Thread: Bad honing or bad steel??

Originally Posted by rshaw

I've tried to mix up my technique until something worked for me, but here's what I tried last night:

This was my first time honing with a taped spine so I did 15 laps on 1k sandpaper on a kitchen tile to start off. I was using X strokes as the toe doesn't really get honed without it (I've marked the edge with sharpie a lot trying to perfect my technique in the past). I had read in a post that one guy didn't leave his 1200 grit stone until it passed the HHT, so I did increments of 5 laps trying to fine tune it to pop hairs. After about 5 or so increments I just moved on to the 4k/8k as the razor never passed the HHT and I was afriad of over honing...maybe it was already over honed after those increments?

That guy could very well be me...
I'm not a big fan of the sandpaper. It has a tendency making a little wave in front of the razor. If this happens, even a nearly invisible bit, your edge will never become sharp.
Unless you need to hone out a chip, or corrosion, or some other mishap, I would not use that sandpaper. (Even then, I'd use a coarser hone, instead of sandpaper)

Your Norton 4K is perfectly capable of setting a proper bevel on your razor, and you should stay on it till you can pop a hair. Don't worry about overhoning. (It doesn't ruin your razor, should it happen) Stay on that 4K till the razor cuts arm hair effortlessly. Even if you don't make it to the HHT, this should be easily doable. When the armhair test is good, continue on the 4K with very light strokes, just a dozen laps more. Try the HHT again. Do another dozen light laps if it fails.
If it doesn't pass after that, don't worry too much about it, and start doing doing your pyramids.
After one cycle, test for the HHT again. If it passes, do your 50 on the Chinese 12K.
Don't use the CrO, but go straight to the leather for 100 laps.

This should give you a fine shaveready edge.

Originally Posted by rshaw

I'm a little confused on when the razor should pass the HHT test. The post I read said after the 1200 grit stone, but from my experience the razor I had honed by a senior member did not pass HHT until I did about 30 laps on the CrO paddle.

IMHO, the HHT is a fine test, if you know how to read it. At the bevel setting stage, it can tell you that you're good to proceed to the finer grits. You may need to fumble a bit, by dragging the hair accross the edge, before it catches and pops. At this stage, that's quite acceptable.
After stropping a completely honed razor, with some experience, the way the HHT performs can tell you something about the keenness of the edge. A not superkeen edge behaves as I decribed above. A better edge, pops the hair with a sound, as soon as it touches the edge. A premium edge fells the hair silently, seemingly before it touches the edge.

Good luck,

Bart.