what the hell

Can you explain in what order, on what stones to hone a razor? I've read so many contradicting posts, I'm confused.

What stones are you working with?

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

What stones are you working with?

I havent got any yet. I was thinking DMT plate, Norton 4/8, Sharpton 16. Or maybe a coticule, but they are small, expensive and coarse from what I understand. But make the edge "smooth"? I'm so confused!

Originally Posted by Cornelius

Ok... so what you guys are saying is that a razor may well be shave ready but not cut a hair, or vice versa. Hmmm... I guess I'll try one, then.

Wonderful! Let us know how it goes

Originally Posted by Cornelius

I havent got any yet. I was thinking DMT plate, Norton 4/8, Sharpton 16. Or maybe a coticule, but they are small, expensive and coarse from what I understand. But make the edge "smooth"? I'm so confused!

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. We all were in the same boat at the start. Reading the tutorials in the Wiki (they were forum posts then) and Lynn's and Heavydutysg's videos helped me sort it out with lots of practice and I am still learning.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. We all were in the same boat at the start. Reading the tutorials in the Wiki (they were forum posts then) and Lynn's and Heavydutysg's videos helped me sort it out with lots of practice and I am still learning.

I read all the posts, threads, wikis, FAQs, stickies... got a link to the videos?

Originally Posted by Cornelius

I read all the posts, threads, wikis, FAQs, stickies... got a link to the videos?

Read 'em again ... I still read them from time to time. Sometimes you absorb things as you progress that you wouldn't have noticed without a little more experience. Here is a link.

Originally Posted by Cornelius

... maybe a coticule, but they are small, expensive and coarse from what I understand. But make the edge "smooth"? I'm so confused!

Where did you get the information that a coticule is "coarse"? We may need to have the person that posted such info make a correction, addendum or clarification if that info is in the Wiki.

Chris L

Originally Posted by Cornelius

I've bought 5 straight razors so far yet have never used one because none of them is ready to shave.

1. Dovo 5/8, guy in shop told me it's shave ready but I learned on here that it is not
If it's a new Dovo, then you have a chance that it shaves. They are honed at the factory. The quality of that honing varies, but many of them do shave. I have used one during my first months of straight razor shaving. I know several people with a similar experience.
Strop it, wet you arm a little and try shaving hair. If that goes very well, you can try shaving your beard.

2. eBAY Grelot, sent off to a member here for honing as it was dull and I dont know what stones I need to hone it

3. "shave ready" from a "respected" German ebay seller. It can pull a hair donated for the purpose by my wife up in the air as high as you can lift the razor, but will not cut it
"Shavereday" seems to have become a marketing term on Ebay. This one probably needs honing.

4. "shave ready" from a member here, listed as such in the ad in the classified section. I can get the razor to cut the hair if my wife holds the hair with both hands and I make a forth and back motion with the razor as you do when using a saw
Does it shave armhair? If not, you need to contact the seller. If he listed it as shaveready, he should take it back and fix it on his expenses.

5. a "New" razor from the bay. At least this time I knew in advance it would be dull.

Were are you? I'm in Belgium. If you like, I can take a look at them for you, and asses how they are / what they need. Just drop me a PM if I can help.

Bart.

Originally Posted by Cornelius

I read all the posts, threads, wikis, FAQs, stickies... got a link to the videos?

Thankfully, there are videos in the posts, threads, wikis, FAQs, & stickies

Originally Posted by Chris L

Where did you get the information that a coticule is "coarse"? We may need to have the person that posted such info make a correction, addendum or clarification if that info is in the Wiki.

I agree! We need a quality control team - I nominate you