Hht
- Thread starter Aaron W.
- Start date
Ignore the HHT. It is a test you use when honing a razor and you need to calibrate it for it to be meaningful to you.
Would you rather have a razor that passed HHT, but shaves like crap. Or a razor that does not pass HHT, but but shaves great?
Would you rather have a razor that passed HHT, but shaves like crap. Or a razor that does not pass HHT, but but shaves great?
FWIW I always hone to pass the HHT, but I'm familiar with what I'm looking to achieve. I've never had a razor that passed the HHT not turn out to be a good shave as well.
The HHT by itself is not the ultimate pass/fail in and of itself, but it can be a valuable measure of one part of the equation.
The HHT by itself is not the ultimate pass/fail in and of itself, but it can be a valuable measure of one part of the equation.
Just dont do a TNT after a razor has been honed....made that mistake 
I have never understood the disdain by so many for the HHT. True, in some situations, it might give less than perfect feedback. If not used correctly, it can be totally misleading. But, that is true for any test of any type. I believe we as a community would do better to train others in the use of the HHT, giving them the warnings and gotchas as we educate, than to simply say "HHT bad."
So, let me buck the trend along with a few commenters above and say that the HHT is very useful if properly calibrated. Without any attempt to overstate the case, by watching the vibration of the hair even before the blade is shave ready, by watching the way the hair is cut - and there is great variation even in the characteristics of the cutting action, I believe that I can reliably tell you, using the HHT, the true state of the blade even more accurately than the shave test.
(I don't mind defending the last sentence. But, I am not trying to start an argument. Only make the point that the HHT is unfairly maligned in my opinion, and needs to be rehabilitated.)
So, let me buck the trend along with a few commenters above and say that the HHT is very useful if properly calibrated. Without any attempt to overstate the case, by watching the vibration of the hair even before the blade is shave ready, by watching the way the hair is cut - and there is great variation even in the characteristics of the cutting action, I believe that I can reliably tell you, using the HHT, the true state of the blade even more accurately than the shave test.
(I don't mind defending the last sentence. But, I am not trying to start an argument. Only make the point that the HHT is unfairly maligned in my opinion, and needs to be rehabilitated.)
You can tell when I've been honing and testing razors.
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I think it's deemed as bad because of the misinterpretation of how and when to use certain tests. Plus, the HHT has the highest novelty factor by far.
The question is rarely asked by an intermediate straight shaver who is learning how to hone. I've read tons of posts where a completely new straight shaver orders their first razor and the first thing they do ISN'T to shave with it. They feel the need to apply the HHT, and when it fails they immediately buy a hone and begin going to nuts on it and wreck the edge.
In another case since a bad angle in straight shaving can feel like a dull blade, a new person misreads the condition of the edge and blames the tool. Next comes the HHT, etc etc.
I agree with all of that. Possibly, they mess up the HHT because we haven't educated them on the HHT. Because we call it a novelty, a parlor trick.
Because we don't educate on the use of the HHT, in my opinion, we deprive many of a very useful tool.
I definitely agree there. The only decent documented info I've see so far has been this.
There needs to be something like that here in the B&B wiki. I only found one mention of it and it was in the Acronym section. "HHT
Hanging Hair Test (a test to see if a straight razor is ready for shaving) "
EDIT:Also as far the novelty factor, even cartoons and movies have shown the HHT in regards to blade sharpness. As such people have once again been educated incorrectly (like stropping in the same media)
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The primary statement is not to initially use the HHT to determine blade sharpness. That sounds like a contradiction of what I said earlier about the value and use of the HHT. Initially, you use the HHT with a blade that shaves well. Clean the blade after the shave, and use the HHT on the blade using 5 or 6 hair, applied the entire length of the blade. How does the hair act with a great shaving razor?
After every shave, note the quality of the shave, and reapply the HHT. At first, the HHT (which is not a test at this point) should be used aggressively and often. Each time, in your mind, calibrate the shave with the performance of the hair on the blade.
This is the calibration phase. In my opinion, this is the part where we especially don't educate well.
After a period of use of the HHC... hanging hair CALIBRATION, a sixth sense develops. With that sixth sense, pick up a razor you haven't shaved with and apply the HHT (always with the same person's hair.) I bet you will have a pretty good idea whether it will shave.
Again, don't look forward to being flamed B&B polite style, but the HHT properly taught is an extremely useful tool. And, I believe there are very few of us for which it would not be useful.
(Much left out from above, of course. Just making a point of the worthiness of respect for the HHT and the need of calibration to make it useful.)
After every shave, note the quality of the shave, and reapply the HHT. At first, the HHT (which is not a test at this point) should be used aggressively and often. Each time, in your mind, calibrate the shave with the performance of the hair on the blade.
