Thread: How dull can you make a razor by shaving with too much pressure?

Yes, I seen a number of people making such posts. I just didn't know what % of the people here fall into that class.

I have several microscopes myself. Other than taking pictures to document flaws, I haven't been able to get much use out of them. Perhaps I'll learn that after I've got more experience with what to look for and how to judge what I see.

What I would really like to do is to make an instrumented version of the HHT that uses standard reference material thread and a test jig to measure force to cut, or functions as a go/no go test. This would allow a quantitative measure of cutting sharpness.

Right now I've been using my wife's hair, which is pretty uniform, and drag it longitudinally along the blade. If it won't cut at all, experience indicates that the blade is too dull to shave with. If it takes several passes, it's still too dull. If it takes a 1/2" or so movement, it will shave, but not close. If it cuts the instant you touch, and does so at multiple points along the edge, then it's ready for shaving. This is presently a semi-quantitative test, and is sufficient to test when honing is complete. Testing by shaving unfortunately has a 24 hr lag time associated with it, even though it is a full-up test.

What I've found is that a blade gets sharp in some places but not in others. This is obviously due to warp (frown? smile?). This seems to take the most repeat honing to get rid of. I'm not sure, but I'm getting the impression that pasted strops are better for this kind of problem, as they match the blade shape better than a rigid stone does. Of course, the stone makes the blade match it, so perhaps it's better to hone with a stone in the long run.