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Thread: Hair test

  1. #11
    Never a dull moment hoglahoo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jbcohen View Post
    A member of this forum told me the only real way to test if a razor is ready to shave with it is to lather up and shave. My straight razor teacher tells me the best way to tell is to attempt to cut paper with it.
    Quote Originally Posted by fccexpert View Post
    The only test that counts is the shave test.
    Make that two members!

    Actually, here are just a handful of others some of whom are professional razor sharpeners who have sharpened thousands of straight razors
    Quote Originally Posted by majurey View Post
    The only reliable test is the shave test, of course.
    Quote Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT View Post
    The shave-test is the only test that matters.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruno View Post
    In the end, the shave test is the only test that matters. If it feels good, it IS good.
    Quote Originally Posted by kaptain_zero View Post
    The shave test is the only test that matters.
    Quote Originally Posted by gssixgun View Post
    The last test is the shave test and really the only one that matters...
    Quote Originally Posted by Lynn View Post
    For me, no other tests up to the point of shaving are really meaningful.
    Other tests can have some value depending on what you are looking for as far as improvement to the edge during honing, but none do nearly so well as the shave test for determining whether or not it will make a good shave

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  3. #12
    A Newbie....Forever! zepplin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fccexpert View Post
    If you are talking about the hanging hair test, it is more of a parlor trick that a real test. I have a number of razors that fail this test and shave great and some that pass the test but give a horrible shave. The only test that counts is the shave test.
    Very well said! I still do the HHT - probably out of habit, and most of the time the test works even with my baby fine hair. I guess I like to observe "HOW" the test passes. Sometimes it's a crisp "pop" - but the best is the "silent" result - when you just touch the hair to the edge and the hair falls away "Silently". It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I know I'm in for a hell of a shave. But saying all this, there are times when it wont pass HHT, or I have to practically saw that hair in half for it to pass, and I will get a wonderful, great shave! ....Go figure!

    It really amounts to the characteristics of the individual blade itself, i.e., the grind of the razor, the type of bevel that has been put on it, the edge itself, maybe slight differences in how you have honed that blade, the metalurgy of the steel itself, all of the above, etc., etc.

    I have a "John Barber" that is a very unusually shaped razor. It's a 5/8, and has an extremely thick spine for it's size. Usually a razor with a spine of that thickness is usually a much larger blade (7/8, 8/8, ect.). It like a man who is very short, but a very large man at the same time. Anyway, there is no way I can ever get that razor to pass HHT, and yet, it will give me my most best shaves in all the world.

    Go figure, go figure, and go figure.....?????

    Steve

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  5. #13
    I Dull Sheffields
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    Go watch that Livi video that the Octopus posted in one of the other threads. Even he takes the blade to his whiskers to determine when he is satisfied with sharpness.

  6. #14
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    Haglahoo & Co. well said. Get shaving & stropping, then you will know. There is no substitute for experience.

    Pabster

  7. #15
    Shvaing nut jbcohen's Avatar
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    No my shave teacher does not sell hones, his job is to sell straight razor shaves to anyone who walks in the front doors of the Art of Shaving. He is teaching me the art of the straight razor shave as a side line which also takes a tad bit away from his real job, much the the irritation of his employer.

  8. #16
    Senior Member paco's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hoglahoo View Post
    Make that two members!

    Actually, here are just a handful of others some of whom are professional razor sharpeners who have sharpened thousands of straight razors






    Other tests can have some value depending on what you are looking for as far as improvement to the edge during honing, but none do nearly so well as the shave test for determining whether or not it will make a good shave

    Just my 2cents, JB listen to the LOGIC of these members who have been honing for a time and some for a living. In the end your not shaving paper your shaving your face.
    Consider where you will spend ETERNITY !!!!!!
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  9. #17
    I shave with a spoon on a stick. Slartibartfast's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jbcohen View Post
    No my shave teacher does not sell hones, his job is to sell straight razor shaves to anyone who walks in the front doors of the Art of Shaving. He is teaching me the art of the straight razor shave as a side line which also takes a tad bit away from his real job, much the the irritation of his employer.

    He uses some kind of shavette to shave customers, correct me if i'm wrong here.

    What is his background with traditional straights and everything that goes with it?
    Last edited by Slartibartfast; 06-03-2009 at 05:34 PM.

  10. #18
    At this point in time... gssixgun's Avatar
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    Lee your search abilities amaze me my friend

    That list of quotes is quite impressive....

  11. #19
    I shave with a spoon on a stick. Slartibartfast's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gssixgun View Post
    Lee your search abilities amaze me my friend

    That list of quotes is quite impressive....
    Oh noes... Dont stroke his ego any more.

  12. #20
    Koi Man
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    Since I am new to straight shaving , stropping and everything else that goes with it, my shaves are getting harder instead of easier. I blame it on my stroping. I did send my razors out to get honed so they were sharp 2 weeks ago. I will have to be patient and keep trying.
    Thanks to everyone

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