Thread: TNT and AHT question???

Okay so I have been getting amazing and consistent results now. I am very thankful for everyone's input as I have asked many questions as of late. Those responses have helped me tremendously!

I have been honing a ton lately and am still trying all the bevel setting tests. I have noticed when I do the TNT the razor grabs my thumbnail with enough resistance to move it while sliding smoothly across the whole way and won't let go until the finish line at the end of the toe, boom bevel set..Right. However in the back of my mind I will not move on unless it cuts arm hair. This is where things get tricky, after the TNT the razor will cut my leg hair with ease but not my arm hair so easily. So I keep going on the 1k until it does, which it is possible for the razor to cut arm hair easily.

If the razor cuts leg hair easily but not arm hair and I keep going until it does, does that mean the bevel has been set to it's maximum or could the attempt to make the razor cut arm when it is already cutting leg hair be overdoing the bevel or wasting metal???

Keep going until the razor cuts arm hair or move on after the passing of the TNT and the razor is cutting leg hair easily???

I personally don't think you can spend too much time refining the bevel. If it cuts hair on your leg it will cut hair on your face. You will eventually figure out your benchmarks observing them before the most important test of all, the shave test!

If you get a great shave try to remember what indicators supported this- AHT, TNT, HHT we all do it a little different I think. I don't believe there is a definitive quantifiable test for bevel- all have their window of interpretation.

How about a loupe looking straight down on the apex? That is one tool I use in conjunction with other tests.


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I have a question about your process. Do you repeat the hone, TNT, to leg hair, to arm hair,
and back to hone sequence every time? Have you tried testing arm hair before leg hair?

Perhaps the TNT test dulls the edge just enough to fail one hair test and not the other.
Perhaps the hair on your arm is finer than your leg hair, or visa versa.

Mix it all up and see what happens. After the TNT, go back to the hone for a few passes
before doing the hair tests.

Try just moving up the grit scale and see what happens. But don't do the TNT after the
bevel is set unless you go back to the hone before another test.

Its possible that "your" hair tests simply aren't reliable indicators.

I don't rely on any of those tests so I won't address them. Instead, I'll focus on a couple other things that can affect your bevel setting.

Do you use tape when you hone? If so, do you replace it when you are nearly finished with the bevel setting?
Do you lighten up your pressure when you are nearly finished with the bevel setting?

I do not spend a lot of effort using the TNT or the AHT. I use a loupe to ensure that the edges are meeting and forming a prefect apex from heel to toe.
What you are asking is about different thicknesses of hair. I am going to presume you have more coarse hair on your leg and that is why it cuts more readily.
The problem with the hair tests for me is that I don't have a lot of arm or leg hair to test with, which gets me into the issue of having enough that I can test the whole length of the blade. That is part of why I use the loupe, the other reason I use the loupe is that we all see the same things through the loupe, our hairs vary a lot. As stated above shave tests are an important factor. If your bevel is fully set at the 1K level you should be able to get a comfortable shave after stropping. It won't be the most delightful shave ever, but it will shave. there is a thread or threads about 1K shaving. If you can shave off the edge and then observer all of your sharpness tests it should help you to have your tests calibrated.

Originally Posted by PaulKidd

I have a question about your process. Do you repeat the hone, TNT, to leg hair, to arm hair,
and back to hone sequence every time? Have you tried testing arm hair before leg hair?

Perhaps the TNT test dulls the edge just enough to fail one hair test and not the other.
Perhaps the hair on your arm is finer than your leg hair, or visa versa.

Mix it all up and see what happens. After the TNT, go back to the hone for a few passes
before doing the hair tests.

Try just moving up the grit scale and see what happens. But don't do the TNT after the
bevel is set unless you go back to the hone before another test.

Its possible that "your" hair tests simply aren't reliable indicators.

Yes I have tested each direction, before and after the blade will cut leg hair no matter what well at least when I have done enough work on the 1k that is. There is a definite difference when the razor is able to cut arm hair and leg hair, this will happen before and after the TNT and after 5 refreshing strokes on the 1k stone. When that is the case the edge is very keen.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I don't rely on any of those tests so I won't address them. Instead, I'll focus on a couple other things that can affect your bevel setting.

Do you use tape when you hone? If so, do you replace it when you are nearly finished with the bevel setting?
Do you lighten up your pressure when you are nearly finished with the bevel setting?

I do use tape when I hone. I have not refreshed the razor with a new piece of tape during the 1k bevel setting.... I do lighten up pressure when nearing the end of the 1k.

What are your reliable test for bevel set? Just curious

I hone on the bevel setter till I believe I can see that the bevel is set using a loupe and bright light. If I believe the bevel is set by visual inspection it is off to see if it will cut arm hair all along the edge. If it does, then some more very light strokes on the bevel setter and then on to the next hone. After that it is all visual inspection of the edge, stropping then a test shave.

Bob

Just saw your last post. A reliable test for bevel set is whatever one turns out to be the most reliable for you. In that everyone can be slightly different.

Bob

Originally Posted by RezDog

I do not spend a lot of effort using the TNT or the AHT. I use a loupe to ensure that the edges are meeting and forming a prefect apex from heel to toe.
What you are asking is about different thicknesses of hair. I am going to presume you have more coarse hair on your leg and that is why it cuts more readily.
The problem with the hair tests for me is that I don't have a lot of arm or leg hair to test with, which gets me into the issue of having enough that I can test the whole length of the blade. That is part of why I use the loupe, the other reason I use the loupe is that we all see the same things through the loupe, our hairs vary a lot. As stated above shave tests are an important factor. If your bevel is fully set at the 1K level you should be able to get a comfortable shave after stropping. It won't be the most delightful shave ever, but it will shave. there is a thread or threads about 1K shaving. If you can shave off the edge and then observer all of your sharpness tests it should help you to have your tests calibrated.

I have a loupe and use it to see if the scratches go all the way to the edge, for me even when that is the case the razor could still fail all of the other tests. The feather Artist club super pro blades require effort to cut through my beard hairs. I have tried the 1k shave it was amazing but that test was done after the edge would cut arm hair then I stropped and shaved...Maybe that is my answer lol.

Originally Posted by Sdm84

I personally don't think you can spend too much time refining the bevel. If it cuts hair on your leg it will cut hair on your face. You will eventually figure out your benchmarks observing them before the most important test of all, the shave test!

If you get a great shave try to remember what indicators supported this- AHT, TNT, HHT we all do it a little different I think. I don't believe there is a definitive quantifiable test for bevel- all have their window of interpretation.

How about a loupe looking straight down on the apex? That is one tool I use in conjunction with other tests.


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I use the loupe in that way to look down the apex. I know if there is a reflection to go back to the stones. Thank you for the confirmation about spending time setting the bevel. My main concern is the possibility that I can over do the bevel set?