Thread: Is my razor sharp enough? HHT says NO! Your thoughts?

Originally Posted by jdurango

Okay, so I've been reading this forum for about a year, watched tons of straight shaving tutorials and have improved my technique a little bit over the past few months. But I still feel like my blade is holding me back (i know, i know, common newbie mistake!)....but here's my reasoning.

Tried the HHT with my hair (pretty thin) and it failed miserably. even when moving the blade pretty quickly and very close to where I was holding the hair (kinda scary!)

Also tried with my girlfriend's hair...she is asian so it's thicker black hair. Still no luck. I had to hold a long strand and basically hack at it at an angle (maybe 60 degrees) to get it to cut.

I like the razor itself...it's simple, nothing fancy, plain black scales, 5/8, roundpoint, extra hollow ground singing blade, made by AHACOWA (???)....should be a great blade for a newbie like myself, right? BTW, it was graciously donated (yes, DONATED!!!) to me by a member of this forum, for which I am truly grateful!

Anyhow, I've experimented with lots of different techniques, pulling skin tight, not pulling it tight, different angles of the blade, wtg, xtg, atg, even a couple different soaps (using Tabac now which i love!)....I'm shaving right after I get out of a hot shower and applying hot Tabac lather with a good best badger brush (like the exfoliation of it vs. silvertip)....nonetheless, when I shave, the blade seems to bind on my whiskers....at very aggressive angle it just drags some whiskers out, leaving others in place (along with a healthy dose of razor burn)... at less aggressive angles (45 degrees or so) it just scrapes against my face and doesn't do much. In between it just binds up and I have to force it through the first 1/4 inch or so until it seems to cut with the momentum I have built up from the initial "jump start" as it were.

Anyhow, after I'm done I feel like somebody has taken a flame thrower to my face....my beard is very thick and stubbly (think bruce willis or tom waits...seriously, I get a 5 o clock shadow @ noon!)...but still, this should be no problem for a super sharp blade, right? That said, I can use a Mach 3 cartridge for a couple weeks before it starts to irritate my skin even a little....my blade has gotta be sharper than a used mach 3 blade(s) right???

BTW, I'm using a Tony Miller 3" Latigo strop with a tiny little bit of vitamin E oil to give it more draw so I can use as little pressure as possible. I'll admit my stropping technique isn't great, but it should be good enough to at least get started.

So, watcha think? Am I making a newbie mistake thinking my blade isn't sharp enough? Is my HHT flawed? Should I just lumber through and keep trying and hopefully my face won't literally catch on fire in the process? Would you suggest getting a different razor? Or just getting this one professionally honed? I've always liked the idea of a wedge razor...for some reason it just seems like a better design...but the blades aren't generally as sharp as a hollow-ground right?

Anyway, any and all advice is much appreciated!!! Thanks fellas!!!

Have you ever considered using the Feather straight razor in order to experience one sharp blade? Use the beginners blade so you don't cut yourself too badly. By using this razor use can develop your technique and know what a sharp razor can do. I did and I now use both blades. The other thing you may want to try is first using an old fashion T-handle single edge blade (like the one's your great grandfather used during WWII) in order to tak one pass at your face so as to reduce what appears to be a heavy beard. At this point you can use the straight edge to get a very close shave. Getting a blade factory sharp certainly is no easy task so don't give up. Ok.

Hello, everyone:

I, too, put little trust in HHT. My shave — with proper lather preparation and effective stropping — tells me if my razor needs to be honed.

Regards,

Obie

As others have said, all the tests dont mean anything if the shave isnt good. The way I think of it is, if the shave is good then the edge is good.

If it pulls or doesnt remove hair, then it needs to be honed, assuming shaving technique is not the issue.

1. Your razor is hopelessly dull. Have it professionally honed. End of story, problem solved.
2. The Hanging Hair Test is not a binary test. It has scalar results. If you use it as binary test, it will be useless. Please take a moment to read this document: Hanging Hair Test, from trick to probing method - Straight Razor Place Wiki

"The HHT has a long history of being dismissed as a «parlor trick», especially by people that experience nice shaves without being able to «pass» the test on the razor. They appear to look at the HHT as a binary «0 or 1» test and, getting «0» as result for edges that do shave, they disregard the whole HHT as being erratic. For putting the HHT into use while honing a razor, the above is a faulty assumption. Just like the other tests, such as the Thumb Nail Test and the Thumb Pad Test, the HHT is a probing test, much more than a True/False-type of test. Like these other tests, one needs to learn how to properly conduct a HHT and one needs to learn how to assess the results.
Before diving into the heart of the matter for turning the «trick» into a valuable method of measurement, we should realize that all the tests are merely an aid to guide us through a honing job. The scope of this article is to expand the arsenal of available methods for probing an edge. To use, or not to use, is a question of a personal nature."

And yes, the ultimate test is the shave test. But the HHT has its merits, and all my razors which were honed using it, and passed "HHT-5 - silent slicer", did shave well afterwards. I have seen this work on a whole number of razors (about 40 of wildly varying widths, grinds and whatnot), and that is all the information I need to make this test useful for me. YMMV, as always.

Forget the HHT.
Shave -> is the shave good enough? yes / no.
If "No" - is your technique up to par? yes / no. (Be honest with yourself).
If you KNOW your technique up to par (stroping, lather and shaving)
Then hone or get your razor honed by a pro.