Thread: Simple Question: Can a Norton 4K/8K produce a blade capable of passing the HHT?

I have a very simple (almost yes or no) question. That is the following: can a Norton 4K/8K get a razor to a point where it can pass the HHT? I'm only looking for an objective answer. I have a Dovo Best. I have gotten it to a "good shaving" point before, but I won't be satisfied until it passes the hanging hair test. What I want is for a couple of people to positively affirm that indeed they have accomplished such a feat. I simply want to know if the tools at my disposal are capable of doing what I want irrespective of my current abilities as they can become better, but my tools will basically stay the same.
There's no sense in my constantly honing if I'm chasing something impossible.

Welcome to SRP. Depends, my norton 4/8 can with my hair. I was taught that if the razor was not giving a fine shave at the 8k level there was no point in going past that to a higher grit finisher. So getting there with the 8k is part of the trip. Whether you can get HHT with it depends on the hair and the honer.

Sorry, but you are chasing the wrong thing. The HHT is simply one of many tests, all of which are used for the same purpose--to assess the potential of the honed razor to provide a properly effective and comfortable shave. The Norton 4/8 can accomplish THAT task and that is all that matters.

First test your HHT,, take a fresh DE or SE and see if your hair passes with that...

Learn the test first, the Norton 8k is capable, but you don't know if your hair is

Originally Posted by gssixgun

First test your HHT,, take a fresh DE or SE and see if your hair passes with that...

Learn the test first, the Norton 8k is capable, but you don't know if your hair is

So what does it mean if my razor will pass with dog hair, but not human hair?

Originally Posted by jgjgjg

So what does it mean if my razor will pass with dog hair, but not human hair?

I think it means your shave will be a bit "woof"

Originally Posted by jgjgjg

So what does it mean if my razor will pass with dog hair, but not human hair?

You know this is actually an interesting question

Animal and Human Hair Evidence | Forensic Science


What all that means to us I have no idea, I guess you have to reverse engineer the DHHT to mean something

Originally Posted by jgjgjg

So what does it mean if my razor will pass with dog hair, but not human hair?

That would be for you to find out.

The sharpness tests all work the same way in principle:

1: Hone blade;
2: Test blade;
3: Shave with blade;
3.1: Assess edge in light of 3.
3.2: Compare results of 2 with 3.
4: Repeat the above 5 steps until the shave in 3 is acceptable.

At the end of that process, repeated over many razors and many honing sessions, you should have developed a very good map of how your chosen test relates to an edge that gives you a good shave.

In addition, if you are lucky you will also during the process develop a good idea of what kind of test result will relate to bad edges of various kinds.

Consistency of the process is important of course. Anything you change in any of the steps is basically a new situation that will need to be recalibrated using the process above.

But that process should work regardless of the test (thumb pad, HHT, etc). The only thing that is required is that the chosen test will produce a result. For example, a hair that will not cut when an edge produces the kind of shave you want is of course useless as a test.

James.

I know my shavette with a feather can easily pass the test

The short answer is yes it can. Early on in the piece, around when I first joined SRP, the Norton 4/8 was "the" stone, and a lot of us happily shaved off it, HHT or no.

The longer answer is what everyone else has said about your hair type and so on.

To get the most out of your Norton, check out the JaNorton thread from a while back. There's lots of good info in there (and also around the forum).

James.