Thread: Hanging hair test.. How sharp is sharp?

Every now and then I do a slightly different test, I wear my hair short, #1 on the clippers, sometimes I am a bit lazy and I let it grow some, just before I get the Wahl's out for a trim I take a newly honed razor and run it over the hair about 3/8" off the scalp, if the hair fly's off like grass from the back of one of those old hand push lawn mowers, I reckon it's good to go.

Originally Posted by klingenmeister

Yes overall I'm happy with my shaving experience minus a few other items and the blade cuts well when held correctly.

There is the answer, keep working on the blade angle and the actual shaving stroke, as you improve that, and as you gain expierience with stropping, the edge gains sharpness all by itself..

Quite a few variables have to all come together to get the shaves we all brag about on here, actual edge sharpness is only one of them...

Pre-shave Prep
Stropping
Angle
Pressure
Stroke
After-shave conditioning

Are just some more of them


ps: Since you are a Non-Honer you at least need to go buy a pack of DE blades and try the HHT on those to give you some idea of how it even works...
Personallly I don't even use the HHT, and if I do because I am showing a non-shaver just how sharp a SR can be I only use it after stropping.... Keep in mind that is me stropping my edge and using my test hair so it I know what to expect...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

There is the answer, keep working on the blade angle and the actual shaving stroke, as you improve that, and as you gain expierience with stropping, the edge gains sharpness all by itself..

Quite a few variables have to all come together to get the shaves we all brag about on here, actual edge sharpness is only one of them...
...

Agreed - since I have no other blade of equal or greater sharpness - judging my razors edge is proving difficult. I'll ask my brother in law if I can "see" one of his DE since that's what he shaves with...no sense wasting a buck

I just tested out using denim from a pair of jeans as a pre leather strop and that provided some improvement.

CASE CLOSED... Thanks everyone!
FYI - i'm kind of a knife nut/sharpening fan so I obsess over making sure my knives are sharp. Kitchen, pocket or facial - a knife is made for only one purpose and it should excel at it.

Originally Posted by PA23-250

I have a routine where I use arm/leg hair for that purpose: for me, the test is not so much whether the razor will grab hair, but how much resistance there is before a hair is cut. I look for none at all. The hair just falls away. It has given me a good dose of razor mange, though. Good thing it's cold out & no one can see the bald patches!

As far as a more traditional HHT, I have yet to find a useful way (for me) of doing that test. As always, YMMV.

Love it! I got a case of the same mange

Originally Posted by kamikazeproject

Yeah, you're fine. How the hanging hair test actually works is this: a hair, if you magnify it, looks like a bunch of microscopic scales. Think about a fish, if you run a knife down the side of a fish, from head to tail, the scales will most likely deflect the knife all the way down the side of the fish; but if you run the knife from tail to head, you'll start taking scales off, because the blade gets caught on the edge of the scale and digs in.... same thing happens with a razor and a hair. Always do the test towards the follicle, and it'll work every time; go against it and it's complete luck of the draw.

i never thought of this, but your right. how accurate is the test then? if you can manage to get muscle memory, and know the angle to catch the "scales" then? I have one razor, that for some reason (i think i narrowed it down to the hardness of the steel) cant do atg. the thing passes the HHT with flying colors, but it is def. not my go to razor because it just doesnt seem to get as sharp as others.

Originally Posted by Jp1munoz

. . . I have one razor, that for some reason (i think i narrowed it down to the hardness of the steel) cant do atg. the thing passes the HHT with flying colors, but it is def. not my go to razor because it just doesnt seem to get as sharp as others.

I have a few razors and have been at it for almost 3 years now. Against the advice of most here, I started honing with my first razor. Over time, I have gotten better and found that some of the earlier attempts don't shave quite as well as the more recent ones. I have found that if they are close, but not quite there, a few laps on a barber's hone (I use an 8" Swaty) will bring them up to my current standard.

Originally Posted by coloshaver

I have a few razors and have been at it for almost 3 years now. Against the advice of most here, I started honing with my first razor. Over time, I have gotten better and found that some of the earlier attempts don't shave quite as well as the more recent ones. I have found that if they are close, but not quite there, a few laps on a barber's hone (I use an 8" Swaty) will bring them up to my current standard.

I have a handful of razors, what i meant was one of them seems to not be able to go ATG. i have a john prince that is really amazing, the thing is like a tank, and gets super sharp. Also one of my TI (celebration crown) its by far my favorite. It just plows through anything effortlessly.