Bringing the HHT to its knees

I have been trying to get some razors Shave Ready for over a week now with little success. I have also been trying to get a razor, any razor, to pass the HHT. The ones I done have all failed, of course, because they won't even shave. But some I have from some various honemeisters don't pass the HHT either.

However, NOW ALL MY PROBLEMS ARE SOLVED!!!

I just bought one off Ebay that is not only Shave Ready, but is also
advertised as passing the HHT with ease. So, now I finally have a
standard to judge all my other razors by and can live comfortably
in the satisfaction that I may have (soon anyway) perhaps the
absolute SHARPEST STRAIGHT RAZOR on the planet, perhaps in the
whole galaxy and maybe even beyond that (I haven't been off the
planet myself, except for once when I, oh, never mind).

Link to new razor?

HHT is one of those subjective test you need to figure out. Razors will react differently to different hair.

I have found most shave ready hollow ground razors react a certain way to my wifes hair when I try the HHT. On the other hand, I can make a razor pass the hht off of a DMT. YMMV.

congratulations on the problem-solving power of your faith in the promises in the ad. May your newly purchased razor fulfill them on arrival :)

I worked on some ebay razors and was thrilled when I honed a whole set (7) that passed the HHT. The thrill left when the first one I used was giving such a lousy shave that I picked another. That one gave a great shave. I finally get what the senior members on here mean when they say the HHT isn't the be-all and end-all of testing a razor. Only the shave counts. I'm sure, though, that your new razor will give an excellent shave! Let us know.

People put too much stock in the HHT, Shaving is the true test. Don't get hung up spliting hairs.....Learn how to judge the blade with the TPT, after a while, you'll know what a shave ready blade feels like...

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Originally Posted by ace

... I just bought one off Ebay that is not only Shave Ready, but is also advertised as passing the HHT with ease....

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If I tried to sell a knife, and claimed that it would slice like a laser through rope, you would rightly think it was a misleading claim. What type of rope... hemp, nylon, mylar? One inch thick? Rope, like used for tying ships to docks?

To make claims about a razor passing the HHT with ease, you have to know what type hair. And, that is impossible! And, if the seller was saying that it passed the HHT with ease, speaking of his hair, then that is also a useless claim when applied to your hair.

His hair might be thin nylon, and your hair might be tough mylar!

Beat me to it! Exactly. That test means nothing until you have personally calibrated it to your hair & even then, it can give misleading results.

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Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Link to new razor?

HHT is one of those subjective test you need to figure out. Razors will react differently to different hair.

I have found most shave ready hollow ground razors react a certain way to my wifes hair when I try the HHT. On the other hand, I can make a razor pass the hht off of a DMT. YMMV.

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Here's the link, if I got it right.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=1206753 94001&si=Q4fUBiJEa4jZaXLzRZO2Ram7RFQ%253D&viewitem =&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT

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Originally Posted by LarryAndro

if the seller was saying that it passed the HHT with ease, speaking of his hair, then that is also a useless claim when applied to your hair.

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I have found this to be true. I've gotten obsessed with the HHT in the past and it is alright to be that way. Eventually you'll get to the point where you can get it routinely and when you do you may find, as maineeagle posted earlier, that the HHT is not a prerequisite for a smooth and close shave. :hmmm:

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Originally Posted by PA23-250

Beat me to it! Exactly. That test means nothing until you have personally calibrated it to your hair & even then, it can give misleading results.

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Wait a second! Are you telling me that I can't believe everything I read on Ebay? Are you saying that some of the sellers would overstate the quality of their merchandise or charge more than its worth? Say it ain't so! Does this mean that I may not have the sharpest straight razor in the world on its way to lay the whiskers on my face asunder? Oh, the humanity!

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Originally Posted by ace

Wait a second! Are you telling me that I can't believe everything I read on Ebay? Are you saying that some of the sellers would overstate the quality their merchandise or charge more than its worth. Say it ain't so! Does this mean that I may not have the sharpest straight razor in the world on its way to lay the whiskers on my face asunder? Oh, the humanity!

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It will either deliver the goods or it won't, HHT aside. :gl:

Ace, was your first post serious or sarcastic? What about the one Jimmy quoted?

The HHT is useless for me. I shave my head and the only hair I have access to is from my wife and stepdaughter and I have never been able to get it to pass the HHT with any blade I have. That includes pro honed and the ones I have done. Never passed, not once! I use the TPT and body hair shaving to tell me when to shave test.

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Originally Posted by Danricgro

The HHT is useless for me. I shave my head and the only hair I have access to is from my wife and stepdaughter and I have never been able to get it to pass the HHT with any blade I have. That includes pro honed and the ones I have done. Never passed, not once! I use the TPT and body hair shaving to tell me when to shave test.

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I've never shaved my own head but I've shaved the back and sides of more than one customer's head to tattoo them. I can guarantee that a razor that will successfully head shave is shave ready indeed regardless of the HHT. IME the hair on the sides and back of the head is more dense and tougher than any whisker.

Uggh, not again...dead horse, dead horse! ;):banghead:

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Originally Posted by avatar1999

Uggh, not again...dead horse, dead horse! ;):banghead:

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:deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse:

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Originally Posted by maineeagle

I worked on some ebay razors and was thrilled when I honed a whole set (7) that passed the HHT. The thrill left when the first one I used was giving such a lousy shave that I picked another. That one gave a great shave. I finally get what the senior members on here mean when they say the HHT isn't the be-all and end-all of testing a razor. Only the shave counts. I'm sure, though, that your new razor will give an excellent shave! Let us know.

