Thread: not quite passing hht

i am just starting out with straights and i picked up a razor that needs what looks like a light honing. its a 5/8 otto deutsch hans (pretty cool little razor) i have honed out a very small nick on my strop back hone from tilly and it passes the thumbnail test. i have done a couple hundred laps on the gem hone and i still cant pass the hht. i lapped the frictionite hone which feels courser than the gem. 50 laps on it and still not passing the hanging hair test. it feels like it is atleast close when i do the thumbpad test. i dont have any other hones or pasted strops yet. should i test it out on my face tonight to get a better understanding of where i am at? i dont think its over honed but then again i am just starting out with this. i do have a razor that is shave sharp so i should have a good benchmark to work with.

any suggestions are greatly appreciated-cheers,
ryan

Sure, give it a test. Sometimes razors that shave great won't pass the hair test -- the real test is the shave after all, these other tests are just more convenient. Don't try to push it though if it isn't sharp enough, switch to another razor to finish the shave.

Great advice. I had several that passed the hht, but not quite good enough to shave. A few more laps on the Norton and a strop and they would pass the hht and give a good shave. Close is not good enough but is is good enough to tell you you are close. Keep a good razor at hand and switch if you don't get it just right.

thanks guys. i have one razor that is shaving already that i can switch to. i havent stropped it yet and that might help it out also. i just cant hardly wait until i get a razor to pop a hanging hair. i imagine that is a magical moment.
i have heard that it is possible to pass a hht on these barber hones, i hope i can get there without furthur purchases.

cheers,
ryan

Sometimes a little strop can make the difference between a blade being able to pass the hht. It depends on the razor, hone, hair thickness and sharpness.

well-after stropping it shaves but not very smoothly.
i will try more laps on the gem hone and see where that takes me. those coticules are so darn expensive! would a 5"x1.5" be too small. i might have to break down and get one. i am now wondering if this combination would work:

1000 grit wet/dry for getting large nicks out
yellow coticule w/slurry
yellow w/o slurry for polishing
stropping

ideally to start with i dont want to have to spend the money on a blue and a yellow coticule, a dmt and a norton 4k/8k.

cheers,
ryan

Ryan,

The progression you suggested would work very well, especially supplemented by the barber hones you already have. It will take a little longer than the other hones, though.

A 5"x1.5" coticule would be large enough--again, it'll just take a little longer.

The Norton is a great way to go if you only want to get one hone. I prefer the Belgians, but my Norton has served me well.

Last night I also tried getting a razor to pass the HHT with the Gem, and I wasn't able to. It would cut hairs but not smoothly. I think I have managed this in the past, but maybe it was a fluke... You might try a few laps on the Frictionite to refine the edge.

Good luck,
Josh

thanks josh-
i will try more laps on the frictionite tonight. that stone feels more course than the gem. i am glad to hear that you had the same out come from the gem alone- cuts hair but not quite shave worthy. i will be saving my money for a yellow coticule and a rubbing stone!

cheers,
ryan
ps that royal is serving well! thanks!

Size doesn't really matter, except for convenience.
I just sold a 5x1.25 coticule to heliguy, and I used it to finish one of his razors, simply to prove that it is OK.

a 5x1 or even a 4x1 will do the job just fine. Of course, the fact that they are smaller mean that you'd have to do more laps, but other than that it works fine.

I'd even argue that the smaller size is more versatile. Narrow hones work great with razors that have a smile or slight warp to the blade. I have two sizes, a 2" wide coticule and a 1.5" wide one that gets used on problem children...

Josh