Thread: Any good hair substitutes?

I have wondered about this too. The thing is, head hair is round in cross section and smaller diameter than facial hair. Facial hair is not round. (you can tell by rolling a piece between thumb and finger, or by looking under a microscope). My head hair is 0.002" diameter, my facial hair is 0.005" diameter. A bristle pulled from my cheap bristle brush as not round in cross section and is 0.005" in diameter. Aside form the obvious conclusion that I must be a real pig, it seems that a pig hair (bristle) is a closer approximation of my beard hair than a real hair form my head! Hmmm...

We have members who swear by this test, TNT, TPT, marker on the edge, etc. The only one true test is the shave. If you are getting a great shave with a razor (especially one honed by Lynn), why would you even care if it passes the HHT? Unless you are just trying to impress a friend or member of the opposite sex.

Since my own hair is thinning on top to the point that I'm looking like my father, I've considered hair substitutes as well.

Oh, wait - you mean hair to use for the HHT.

Sorry, I'm thinking of another use entirely.

Dumb question here, are you honing razors???

Or is this just to do an HHT??

Here is the rub I have found to be true... FOR ME
My hair is HHT "way to freaking easy" I can pop an HHT with my hair off a 1k stone, big deal, doesn't mean a thing.....

Now the wife's baby fine hair !!!!!! ohhhhhh now that is a test
I keep a purple honing hair brush, just for her to use, so I have HHT hairs ready at all times...
To pop her hair, I have to be at the end of my honing cycle after 100 laps on the leather strop, right before the shave test, if I have done everything perfect, I can get a consistent HHT using her hair, if I can even see the damn thing to do it...

Now that doesn't mean if it won't pop, it won't shave..... but it does mean that if it does pop, it will pass the shave test, her hair has never failed me yet... A consistent HHT with her hair means a smooth sharp edge for a shave test.... every single time

This is what Bart was talking about with his Wiki article about knowing "YOUR" HHT you have to have a consistent marker....

I've used cat hair and dog hair

In that Maestro Livi video he uses some type of hair like material to do a test with. It could be just be horse hair, as mentioned above. It wasn't really a hht, more that he shaved off some of it with the razor he was honing.

Not to belabor the badger hair issue, I had a Col Conk brush and the hairs were not properly attached at manufacture. They would fall out 3 or 4 at a time almost every shave. Soooooo, I cut them off at the handle and put them in a Tupperware type container. I use these hairs to test. When the badger hair literally flys off with no pressure at all, I get a comfortable shave after 40 passes on plain leather.

I am also getting used to the TNT. It seems logical that if you feel drag as it is pulled across the nail, it is dragging because the edge is sharp enough to be sinking into the nail.

One thing is for sure. Nobody is going to come up with a mechanical sharpener in my lifetime and who would enjoy that anyway? I haven't heard anyone say they use nose hair. It could happen...!!! JERRY
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by mrsell63

I haven't heard anyone say they use nose hair. It could happen...!!!

I'd be afraid that my nose hair would snap the blade in half to be honest.