Thread: Discouraged

OK, Update:
HHT failed prior to doing anything, (as was expected).
I lapped my 8K. Did the pyramid as suggested.
At the end I did a HHT. Now I need a definition of HHT. If I in fact hold a single hair from my head and try to cut it, I get nothing. The hair gets pushed back and the razor slides over it. If I take the same razor and hover it over my forearm hairs the razor catches some, a few, a bunch and cuts or "pops" them off. If that a passed or failed HHT?
At this point I've stopped. Both razors perform the same.

How am I doing?

Excellent! Sounds like everything is pretty much what I would expect. Please put the 220, and the 1000 away.

Chances are good you'll get ahead of me in one honing session, so for now I'll suggest that after you complete this series of pyramids I'd like you to try a HHT and feel the edge again and see if it feels sharper.

Then, do this series:

1/3, 1/3, 1/5, 1/5, 1/8

For this series, go light on the pressure

Test again, both the HHT and feeling the edge with your thumbpad and see if it seems to be getting any sharper.

Now, your technique is going to become important. Tell us if your using an x pattern or using a heel leading.

Originally Posted by mindspin

Now I need a definition of HHT. If I in fact hold a single hair from my head and try to cut it, I get nothing. The hair gets pushed back and the razor slides over it. If I take the same razor and hover it over my forearm hairs the razor catches some, a few, a bunch and cuts or "pops" them off. If that a passed or failed HHT?

I'd like to know too, since – with one exception – this is about as good as I ever get.

Your doing great .... see this stuff is easy. Ok, for the next spot we'll call this a partially successful HHT. You should take the time to wet your thumb again for about 20 seconds and move your thumbpad across the edge so you can feel what the partially successful HHT does.

Now its time to play a little. Your objective is to catch absolutely all of the hair on your arm, and then to move to the razor "confidently" catching all the hair on your arm, or lets say "with authority". You'll feel the difference.

Start by just using the 8K and use very, very light, slow strokes. I strongly recommend the x pattern for this section. Go slow. Apply water to the 8K (you can just splash it on). Use only the weight of the blade. Hold it by the shank on the sides and don't push down. Hold the shank exactly at the balance point that ensures the weight of the razor falls into the hone.

Do 5 x 8k, 5 x 8k, 5 x 8k and test as you go. Keep doing that in groups of 3. If you feel the need you can use 1 x 4K after each 3 sets of 8K x 5 passes. Then repost until you get confident hair popping on all the arm hair. Just for clarity, thats 1 x 4k for every 15 strokes on 8K. I'd prefer you use the 4K very sparingly (i.e. only when needed).

This part requires absolute discipline . . . this is the part that starts to separate the men from the boys. Go slow, keep the razor flat and watch it close to make sure it doesn't lift off the hone. For this part think about how light a touch it would take to create a razors edge. A small flaw here and we go back several steps. In other words, its a little tough here, go slow.

If you get confident hair popping . . . put away the 4K and repost. We're just getting started.

LOL. Slow down. I haven't done the last set of instructions you gave me.
Also I think me and dylandog are still waiting on a definition of the HHT.

I doubt I'll get to the razors tonight. My wife's computer hard drive crashed and I'm all hands on deck with that.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Your objective is to catch absolutely all of the hair on your arm, and then to move to the razor "confidently" catching all the hair on your arm, or lets say "with authority". You'll feel the difference.

The thing for me is that if a razor caught absolutely all my arm hair in, say, a two-inch scything motion, that would be about 200 hairs popped, confidently or not. The hair on my face is thick. The hair on my head is thick. The hair on my arms is thick. I'm a bear!

I rarely get a HHT w/my head hair, and I've never seen all arm hairs popped. It would look like a creepy alien crop circle in my case. What I get on my arms is the sound of ripping fabric, and a couple dozen popped hairs. At that point I call it a day and shave. For me the test is no pulling when I shave. But I'm still yearning for successful HHTs; maybe I'm selling myself short the way I hone now.

Dave,

To perform the hanging hair test, you take a hair, usually one from your head, and slowly touch it to the edge of the razor.

I rest the spine of the razor on my desk for this. You do not want to move the razor--only the hair.

In a perfect world, when the razor edge touches the hair, the free end (the hanging part, see?) smoothly disconnects from the rest of the hair and falls. This should happen all along the edge of the razor.

Various levels of sharpness will give you different results. The hair might break but still be connected, or it could cut partway through and start splitting and peeling, or it could cut all the way through with a tiny "pop" that sends the free end flying. Or you might see the edge is starting to catch the hair, making a little sound.

You won't believe this test until you see the results on a truely sharp razor. A sharp razor edge actually seperates the hair at the molecular level; the blade's not cutting but just sliding between atoms. Way cool.

The main problem with the HHT is that it works differently on different thicknesses of hair. This is because thicker hair means more resistence against the edge, making it easier to cut. Thin hair will bend out of the way. I have pretty thick hair, so a duller blade will pass the test. But on the sides of my head the hair is thinner, and I have to get my razor sharper to make it pass.

I cut my own hair, so I grabbed a handful last time and I have a good supply. Some people use hair from their dog, or wife or girlfriend, or they ask their barber for some.

Good luck,
Josh

I found a place on my arms where the hair is just right for testing. That was one of the big advances in my honing, I got a razor from Chandler and ran it around my arms looking for stuff his would pop and mine wouldn't. then I worked on my honing till mine could do it too -- been smooth shaving since then :-)

Your doing fine, just follow the last set of instructions. I'd say you had a partially successful HHT. Trust me, the razor is getting sharper, but isn't there yet. We need to make an effort to get the razor as sharp as possible before test shaving.

There is no definition. Its a test, using your hair. Its like a definition for fun. You work for the most or the best based on what you have. Some guys can't pass a HHT (because of their hair). Pay attention to what your thumb print is telling you too. You should be trying to learn what sharp feels like.

Soon you'll learn there isn't a definition for the shave test either, you just go for the best you can get.

I'm fairly new also. The thing that really helped me was to have Lynn hone my razor. I also got Lynn's DVD which was also very helpful.

During my first dozen shaves I was having the same problems. One thing that I learned was that I was not using enough water under my lather. I live in a desert climate and so by the time I finished one side of my face the other side was drying out. Don't be afraid to re-lather with very watery lather. The blade will seem to glide over your skin easier when there is plenty of water under the lather.

The second thing that I realized was that one pass does not mean one stroke. When you watch Lynn's video you will count the number of strokes Lynn makes on each pass and see that he makes at least six or seven strokes to complete his "pass". He is letting the blade reduce the amount of hair on the face with each stroke as he make his way down the face. Don't expect all the hair in a certain area to be gone with one stroke.

Once I complete the first pass over one side of the face (consisting of six or seven strokes) I wet my face thoroughly and re-lather and repeat. The rest is just practice as you tackle some of the tough spots like the chin. From Lynn's video I notice that he varies the angle of the shave over the chin almost continuously as he covers the chin. I can do this now and it is fun to shave my chin now instead of terrifying like when I started.

I am no expert but I might be close to graduating from the kindergarten of straight razor shavers.

I hope these tips help. By the way I only have one razor that I got from Tony Miller. I have not used the 4k/8k Norton since I got the blade back from Lynn. I have done a few passes on my 0.5 micron pasted paddle strop about every week or two.

Good luck and don't be too hasty to quick.


David Warden