arm hair test inaccurate

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Or you need to calibrate your test further. Take a look at the edge, straight down on the edge with magnification, any shiny spots are where the bevels are not meeting fully.

Hair test, any hair test only tests a very small portion of the edge, a few microns. And it is not just about cutting the hair, but how it cuts the hair.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Sharpness tests are A tool, not THE tool. Even the treetopping test can have a certain subjectivity to it, due to differences in hair samples and stroke technique. If it doesn't work for you, don't bother with it. I find it very convenient and useful. If you don't, meh. Skip it. Or as H. Brad says above, calibrate your results. Maybe your TTT4 is someone else's TTT3. Or 2. The final sharpness test is always the shave test. That's the whole purpose, to make the razor shave well. TTT or HHT are simply a convenient temporary substitute that takes only seconds and can be performed multiple times while honing a razor. It also only takes seconds to examine the bevel under a single very bright light, with magnification. The two ways of evaluating the edge pre-shave and during the honing process, visual and hair testing, are not mutually exclusive. It is perfectly okay to do both. Together they may give you a better idea of what you need to do next, especially at the finish stage.

I should point out that treetopping is virtually useless when setting the bevel. Okay maybe that is exaggerating, but TTT results or HHT results at the bevel stage can be misleading. It is 99% all about the reflections from edge and bevel, even if you use the burr method or a hybrid burr method. If the visual examination shows you still have some more work to do to have a good bevel, then keep at it. Cutting hair or paper or tomatoes or other vegetables is nice at the bevel stage but the reflections should determine when you start moving up through your progression. If you have no optics and poor eyesight, sure, just raise your burr and then hone it off, but that visual confirmation is extremely useful and beneficial.

Use the right tool for the job. A lot of otherwise good edges get all hosed up by contact between edge and magnifying device. One problem with many pocket magnifiers or USB microscopes is that the focal distance is extremely short. You want something that can stand off the edge a comfortable distance, which is one reason the Belomo 10x Hastings Triplet style loupe is so popular. If you hone more than one or two razors a year, I very much urge you to get one. The field of view is wide enough to scan an entire edge quickly, but magnification is enough to see what you need to see, and you can stand off enough from the edge to not bump into it. The 20x must be even better, right? Nope. You want the 10x.Belomo. Remember that name.

 

[Frank Shaves]

This seems to be yet another case of different strokes for different folks (DSFDF) or YMMV. I would just use the different tests that work for you and keep an open mind about retrying the ones that are not working so well for you now in the future.

For me, the cherry tomato test when setting bevels, and the HHT for finishing work for me, but I do need to remember that not all of my wife's hairs are the same.

Regarding visually inspecting your edge with a loupe, try rotating the edge slightly under the light as if it were 1) a seesaw, and 2) around the line formed by the edge. For 2, a well-formed apex should look crisp as you rotate the blade around the edge.