What do you do if nothing will pass HHT

[nicknbleeding]

So im still trying to learn to hone. Everyone says " Do the HHT" TPT. Ok so what do you do when All of your shave ready razors wont pop your arm hair. I think my arm hair is too fine. It just lays down as the blade passes. So if my sharpest shave ready razors wont do it then how can i test my honing?

[Stubear]

The shave test!

Seriously, thats the best way to see if a razor is both sharp and smooth.

Make sure you can shave arm hair at skin level off the 1k stone and then move up the grits, checking that you can shave arm hair at skin level after each stone. Once you come off your daily strop, test shave a very small patch of your face (no lather or anything) and see how the blade feels. Does it shave well? Does it pull or feel harsh on the skin?

If that test does well, lather up and do a complete shave and see how you go.

The HHT is really a parlour trick and is only any use when its been calibrated for your hair and you know what to look for using your hair.

My benchmarks are shaving arm hair at skin level off the 1k and being able to shave arm hair floating ~1mm above the skin off the 8k. I also use a loupe to watch the edge develop and I always make sure I can shave arm hair at skin level after each stone.

If you cant do that "1mm 8k" test I'd get an eye loupe, watch the edge develop using the loupe and rely on the test shave at the end to tell you how the edge is.

I always finish with a test shave of any razor I hone as thats really the only way to tell if you have a good edge. All the tests in the middle (HHT, TNT, TPT, arm hair tests etc...) just tell you how the edge is developing, but wont tell you how good the shave is.

[mainaman]

+1 with what Stu said, shave and do not worry with HHT.
If it does not shave well then most probably the bevel is not set correctly.

[JimmyHAD]

So im still trying to learn to hone. Everyone says " Do the HHT" TPT. Ok so what do you do when All of your shave ready razors wont pop your arm hair. I think my arm hair is too fine. It just lays down as the blade passes. So if my sharpest shave ready razors wont do it then how can i test my honing?

On the contrary, knowledgeable honers whose posts I read, say that the shave is the true test and the TPT and HHT are honing aids but have little to do with where the rubber meets the road. For example I have a friend who was watching Randydance honing a series of razors at an SRP meetup a couple of years ago. Randy was running the razors over the hair on his forearm without touching the skin and hair was falling like rain.

My friend is a competent honer himself, having honed many dull razors to shave ready for many members. He had never been able to pop arm hair like Randy was doing. So he asked Randy if he could try it with the razors Randy had been doing it with and did. The arm hair just brushed off of the edges without cutting. My friend felt a bit relieved that the inability to pop arm hair was due to his own hair and not because of his honing. So if you're getting a close, smooth, irritation free shave you must be doing something right.

[LarryAndro]

... My friend is a competent honer himself, having honed many dull razors to shave ready for many members. He had never been able to pop arm hair ...

That is my experience as well. Initially, I honed and honed, but could not cut arm hair. In desperation, I continued my honing and the razor shaved well!

I now use the HHT at the end of honing, and it is very useful. But, the arm hair test is useless to me.

It is my belief that if the HHT is useful for some and not others, that the arm hair test is in all likelihood useful for some and not for others.

[Joed]

... Everyone says " Do the HHT" TPT. ...

Sorry but I am at a loss here. I am not aware that everyone here says to do the HHT. If you are talking about shaving arm hairs that is different.

In the end the shave, as everyone above has noted, if the test that counts. Those of us that hone razors and try to explain the process to our SRP friends can only describe what works for us. Sometimes we just can't put into words the fine points of the process and working with someone in person really helps. If all of your razors shave you well you just need to find a way, that works for you, to identify when the razor is at that state and when it is not. The TPT, TNT, AHT and all the other tests are what has worked for different groups of people. When you find what works for you please let us know.

Good luck.

[Slartibartfast]

You can make a razor pass the HHT off of a DMT. With that said, once you have honed a few razors and know how a razor should react off various hones and when it is "Shave Ready"; it can be a handy dandy test.

[Utopian]

I think the point has already been made, so I'll beat it to death.

Don't worry about the HHT. For beginners it causes more trouble than almost anything else. They get a razor that's been freshly honed. They try the HHT and it fails IN THEIR HANDS and then try to shave. Since they don't know how to use the the razor yet, they get an awful shave, but because the razor failed the HHT, they blame the blade (and the honer) rather than their inexperience.

BTW, I'm the guy Jimmy was describing. That's right. I admit it. I've got girlie-man arm hair.

[niftyshaving]

So im still trying to learn to hone. Everyone says " Do the HHT" TPT. Ok so what do you do when All of your shave ready razors wont pop your arm hair. I think my arm hair is too fine. It just lays down as the blade passes. So if my sharpest shave ready razors wont do it then how can i test my honing?

The only test that matters is the shave test.

Any other test is simply a tool that the person honing the razor
can use to aid in the sharpening process.

First tell us how the blade shaves and then
we can help you adjust it.

For any HHT test to return positive the razor must be sharp enough
and the hair has to permit the test to work.

I swipe long black hair from my girlfriends hair brush.
If I hold it one way a razor will pass and if I hold it the other way it will not.

If I oil the blade it will not. If she used a conditioner it will not pass.

Some hair under a microscope looks like the trunk of a palm tree
and some looks smooth and polished. It just depends
on your ancestors and how you care for your hair and skin.

Smooth and polished or moisturized will just bend.

So back to the key question. How does the shave go?

[nicknbleeding]

Thank you everyone. I had a feeling that my hair is too fine. That also explaines the shinny head. LOL!

(Joed) Sorry i didnt literally mean everone. Just some people i have talked to.

(utopian) Im not blaming anyone who has honed for me. I have been battleing a Henckles. Feels super sharp then test shave and BLAH!!! Depressing because i havent found a test i can use while honing. It cuts my arm hair at skin level. Feels really sharp on my thumb. But fails when shaving.