Originally Posted by
Lynn
I take a little different position on this these days. All the razors I hone are stropped and oiled before being sent out. With the oil application, there is little chance of a razor cutting any arm hairs or hanging hairs until stropped and for some reason, new guys feel compelled to try the HHT to determine if their razor is sharp. In most cases, when the razor will not pass a HHT or cut arm hair the person proclaims the razor not shave ready and the pre-determined conclusion is that the razor is not sharp regardless of the fact that most have never shaved with a straight razor before. As a result, I encourage people to rinse the oil off the razor and then strop it before shaving. I figure the worst that can happen is that they roll an edge and I can always re-hone it. I do try to explain proper stropping technique too, whenever I get the chance........:D
Have fun.