Thread: Effect of blade geometry on shave, hht performance

I have two new razors I just honed. One is a hollow ground torrey, which touches a hanging hair and the half not being held jumps up and seems propelled away from the other half. Its quite remarkable actually. Without any pressure, it touches a hair and there is a light popping sound.
My other, a near-wedge F Herder behaves quite differently. It will catch a hanging hair and, more often than not, slice it up the middle, often without fully severing it. It gives hanging hairs a shave. I am wondering if:
A. Others have noticed this or if the wedge just isnt as sharp as the hollow-ground blade (certainly every time I do a few [~50] laps on my .25μ pasted strop it still seems to benefit marginally).
B. If these are common traits of the grinds and how the hht responds to them, should they give similar shaves, notwithstanding the different hht results?

Let's see if I can help steer you correctly...

For the HHT to mean anything at all, first you must quantify it, which means that after you get a few razors to shave decently from your honing efforts, then and only then should you try the HHT on a razor that you know shaves your face well...

Basically the shave test is what counts, then if you want to play around with the HHT you can figure out how the hair that you are using relates, if at all to a shave ready edge that you produced ...

Now to give you the bad news a shave ready edge, is a shave ready edge, and should react the same to a hair, whether it is on the face or in the air.. So given the same source of hair and the same motion etc: when using the HHT then yes, your wedge is not as sharp as yer hollow... BUT the HHT isn't that accurate until you quantify it... back to square one

Originally Posted by Rsq

A. Others have noticed this

No, there simply is no such relationship between the razor grind and the HHT performance.
As Glen, suggested, start with the test that matters. You also need more than a single data point before considering generalizations.

LOL, I just love these HHT threads. Good advice given above. I would forget the HHT as a test for shave ready and just enjoy the results for now. A good test for shave ready is to shave arm hairs prior to a face shave. If you talk to any Barber with experience he will tell you that facial hair is much different than the hair on your head and the majority of the rest of your body. We won't go there. The best advice we can give ya is to take your newly honed razors to your next shave along with one of your current shavers. Shave a small section of your face with the newly honed razor WTG. If that works well continue shaving with it. If not back to the hones. Many of the guys that professionally hone razors will shave a small section of their face as a final test to see if the razor is shave ready. Do note that there are many levels of shave ready edges which vary even from the same person doing the honing. The HHT is a fun test but it usually is not very reliable. I have seen many a razors not pass the test but still shave well.

I have to agree that the HHT test is over-rated. If a razor doesn't perform a HHT test, it doesn't mean that it won't shave well.

Without stirring the coals, the HHT test is sort of a parlor trick. The test is demonstrating the ability to separate hair sections, not actually cut it. I can't claim any proof, but when testing two razor of equal (geometric) sharpness, a smooth, clean edge does worse than a sharp, saw-like edge with this test.

Of course, this is my opinion.

just because the razor can pass the HHT , does not mean it will feel great when you shave with it.
HHT gives indication of sharpness but not of smoothness.
Just shave with the razors and forget about the HHT.

I've probably said this before in other HHT threads, but I have only been able to get one razor to pass a HHT.This razor also happened to give me the worst shave I've ever had. Felt like shaving with a garden rake'

This is interesting. Ive honed 5 razors, and found that the hht has been a reliable indicator until i did it with a vintage dubl duck. This passed the hht just fine, mybe not as vigorously as my dovos, but it then did a number on my face. Three days later, I still dare not shave for all of the razor bumps it left. Worst shave since the first time i used a straight, and maybe worse than that. Nonetheless, I will not put a razor to my face until I can get it to pass the hht. If nothing else, it does indicate a certain minimum degree of sharpness.

Originally Posted by Rsq

This is interesting. Ive honed 5 razors, and found that the hht has been a reliable indicator until i did it with a vintage dubl duck. This passed the hht just fine, mybe not as vigorously as my dovos, but it then did a number on my face. Three days later, I still dare not shave for all of the razor bumps it left. Worst shave since the first time i used a straight, and maybe worse than that. Nonetheless, I will not put a razor to my face until I can get it to pass the hht. If nothing else, it does indicate a certain minimum degree of sharpness.

Sounds like you are at a loss for a better test so you are relying on a test that has been proven to be of no value to you. Try shaving arm hairs. While not as good as a shave test it would give better results than the HHT which has failed for you. It's your face, just trying to save you and others reading this thread some grief. Good luck.

Joed, my dear friend, how right you are.

I have learned what little I know of honing from three masters: Lynn, Randy, and Sham. These gentlemen are the gods of honing. Yet none ever framed the blasted hanging-hair-test as the ultimate for the blade's shave-readiness. To these craftsmen it's the shave test that determines if the razor is shave-ready. So I continue to listen to them as I refine my humble honing skills in their image.

Stay well.