Thread: "honed" razor still failed HHT-3?

Originally Posted by danielghofrani

Thank you for your honesty. some people refuse to accept this fact. for a while there I was so disappointed with my honing because I was told "you can get to the sharpness level of a feather blade easily with 8k norton followed by crox".

That is because it ain't a fact, now I could start with all kinds of micron measurments about how sharp blades of all kinds can get.. Or you can track down the info yourself ..

Search out the Voerhaven (sp) paper first that will give you some needed info to start your journey into sharpness

Honestly it is much better if you learn it yourself rather than have me preach about it

Originally Posted by gssixgun

That is because it ain't a fact, now I could start with all kinds of micron measurments about how sharp blades of all kinds can get.. Or you can track down the info yourself ..

Search out the Voerhaven (sp) paper first that will give you some needed info to start your journey into sharpness

Honestly it is much better if you learn it yourself rather than have me preach about it

what is the Voerhaven (sp) paper and how can I find it?

Originally Posted by danielghofrani

what is the Voerhaven (sp) paper and how can I find it?

Link here. http://www.bushcraftuk.com/downloads...nifeshexps.pdf

& another good read

WONDER PHOTOS REVEAL UNSUSPECTED FACTS ABOUT Razor Blades and Shaving (Oct, 1931)

thanks guy for all your replies and the information!

Originally Posted by HNSB

The only way the HHT will ever be meaningful for you is if you do it on a lot of razors of varying sharpness to see how YOUR hair reacts to different edges.
Your hair might be a HHT-3 on a blade and someone elses could be a HHT-12 on the same blade. (I don't really know the number system, but you get the idea...)

As to the discomfort it could be that the blade is not quite sharp, it could be bad stropping, it could be bad shave-prep, or it could be your technique.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

And that about says it all

i guess there are lots of factors that need to be taken into account. judging on the information i would then say that the HHT's would not be a true indication of the blades sharpness. in my case it would more likely be the stropping. i think my shave prep is ok (1. i shower and exfoliate with a scrubbing glove, 2. allowing about 80% air dry after shower, 3. massage my face with olive oil, 4. finally lather/apply).

as for my technique i try to really get the angle of the blade right (i guess that's why i take so long! i've even drawn a little picture of my face and put arrows in the direction my facial hair grows so i can remember which way to go!). at the very least i think i have at least 1 of the 3 KPI's (my shave prep, others being strop and tech). so, guess my razor may not need a hone after all? :P

Originally Posted by mainaman

Shavette and straight razor are not the same animal when it comes to shaving. Disposable blades are much sharper, that being said a well honed straight razor should feel very comfortable when shaving. How shave ready the razor is heard to tell, a way to know is to shave with a pro honed razor so you have some baseline to compare against. As said above apart from the blade, there are other factors that can affect the shave, stropping, technique, prep etc.

i guess that would explain why my disposable blades were sharper. i just thought that 'honed and shave-ready' actually meant that i could take the blade out of the box and instantly start shaving without having to strop. they should change this meaning to something else. my suggestion would be 'honed and strop-ready' instead :P

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

As to the shave, if you're taking 45 minutes to shave, I would suspect your shave technique is at the beginner's level. That can make a big difference in the feel of the blade regardless of how well it is honed. I can't say whether your razor is well honed and shave ready without seeing and feeling it for myself but I do know that nuances of skin stretching, blade angle and stroke play a large part in the success or failure of a shave. Just IMHO.

yep you're right, i am a white belt in the shaving dojo! although i did do a shave yesterday in around 30 mins with about 3 or so nicks (cause i was late for work) getting better

very good read, thank you

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

It *is* on the logarithmic scale. Each number represents a HHT-ability thrice that of the previous number ergo HHT-5 is actually 81 times as capable of HHT-ing as HHT-1. HHT-6 has only been achieved once in an orbiting laboratory by a self-certifiable honemaestronaut

i understand......... 0.0

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Wow a ton of thoughts, again


How about the simple one

HHT is used by the person Honing the razor if they so choose, it means nothing to the shaver

you just made the most revolutionary comment in straight shaving history

It could have been a bad hone job, it's possible and has happened to me before so I sent the razor somewhere else & it came back much better. Just make sure your techniques are correct first. Also, none of my razors have passed a HHT, and they're all good shavers. I feel that the best test is shaving with it, facial hair is not the same as the rest of your hair.

Originally Posted by justalex

Beat me too it, the wiki should probably include a warning to new users that until they are competent in all other aspects of str8 honing, the HHT is pretty useless and not always necessary for a good shave, unless its already there then forget I said anything.

I put together a warning awhile ago, just never got around to putting it in the wiki:





Is that clear enough?

Originally Posted by HNSB

I put together a warning awhile ago, just never got around to putting it in the wiki:





Is that clear enough?

this should definately be in the wiki!

i'm quite certain at where i stand with the HHT and understand it more. i now think that we newbies need to understand the HHT a bit better, because if we don't then there will be a lot of frustrated shavers wanting to "re-hone" their razors unnecessarily. i think (in my experience anyway) that because some sites charge a little extra for honing the blade, when the blade is received by the new user, they have nothing to compare it to. they are just going to assume that their 'honed' razor is going to give them an immaculate shave. then of course when they don't get that (just like what happened to me) they will not think of the other factors and either give up, complain to the vendor (i'm sure there are a lot of you vendors out there that have had many complaints about 'un-honed' razors!), or send it away to get it 're-honed'.

so just to sum it all up for me, and others out there, FORGET THE HHT. STROP, SHAVE PREP, TECHNIQUE. if you are certain of all these areas first, then look at the blade itself.

i guess its all in the learning!