Thread: How sharp off the Norton 8K?

I was working on my new Norton tonight and I'm having a really tough time getting any hairs to cut too. Could it be that the coarseness or lack thereof of the hair affects the HHT?

I bought one of those $10 microscopes at Radio shack and I look at the edge an it looks very nice and smooth after some laps on the 8K, but I don't know. The hairs just get pushed away from the blade pretty much all of the time.

I do feel that I've gotten very good at keeping the blade flat while applying hardly any pressure at all. That took some time to get comfortable with.

Maybe since my hair is somewhat fine (on my head) I should just try shaving with them and see what's what.

Using fine hair for the HHT makes it very difficult to pass. My hair is just right but I never let it grow long enough lol.

Originally Posted by spacetoast

I was working on my new Norton tonight and I'm having a really tough time getting any hairs to cut too. Could it be that the coarseness or lack thereof of the hair affects the HHT?

Yes. The best hair to use for the HHT is probably facial hair, but most of us don't have any long enough anymore.

The hair on my head doesn't work with the HHT, so I use the hair on my arm instead. It took a little experimentation to figure out which part of my arm had the best hair for the HHT. I used a honemeister blade and went around my arm popping hair until I found where the hair got fine enough that even it couldn't pop them. Then I used that as my target while honing.

Originally Posted by mparker762

Yes. The best hair to use for the HHT is probably facial hair, but most of us don't have any long enough anymore.

The hair on my head doesn't work with the HHT, so I use the hair on my arm instead. It took a little experimentation to figure out which part of my arm had the best hair for the HHT. I used a honemeister blade and went around my arm popping hair until I found where the hair got fine enough that even it couldn't pop them. Then I used that as my target while honing.

That is an excellent idea. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm just going to send one of my razors to someone so I will have a standard to compare to.

That certainly makes me feel better knowing about the hair thickness. Sitting at the table with your hones and razors and feeling like you are getting nowhere is a bummer.

Spacetoast,

It's funny how we're all so different: My arm hair is blond and so fine that I've never been able to do the "arm hair test."

Your best bet is probably to get a honemeister razor and learn the thumb test. I'm working on getting a feel for that now.

If you can snag some hairs from someone else, or possibly a dog, that might work for you too. I have a handful of hair in a little ziplock bag that I kept from last time I cut my hair.

Josh

Getting an expertly honed razor is a great idea. Each individual has different hair, the key is knowing what your hair does vs a sharp blade.

I don't think I'm the only one that thinks like this but sharpness tests aren't something you pass or don't pass. Its a reactionary observation. You observe what the blade does in response to a test. Cutting arm hair is a good minimum baseline for me. Cutting hair confidently is a completely greater success. Its watching how the blade functions, sounds, pops (or lack thereof) etc. that should be evaluated.

Its possible to "pass" an HHT and have a horrible edge or vice a versa.

For your razor I'd simply remove more metal on 4K, then work your way back up.

I doubt your razors are sharp at all, simply because getting HHT sharp is pretty challenging for a while but I also suggest you learn the thumb testing procedures too.

I'd try just shaving and see where your face thinks your at.

Robert Williams also created a good test that was "control neutral", it had something to do with creating a curve of paper towel and trying to cut the paper towel. I'd suggest a search on that or perhaps a PM to him too. I don't have any personal experience with the technique though.

It's not the matter weather the razor will or will not cut the hair, but the cutting quality is what counts. You can slice a hanging hair and still get lousy shave.

One needs experience in the hanging hair test, to evaluate the quality of the cut. The razor cuts the hair effortlessly, sometimes it cuts it with a "pop", sometimes cuts it and fold it, and sometimes splice it.

Also, a valuable thing to observe during the hanging hair test is the amount of pulling sensation in the fingers holding the hair.

I, however, evaluate the razor (after stropping) by lightly floating or hovering it at the ends of my arm hair (brown). It always cuts it, but I get a really good shave when I hardly feel the hairs being cut, opposite to slight tingling or pulling sensation when the razor is less than sharp...



Nenad

So I guess the real trick is to get a sharp razor that shaves well and figure out a way to identify that sharpness that works for you. Whether it be doing a HHT with your own hair, or arm hairs, or getting to understand what the sharpness feels like on the pads of your fingers, etc.

Looks like the best thing to do is start with a sharp razor and correlate it to some kind identifying test that works for one personally.