Quote Originally Posted by Steel View Post
Hey Jack. I used to do the same thing as you as far as testing the blade with a HHT and in fact still do if I have the time. This is such a personal thing and very subjective that you will have to find your own way through experimenting. Once a razor is "shave ready" there is a long way to go before it is as sharp as I like it. Sure it shaves without tugging or skipping but it's a ways to go before I get effortless BBS shaves with that same razor. In order to maintain this level of sharpness it takes about 30 seconds more for me by doing 10-15 laps on FeOx and then stropp and once a week I use CrOx. If I am in a hurry I accept a "less than" which is still way above the "shave ready" mark. Then again I guess it's how you define shave ready. Back to the subjective thing. So my advice would be to find what works for you by experimenting for yourself.
Thanks Steel. What are BBS shaves? I didn't know I was going to learn acronyms to be able to shave. It seems that 90% of shaving with a straight razor is all about what works for you (or me). I don't think I've asked one question and someone said "whatever he says" and I had my answer. Makes me wonder why anyone would go through the trouble to learn this way of shaving. I am enjoying straight shaving though including finding what works for me.