Thread: Bigger is Better ! Or is it ?

Good advice guys .... I'll take it to the Norton ;-)
The reason I used the belgians was simply down to not wanting to mess the edge up , bearing in mind I've still a long way to go in mastering my honing .. but a few passes on the norton won't hurt now that the advice is pointing to the edge not being sharp sharp ..

ps.. My fav razors ( errr all of them !!!!! ) happen to be 5/8 all 1/4 hollow

thanks agian everyone ... your advice as always is very much appreciated

Just a little update .. I took the Bartmann to the Norton and gave it a
1/5 1/5 3/5 then about 30 passes on a plain leather - and the Blade is considerably sharper ( well according to my thumb it is ) ... I may give it a try tomorrow morning - that will be two days worth of growth , then again I no doubt get impatient and have a nice shave this evening as I'm home alone

stay tuned

I find 3 general responses with the Thumb Test.

1. The razor feels very sharp and "bites" in to the thumb pad a little. I usually take this to mean the edge is actually not sharp enough. This edge will often produce an audible "ting" on the Hanging Hair Test or only break the hairs without cutting them.

2. The edge feels thin or papery. I usually take this to be an edge which has developed a wire edge. If this edge responds to the HHT at all again it's noisy.

3. The edge gently tickles the thumb pad. Needless to say, this is what I shoot for and gives the best HHT response.

X

No#3 sounds very much what I look for ... the description is way better than how I've tried to describe it .. I've not got enough stuble on my head to try the HHT and I've also seen Brian's pics of what happened to his finger , I used to use my girlfriends hair from her hairbrush but I found it way too soft , so for now I go with the thumb test - and being still wet around the ears I test a known sharp razor for comparision then the razor which is being worked on ... not ideal by any means as no two razors are alike but it still gives a rough guide ... One thing I have noticed about the larger full hollows they certianly can sing ...
Ah what the heck .. I'll try the best test later this evening - shave !!!

Originally Posted by Garry

No#3 sounds very much what I look for ... the description is way better than how I've tried to describe it .. I've not got enough stuble on my head to try the HHT and I've also seen Brian's pics of what happened to his finger , I used to use my girlfriends hair from her hairbrush but I found it way too soft , so for now I go with the thumb test - and being still wet around the ears I test a known sharp razor for comparision then the razor which is being worked on ... not ideal by any means as no two razors are alike but it still gives a rough guide ... One thing I have noticed about the larger full hollows they certianly can sing ...
Ah what the heck .. I'll try the best test later this evening - shave !!!

You are right that is the best test available. I can also advise you to get a cheap boar hair shaving brush and pull hairs out a little at a time and use that for the HHT. That hair equates well with your beard.

Great idea Rich... My hair is short so plucking individual hairs is a p.i.t.a.

Edit: And:
1) My cat's hair isn't representative of human hair.. It's too fine lol
2) My stylist friend would think I became a freak if i told her to bring me some from the salon lol.

6/8 seems to be my preferred size, although I like the big 7/8 and 8/8 meatchoppers, too. I seem to be able to get my W&B wedges sharper than anything else. I'd always read they were harder to hone, but I find the full hollow ones give me me most trouble. I get my W&Bs and the Wostenholm wedges to where they glide efortlessly while shaving, with no pulling and no irritation. I can do it with my full hollows, too, but not as consistently.

I have yet to try honing a DECENT blade. How long does it take for airmail to get from the U.K. to Canada?

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

I have yet to try honing a DECENT blade. How long does it take for airmail to get from the U.K. to Canada?

I posted a Razor to Vladsch and it took about 3 weeks or so ..... slower than the second coming imho LOL

Originally Posted by RichZ

You are right that is the best test available. I can also advise you to get a cheap boar hair shaving brush and pull hairs out a little at a time and use that for the HHT. That hair equates well with your beard.

Funnily enough I was using some hair from my badger brush and then thought " I paid a lotta money for this " so I stopped that , I think I have an old brush so I'll use that ... incidentally I shaved with the Bartmann this morning - it's better but still not as sharp as I'd expect .. back to the Norton this evening .!!!!