Thread: Let's talk HHT

No HHT here either. Lynn taught me to memorize the TPT feel of the blade after each stage of honing.

I use that and a shave test. Sometimes it goes back to the hones - sometimes not.

IMHO - nothing else really matters.

I learned a lot from Glen's posts on how to approach the HHT. I only do it after stropping and I did have to learn the technique to make it work for me. I can get there most of the time but one thing I discovered along the way is that a razor doesn't have to pass HHT to give me a good shave. YMMV. I have gone through periods where I was obsessed with it but since I learned it I'm not as concerned with it now. I use the TPT more than anything in the realm of testing while honing and the shave test, as Lynn points out, is the main thing.

Here's where I'm at:

TNT: Don't use it, don't need it.

Arm (leg) hair at skin level: Will tell me when the bevel is set.

TPT: Double check for the bevel. Sometimes will help me identify a small area of the bevel that's not quite there. Becomes useless (for me) as I approach the final edge. Finished edges often feel like dull bevels to me.

HHT: Check before and after stropping (after finishing). If it's positive on both, I'm in for a great shave. If positive only post-stropping, it still may be outstanding. If negative post-strop, maybe it will shave well, maybe not. BTW, I use a stock of human hair I purchased; even within this sample, there are clearly thinner and thicker hairs. HHT is at least as dependent on the qualities of the hair as on the qualities of the razor edge, IMHO.

"Skimming" arm or leg hair about 1 cm from the skin. Correlates well with the HHT. Used as a double-check on the HHT pre-and post-stropping a finished edge.

Shave test: Within the category of "shaves well" razors, there can be considerable variation, and it takes experience to tell the difference. They may all get you there, but how easily they do it is key. Unconsciously using pressure on a less-than-ideal edge may give you a shave indistinguishable from a perfect edge, except the alum stings a little more, or that one stubborn patch under the outer quarter of your right jawline still has the smallest stubble left. All my current razors shave well; a few shave superlatively well. I'm working on the others.

Originally Posted by pcb01

"Skimming" arm or leg hair about 1 cm from the skin. Correlates well with the HHT. Used as a double-check on the HHT pre-and post-stropping a finished edge.

+1 on skimming. I call it popping hair. Another thing I've noticed as my shave technique has improved I get a DFS 98% of the time regardless.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

+1 on skimming. I call it popping hair. ....

I call it "Hairy Poppings"!

Bevels on razors and bright yellow Nakys.
Henkels and Bengalls and no dodgy Pakis.
Bright blue Asagis all tied up with string!
These are a few of my favourite things!

James.

Originally Posted by Lynn

It's funny how we always come back to setting a bevel.

At this stage, I know that if the bevel is set correctly and I follow my normal honing process, the razor will usually be a good shaver.

Yeah man, that's what it's all about.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I call it "Hairy Poppings"!

Bevels on razors and bright yellow Nakys.
Henkels and Bengalls and no dodgy Pakis.
Bright blue Asagis all tied up with string!
These are a few of my favourite things!

James.

James, you got waaay too much time on your hands mate!


Mick

I use the arm, or wrist, or knee, or leg test! I have found that a true HHT is just to time consuming and not the same as an "on the body" hair.
I have found that, as always is the case, that when the bevel is set and I look at it though a 30X magnifier and like the looks of the edge I will do an above the skin test. I can tell even if it does not cut any hairs when it is sharp because it will start to "catch" the hairs. I will then start my polishing and I may hit the arm hairs at about the 12K point just to make sure that the toe and the heel are even in sharpness. Why the just the heel and toe? I have found that the middle is not usually the problem area. After I am done I now seriously hit the arm hairs and I can tell by the feel as it cuts the hairs just how sharp the razor is. Hair tests do not give an indication of smoothness, just keenness. When I finish the final polishing I will go to the skin and drop 4 or 5 hairs at different points along the blade and if they don't just fall over then I know that I had better take a couple of steps backwards.

Take Care,
Richard

Originally Posted by gssixgun

In my personal experience I use a HHT, but not to determine shave readiness, I use it so that I know the edge is keen and ready to be shave tested, Only a shave test determines shave readiness...

Personally I think any HHT before the final stropping is a waste of time, IME it isn't accurate, perhaps you can develop it into an accurate test, myself I think the other sharpness test at the lower levels work better...

Pretty much says it all for me & how I use it. There are variables like user skill etc. but the constants are that good steel optimally honed will simply cut most any hair & do it comfortably at skin level.

+1 on reverse engineering the HHT. If you have a razor of known sharpness it takes the guesswork out of the equation. All you need do then is see how & what hair it will HHT.
I wonder if anyone has measured these uncuttable thin hairs with a Vernier or such ? I know I can HHT a 2.5 thou hair. It probably doesn't matter if you can make the test your own.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I call it "Hairy Poppings"!

Bevels on razors and bright yellow Nakys.
Henkels and Bengalls and no dodgy Pakis.
Bright blue Asagis all tied up with string!
These are a few of my favourite things!

James.

Fantastic!


I use the HHT all the time. (And the whole raft of other tests.) I've learned to read what each tells me, to an extent. The hair will often behave in certain ways at certain points. There are a million shades of sharpness between SAH and HHT 5 and the way it cuts can tell a lot. Even the way it doesn't cut tells me something.
I use a consistent sample, washed clean and glued into a knot, but even then there isn't a direct correlation between shave quality and HHT values. There have been a few anomolies, in which edges passed every test well, but shaved harshly. I have found that every blade that fails my standards for HHT results shaves poorly, but not every blade that passes shaves well. My results seem to also hold true for edges done by others.

Another test I find that gives me a bit of insight into what to expect for the actual shave is the sensation on the more sensitive skin of my forearm. A blade that proves to shave harshly will often leave a faint tingling sensation on my arm skin during testing. A smooth shaving edge will leave no sensation behind. I took me a while to put that together though, because I often hone days in advance of shaving so I've started to include those results into my honing journal.