This is the calibration phase. In my opinion, this is the part where we especially don't educate well.
After a period of use of the HHC... hanging hair CALIBRATION, a sixth sense develops. With that sixth sense, pick up a razor you haven't shaved with and apply the HHT (always with the same person's hair.) I bet you will have a pretty good idea whether it will shave.
Again, don't look forward to being flamed B&B polite style, but the HHT properly taught is an extremely useful tool. And, I believe there are very few of us for which it would not be useful.
(Much left out from above, of course. Just making a point of the worthiness of respect for the HHT and the need of calibration to make it useful.)
thanks for clarifying your earlier post about the calibration. i'll definitely keep that trick in mind the next time i shave.
Hht calibration is a good point, and required to make the hht of value.
Now, I'm fairly new to this whole straight razor game. But, I haven't yet been able to get the HHT to work for me at all. But, after honing my razor and stropping it up, I get a great, smooth shave with no irritation. I don't know if my razor could be sharper, and I'm just not getting it there, or if my hair is just funny.
You are really making my point about calibration. It isn't so important that the hair is CUT as you think. Try this...
Grasp hair on the tip end, with about 3/4-1 inch exposed. Turn the blade upside down, cutting edge up. Lower the hair slowly onto the blade, with the blade maybe 1/3-1/2 inch away from your fingers that are grasping the hair. Keep the blade still. Keep lowering the hair lower and lower, slowly, and the hair will slide along the blade. Or, it will grab in one of the gaps between the scales in your hair follicle and if sharp enough, the hair will be cut.
Your hair is like a long row of stacked hand bells. If the blade is close to sharp, and depending on how tightly "stacked" your hair is, the blade will dip into the gaps between the hair "bells." As it does, the end of the hair vibrates. That vibration is very revealing! Because right before the blade is sharp enough to cut the hair, it is sharp enough to drop into these gaps. That is what sets up the vibration; as the blade hops from one gap to the next gap as you are sliding the hair over the blade.
The fact that the blade doesn't cut your hair means absolutely nothing! The blade shaves well. So, run about 5-6 hair all over the edge of your blade. (Not all your hair are created equal, so you have to use several hair. You will soon recognize your average middle of the road hair.) Watch what happens.
If you have very tight hair, and you don't see any vibration in the tip of the hair at all, then get some hair from your wife/girlfriend/daughter's hair brush... some other hair that you can consistently find new supply.
If the hair is cut, how it is cut is revealing also. But, whether the hair is cut or not is not important, and how the hair vibrates is not important. This is where most go astray. The razor shaves well. Your hair acts a particular way with that good shaving razor. And, however your hair acts, that is the answer to your HHT. That is why I refer to it as calibration.
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Once you get a good idea how your hair acts with a good blade, then you can use it to good advantage. Hone a blade, and you can test the blade with your hair until it acts like it should act when honed properly. If you have to wait until your whiskers grow to test your honing... well, I'll come back next week! Check your razor after several weeks of use, and see how the hair acts. By the way, it is a good idea to order a shave ready razor from a honemeister and check out how your hair acts with their edge. You might be getting good shaves, but there might be better shaves available!
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One of these days, Larry, when I have some spare cash again, I'll have to have you send me one of your blades to check myself against. Until then, I'm getting a pretty satisfying shave with what I've been doing. But, a side note of interest: those nice scales that allow the blade to slip in and 'pop' a hair off are the same scales that make hair such a great insulator and some hairs such as vicuña softer than others. Also, those scales are what give (when the fibers are spun) different yarns different stretching properties. Linen/cotton yarns have to be knit exactly to fit while wools can be knit just a little small and still fit well. Just a side note on hair.
It's easier than that! Just PM me your name and address and I will send you a loaner. Keep it a month or more and return at your leisure.
My H doesn't pass the HHT at all. Too fine or something....
My H doesn't pass the HHT at all. Too fine or something....
Make sure you are gripping it by the tip. This is very important!
When you say your hair doesn't pass the HHT, with respect, that is missing the point. Does your razor shave well? Then, it passes the HHT! Seriously, if your razor shaves well it passes HHT. That is how your hair acts when used with a sharp blade.
A few questions...
Make sure you are in good light. Slowly drag the hair across the blade, (holding by the tip.) Does the end of the hair that is exposed (which is actually the root end) vibrate when moving across the blade? Does the blade grab at all in the gaps?
Whatever happens, that is what passing the HHT means with your hair.
Some hair is so tight that not even vibration occurs, even with a shave ready edge. This is not usually the case. If so, find someone else's hair to use.
Beating it to death. With a shave ready razor, a truly sharp satisfying shaver, there is no such thing as failing the HHT!
Even if the hair is not cut...
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