Thread: Q on arm hair tests

I've been working on my honing skills a lot over the past month or so and have made some serious progress. I've got 4 razors that are at various levels of comfort, all that can shave. None are as good as the ones I've had professionally done, but I'll get there.

I watched Lynn's video from Razorcon '09 again and was paying attention to Glenn and the tests he was using. I want to make sure I saw the high quality video correctly

On the 1k, after setting the bevel, was Glenn putting the razor on the skin, and shaving?

At what point did he switch to popping hairs above the skin?

When I had a honing lesson with Avatar1999, he wet his arm before testing. I get better hair popping with water, than dry. Is there a difference?

TIA

Goog

It depends on the arm hair in question...

I won't budge past the 1k grit until I can clip arm hair without putting the blade to skin over the length of the blade. It will tug at that grit, and cut them with less effort as you move up the grits. That being said, IMHO fine hair is less forgiving.

Really, testing the pull/feel of a DE blade, even cheap ones from a big-box store, will give a great baseline of what it should feel like as the blade contacts and cuts individual hairs.

Once you get that down, (or a professionally honed razor that is established as a good shaver), you can use that feel to determine if your edge is ready to move up in grit or even shave ready.

Personally I can grab a few hairs on the back of my hand and tell if the razor is ready to shave.

Hey Goog,

AFAIK, in that video he was resting the razor on the skin and cutting hairs that way. Lynn makes a point of saying he likes the test because it's a "shave test." At least that's what I gathered. When does he switch to popping hairs without touching his skin? I don't know that he did that, so I you'll have to wait on that one...

In my limited experience, I've had success knowing where the edge stands at each hone level by doing the AHT with the razor touching the skin and moving slowly enough to let the edge do all the cutting. I'm really trying to see the sharpness of the edge, so there's not much forward pressure, no pressure into the skin (duh) and no side-to-side or scything motion at all. I'll test each part of the razor, probably only cutting a couple of hairs at a time, and then move on. For this test the hair is dry. Of course when I do the final shave test I use water, but I am taking a full stroke along my sideburn and cheek then.

I use that "off the skin" test only after stropping before I shave. It's about the closest I get to a HHT, and I'm fine with that. Again, the hair is dry. Again with only limited experience, I don't think I've had edges off the lower grits able to cut a hair off the skin like that.

Hope this helps.

What's more important is to take one of those pro honed razors & see "how" it cuts arm hair. That is then your benchmark. Try slow & gentle .
How you test at earlier stages is subjective & merely a gauge of your progressions.

Tho wet may simulate shaving, dry is probably more of a challenge & therefore IMHO a better initial test .

Originally Posted by onimaru55

What's more important is to take one of those pro honed razors & see "how" it cuts arm hair. That is then your benchmark. Try slow & gentle & every which way.

Tho wet may simulate shaving, dry is probably more of a challenge & therefore IMHO a better test .

Thanks, and agreed. But if I'm looking to figure out when to move up to a higher grit, I have no comparison, then.

Goog

I see the trouble with that, and I suggest going through a full honing with someone who knows what they're doing to learn that way. It lets you find out what each level feels like.

I agree that the tests are subjective, but in the end, so is the shave you're gonna get. So learning each of the steps that gets you to your ideal shave makes it like a "personalized objective test," if that makes sense.

You can use different tests in early stages. Even a visual is good. For me an even scratch pattern all the way to the edge often signals a change up. I use a loupe a lot, others go with the more kinesthetic approach of cutting hair but even paper works at early stages around 1k-ish. Again you're gauging "how" it cuts not if. Eventually you get a feel for the "how"

I got very tired of walking around with a bald left arm and began to go to my legs. Pretty soon I got tired of that too and as joke said, I can put the edge on my arm or leg hair and feel where it is without having to cut much if any at all. Comes with time and practice.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

You can use different tests in early stages. Even a visual is good. For me an even scratch pattern all the way to the edge often signals a change up. I use a loupe a lot, others go with the more kinesthetic approach of cutting hair but even paper works at early stages around 1k-ish. Again you're gauging "how" it cuts not if. Eventually you get a feel for the "how"

Very true. It should cut hairs at 1K, but it's a very different feeling than how it'll cut at progressively higher grits.

Originally Posted by BingoBango

I see the trouble with that, and I suggest going through a full honing with someone who knows what they're doing to learn that way. It lets you find out what each level feels like.

I agree that the tests are subjective, but in the end, so is the shave you're gonna get. So learning each of the steps that gets you to your ideal shave makes it like a "personalized objective test," if that makes sense.

Comparing with a known sharp blade is a good thing.
Working with a knowledgeable person is a BONUS, do it
when you can.

One caution is that an oiled blade will cut
arm hair "differently" than when it is dry/ clean.

A pro honed blade will commonly arrive with a light
layer of preservative oil that was applied after
it was honed. Thus, the HHT may commonly
fail or be different because of this good practice.

As a result the best test when a blade comes back
is to lather up, rinse the blade under hot tap water
and shave with it. No strop, no HHT, no arm hair test
prior to the first shave. Then strop as normal
for the second and beyond shave.

You mileage may vary.