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+1 on that...when I hone any razor in my rotation, I set the bevel and test it by shaving arm hair; if the blade pops arm hair, I go to the next step and polish the edge, strop and shave. HOG

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Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Ace, was your first post serious or sarcastic? What about the one Jimmy quoted?

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First of all, if my post that Jimmy quoted seemed sarcastic I meant no disrespect by it. I meant it to be funny, but on second reading I'm not
particularly impressed with it. I should have added a smiley to make myself clear, and I apologize for that.

The original post was meant to be funny as well. The irony of that one
is that I in fact did purchase the razor, not because I was convinced that it would arrive in HHT shape, but because I just wanted to see for myself. I figured either it would pass the test and I could shave with it, or I would have a new razor to attack with my meager honing skills. I'm out of "beaters" at the moment and have no other access to them.

If I stepped on any toes, I didn't mean to. I value SRP and would still be hacking away with a Pro Fusion if not for this forum. You can delete the whole thread if you wish, and I'll consider it a lesson learned.

Hey Ace, just IMHO, good that you resurrected the dead horse. The volume of new guys who come here daily, not to mention those new guys that lurk, need to see the truth about the HHT. New threads on it make sure that those folks get some perspective on it too.

A razor with an unsmooth edge that has a lot of groves in it from honing on harsh stones can pass a HHT with ease too because of the "Teeth" on the edge. That doesn't mean the razor is shave ready.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Hey Ace, just IMHO, good that you resurrected the dead horse. The volume of new guys who come here daily, not to mention those new guys that lurk, need to see the truth about the HHT. New threads on it make sure that those folks get some perspective on it too.

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Thanks! It's an interesting test, and one that I would love to see one of my razors pass one day, but I'm not hung up on it. I have some razors that ought to pass it but don't. My shavette with a Feather blade can't pull if off, and that tells me something. I don't worry about it, but when I see Philadelph do it, I know it can be done. Of course, in the end, there is really only one test that matters, and, to be honest, I can't pass that one either. :banghead: :boohoo: :confused: :mad:

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Originally Posted by ace

My shavette with a Feather blade can't pull if off, and that tells me something. I don't worry about it, but when I see Philadelph do it, I know it can be done.

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An example of the differences encountered with the HHT. Philadelph can do it with the hair he is using. If your Feather blade won't do it I expect your doing it with a honed straight would be a real longshot. All hair isn't created equal.

Good point! I've tried a straight on Badger Bristle and that didn't work, but I suspect that's a tougher test. I got my daughter's hair brush and scavenged some hair from it to use. The problem is her hair is very long, blond, and quite fine. You'd laugh if you could see me trying the HHT when her hair is so light it just hovers over the blade and can barely be made to touch it, let alone get cut by it. Still.......................one day?

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Originally Posted by ace

Good point! I've tried a straight on Badger Bristle and that didn't work, but I suspect that's a tougher test. I got my daughter's hair brush and scavenged some hair from it to use. The problem is her hair is very long, blond, and quite fine. You'd laugh if you could see me trying the HHT when her hair is so light it just hovers over the blade and can barely be made to touch it, let alone get cut by it. Still.......................one day?

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Unfortunately, the HHT is a very controversial test, as by now I'm sure you're well aware. :)

You'll hear the "There's only one test. The shave test" repeated ad nauseum, and yes, it's true that it *is* the final, and most important, of the sharpness test.

However, IMO, there's nothing wrong with enjoying this little hobby. And for some, that means attempting to get their honing skills to the point that they can get some sort of HHT response on some type (any type!) of hair. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with that... as long as you're getting comfortably shaves, nothing else really matters

There are also those that use the HHT test quite a lot. There's nothing wrong with that, either.

This whole hobby is one of subjectivity; some guys like certain sharpness tests, honing methods, and razors. Other guys like other stuff. That's the way it should be.

It's important that guys learn how to use all the tests correctly. Used correctly, every sharpness test has merit. It's just learning how to gauge those tests that can be a challenge. Part of the fun of this hobby is that it is easily learned, but hard to master, with so many things to learn along the way.

Just have fun with it!

I'm betting you'll get your HHT someday. :beer1:

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Originally Posted by FloorPizza

It's important that guys learn how to use all the tests correctly. Used correctly, every sharpness test has merit. It's just learning how to gauge those tests that can be a challenge.

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BINGO !!!!!

Very well put...

Something I found interesting is that feathers don't work well for me in the HHT department (at all), but my straights do :shrug:

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Originally Posted by richmondesi

Something I found interesting is that feathers don't work well for me in the HHT department (at all), but my straights do :shrug:

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My Derbys pass, but with a pop and ping. Probably because the blade is so incredibly thin.

I'm working on a hanging hare test myself. I hold them by the long floppy ears and . . . well, I'll skip the details.

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I'm working on a hanging hare test myself. I hold them by the long floppy ears and . . . well, I'll skip the details.

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How 'bout some pics !:D

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I'm working on a hanging hare test myself. I hold them by the long floppy ears and . . . well, I'll skip the details.

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You hold "them"? How many do you "test" at one time? ;)

Just one at a time, but I find that you can't make a family dinner with just one. ;)

instead of trying to pass the hanging hair test.. try to pass the shave your face test.