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

To give you an idea of the importance of the last finishing touches on a razor's edge:

I took a blade that was pulling my hair, but shaving none the less, and gave it 6 laps on CrOx strop and then ~ 80 laps on clean leather.
It went from HHT1-2 to HHT5.
Stropping is very important!

For me, the HHT is precursor before the shave. The HHT gives me an indicator of the condition of the edge before I put that blade to my face. People are welcome to disagree with me, but that's how I do it and I do not expect anyone to follow suit.

Originally Posted by Joed

Wow, l guess it was only a matter of time before someone over thought the HHT and tried to turn it into a science. It all sounds silly to me. The only real test that matters is the shave test so why not just get 'er done? Just because a razor can cut a hair hanging from your fingers, after being properly preped and pointing in the right direction, doesn't mean that the edge is in that condition for it's entire length! I guess if we over think it we can have a pile of hairs properly prepped and ready and try the test every .0015" to check the entire edge. My point is that an edge may start with a slight wave or worse especially a vintage razor that's been kicking around who knows where. Smiling and wedge razors are another example where the edge sharpness may vary over it's length. Change the hair and it's a whole new game. Sorry but this 'science' don't hunt for me. Silly is the best way I can describe it IMHO.

Originally Posted by pmburk

For me, the HHT is precursor before the shave. The HHT gives me an indicator of the condition of the edge before I put that blade to my face. People are welcome to disagree with me, but that's how I do it and I do not expect anyone to follow suit.

This is after you hone the razor ????

Yes. I do my own honing. I do not hone for other people.

My goof, I forgot to mention that in Post #42.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

This is after you hone the razor ????

Originally Posted by pmburk

Yes. I do my own honing. I do not hone for other people.

My goof, I forgot to mention that in Post #42.

I wanted to clarify because there are major misconceptions with the HHT.. What the op posted and what you and I are saying are two different senarios...

If yer doing the honing and want to use the TNT AHT TPT and HHT more power to ya it is your choice..

Read posts #17 #25 and #27 and you will see that we are on the same page

Thanks Glenn,
I was expressing my opinion about using HHT only for me and again, I forgot to state that I'm a DIY'er with honing. I understand the issue using the HHT on a razor honed by another person.
Patrick

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I wanted to clarify because there are major misconceptions with the HHT.. What the op posted and what you and I are saying are two different senarios...

If yer doing the honing and want to use the TNT AHT TPT and HHT more power to ya it is your choice..

just a further thought on my....... thought......

so i guess the begginer, in essence, needs to purchase 2 blades even before their first straight shave. 1 for calibrating, and 1 for shaving?

Originally Posted by elgeeno

just a further thought on my....... thought......

so i guess the begginer, in essence, needs to purchase 2 blades even before their first straight shave. 1 for calibrating, and 1 for shaving?

Ya really only need one razor but two would be nice. The second would be a spare in case something happened to the first, like dropping it or nicking the blade. It can also be used for calibration comparison of your honing but is not really a necessity, just nice to have. Remember, you won't be a noobie forever and if you are just honing for yourself and are happy with the results who really cares how it compares to others unless you are on a quest for the perfect edge!

Originally Posted by elgeeno

just a further thought on my....... thought......

so i guess the begginer, in essence, needs to purchase 2 blades even before their first straight shave. 1 for calibrating, and 1 for shaving?

Your op:

i received a new razor which was supposedly honed and shave ready. i decided to do some HHT's and they all failed. following that i did my first shave with the blade and found it to be uncomfortable (vs my recent disposable single-blade straight razor).


Now read Post #25


See the problem ???

But to clear this up even faster, how did your HHT's work on your disposable blades ???? That should give you at least an idea, not perfect, but an idea...

Originally Posted by mollzo

To give you an idea of the importance of the last finishing touches on a razor's edge:

I took a blade that was pulling my hair, but shaving none the less, and gave it 6 laps on CrOx strop and then ~ 80 laps on clean leather.
It went from HHT1-2 to HHT5.
Stropping is very important!

Bart mentions this as a reason to try to get a HHT3 off the stone. The linen will raise the HHT very easily, so try and get a good edge off the stone then go to linen. This avoids the linen increasing the edges ability to pass the HHT without necessarily improving the shaving experience, a sort of false positive.

You couldn't have been that far away from a great edge if crox had such a dramatic effect, IME crox makes a good edge much better, if the edge isn't far enough it doesn't seem to work as well.

Ya really only need one razor but two would be nice. The second would be a spare in case something happened to the first, like dropping it or nicking the blade. It can also be used for calibration comparison of your honing but is not really a necessity, just nice to have. Remember, you won't be a noobie forever and if you are just honing for yourself and are happy with the results who really cares how it compares to others unless you are on a quest for the perfect edge!

When I started honing I found having two razors while learning honing handy as I could compare and contrast with different edges and grinds