How to tell if it is honed enough. Razor is splitting single hair.

Hi all,

I have been working on a CV Heljestrand and I've been using a Norton Soft Arkansas Oilstone SB8. After several laps on the stone I tried the hair test. The hair was not severed on contact like some of my other razors. I lifted the hair up and down and at one point, the hair stuck on the razor and I pulled down. As I pulled down, a "peeling" effect occured where the razor seemed to make 1 strand of hair into 2 as I pulled the strand across the blade.

Has anyone seen this happen and does that mean my razor is sharp enough?

Forget the HHT, just shave with the razor and you will know if it is shave ready.

I plan on it. I've just never had that occur during a HHT. Thanks!

HHT does not tell you anything about how the razor will shave, unless you have calibrated the test to a particular type of hair.
For example if the hair is cut you do not know if the edhe will feel smooth to the skin., If the hair is not cut that also does nor mean that the edge will not cut beard hair and you still do not know if the edge will feel smooth or not.
SO shave test is best, you can learn TPT or use a scope/loupe to tell where the edge is on each stone.

Like stefan said, just shave with it. That's the only true test..

A little more about calibrating hair, and why the HHT is meaningless initially...

If you have a perfectly honed razor, my hair might be cut in two like a laser, while yours might not be cut at all. You start with a razor you know is shave ready, then apply the HHT about every 1/4 inch of the blade. Be sure you do so using more than one hair, as not all hair out of a head are the same. (Occasionally, I find a thin hair in my head that won't be cut, while most of my hair cuts easily.)

Watch the behavior of the HHT, whether it is cut, sliced, vibrates or what. And, remember, for a successful HHT, it might simply vibrate wildly, or who knows what. You HAVE to have a shave ready razor, and then calibrate... determine the exhibited behavior... of the razor.

If you'd like to educate yourself on the HHT and its usage, the WIKI has an article on it, here:

Hanging Hair Test, from trick to probing method - Straight Razor Place Wiki

When I first started honing and using hair tests that happened to me also. My hair would not get cut but it would split and the shave was not all that good. After learning more and with help my honing is much better and I now have some nice stones and on my hair test when the hair is cut without feeling any pull and the hair pops onto the blade or just falls right in front of blade it is ready for a test shave. Now I have to work on smooth but I'm getting there.
Glenn C

Here's how I made the HHT useful for myself:

1) I chose a consistent source (only the white hairs on my chest)
2) I observed how my HHT behaved on a razor I knew to shave nicely
3) I did the HHT on that razor when I got it out of the stand, then again after a preshave stropping, then again after the shave, then again after the postshave stropping. This way I could relate the subtle differences in HHT results to the wear and tear of oxidation and shaving.

It's better, IMO, to think about your OWN HHT, rather than "the" HHT. For myriad reasons, there is no One True HHT. As everyone says, the one true test is if your razor shaves your beard. Once you know it does that to your satisfaction, you can develop your own HHT to monitor the slow changes that occur with use, or the faster changes that occur during honing.

By the way, my experience is that a splitting hair indicates an edge that is not quite sharp enough to get all the way through the hair. For more hair-splitting detail, read the HHT scoring sheet at the end of http://www.coticule.be/hanging-hair-test.html

Short answer to your question is your blade is not shave ready yet.
In the other hands what has been said before me is correct too.
hairs are different.
even in different portion of the body thickness of the hair is not same and your blade will
cut them differently.
Darn Color has effect too.
now go figure it out.
hope this helps.

Unfortunatley, New guys put way too much stock in HHT. Take guys like Lynn and Glen. They'd be bald honemeister's by now if they used the HHT to test ever razor they honed. I posted the Dovo video before. At the factory, they have synthetic test hair they use, so each and every hair is standard. Like Hi Bud Gl said, each and every hair is different, even on different parts of our body. Learn the Tpt, and finally, just shave with it....
That's the best test...Don't worry about "Spliting Hairs"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by capirucho

Hi all,

I have been working on a CV Heljestrand
..snip...
As I pulled down, a "peeling" effect occured where the razor seemed to make 1 strand of
hair into 2 as I pulled the strand across the blade.

Has anyone seen this happen and does that mean my razor is sharp enough?

---

I have seen this and it tells me that it is ready to shave test.

I have also seen it from a burr. Since a burr is fragile the shave degrades
very quickly and lots of nicks. A burr can also tell you that the bevel is coming
together and it is time for light finish hone strokes with a much finer hone.

In my experience, an Arkansas stone is famous for building up a burr
what you want for a razor is the 'pre burr' condition if you do
not have a barber hone or other finisher to switch to.
Soft Arkansas stones are not the best choice for a razor
but some folk with experience and a light touch do fine.
I would shop for a Norton 4K/8K combo... or if you wish to
stay with Arkansas hones look for a hard black or translucent
Arky.

Even though I know that every comment about the HHT inevitably starts a general HHT discussion like this one has become, remember that my only purpose in starting this thread was to mention an alternative way of holding hair during the HHT.

You guys have fun though...

If the hair splits & doesn't cut you're close but no cigar... However stropping may do the trick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

If the hair splits & doesn't cut you're close but no cigar... However stropping may do the trick

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Onimaru makes a good point about stropping. I have taken a razor that didn't want to shave and stropped on linen and then on a good leather strop with a good amount of draw and the blade shaved quite nicely. Stropping is just as important as honing.

I have never been succesfull with the HHT. I tried my hair, my wife's, the cat's. It just won't happen. Just to be fair, I have blades honed by Glen, Lynn and Sham, whom I hear may know a thing or two about this steel on stone thing.

Eventually I gave up on "tests" that are subjective and bought a set of loupes. Now I can look at an edge and I know what's going on. Whether you have a burr, and uneven bevel or a jagged edge you can see it. Maybe in time I'll learn some of them tests, but maybe I'll just spend time riding or play the guitar or shaving or something.

I'm not saying they can't be useful or learned, but for the noobs like me it's pretty rough to do something that has an uncertain outcome at the hands of experienced honers and interpret the results properly.

Just start shaving lol.

I've seen this happen quite a few times. On my hair it usually means things are Ok, but I usually dont see it until 8k+. I think it caused by the fact that the hair is usually being cut about an inch from where its being held at this stage, so the blade is cutting into a slight bend in the hair.

It usually isn't consistent, though, one hair will get split, but another will cut. From your post it looks like your talking about what happened with a single hair, once. For a blade to pass a HHT it needs to consistently cut hanging hairs, just not a single hair, one time.

Forget the HHT.
Just shave. -> Does it feel good? Yes or No...
It is as simple as that.

What Otto said. It really is that simple.

All the tests are used for is to gauge how an edge is progressing as you hone. It won't tell you what the shave is like, only shaving with it will do that! :)

I do use the hht and always have done , with certain types of hair. I find it can become an obsession if your not careful. My last ti honed up on my lpb gave me one of the lesser hht's by far it either passed or nothing at all. I thought soddit and shaved , i was'nt expecting much. the shave was absalutley beautiful and very smooth, so much so this razor did'nt need any thing else .
gary