Question derived from Joel's shave Wiki

[Crowden]

Hi all, and Joel particularly, if you're viewing. I'm gearing up to try straight razoring and thought I'd do a little experimentation with my century+ old Henckel's Twinwerks carbon steel steak knives (which, for those not familiar with 19th century knives, are non-serrated and VERY sharp, potentially). So I honed my sharpest up and then tried what was described in the Wiki as a test of sharpness - passing the blade across arm hairs. And all it did was push the hairs over. So I then thought, hey, let's calibrate this by getting what I know is already a super sharp edge, and unwrapped a new Feather DE blade. Same result. Hmmm.

So, to the point of the post. Am I misunderstanding something with the hair test? I'm a hairy guy and my arms are pretty liberally covered with the stuff. Not boar bristle tough but pretty reasonable. Is this test meant to actually be a shaving test and not as I'm interpreting it - namely you're trying to cut the hair high off the skin and only the resistance of the hair itself acts to keep it in place to be cut off? Since the Feather isn't slicing them I find it tough to believe a straight razor is going to do any better ...

Thanks for any insights here.

Toonfully yours,
Crowden

 

[blackhhawk]

Usually that test is to guage sharpness, though as you can see it isn't consistant with everybody's hair. If you move the blade parallel to your skin, a centimeter or two above the skin, you should be "tree topping" the hairs. In other words, you should feel/hear them catching/popping. If you live with a lady friend, you could also try the HHT with a piece of her hair from a brush.

Like I said though, these tests aren't the be all end all sharpness test. They are there to give you a general idea of how sharp the blade is. The only true test is shaving and seeing how it performs.

 

[Crowden]

Usually that test is to guage sharpness, though as you can see it isn't consistant with everybody's hair. If you move the blade parallel to your skin, a centimeter or two above the skin, you should be "tree topping" the hairs. In other words, you should feel/hear them catching/popping. If you live with a lady friend, you could also try the HHT with a piece of her hair from a brush.

Like I said though, these tests aren't the be all end all sharpness test. They are there to give you a general idea of how sharp the blade is. The only true test is shaving and seeing how it performs.

Hi blackhawk! Two centimeters is almost an inch - I said I was hairy but not THAT hairy! ;-)
I realize it's a sharpness test and that's why I was doing it. Trying to get some insight into straight edge sharpness and edge bevels. Maybe it really is a question of coarseness. Examining my (abundant) arm hair, it seem unlikely that any physical blade is going to slice hairs that aren't restrained in any way. There's just too little mass and too much flexibility.

 

[Krodor]

Coatings on most DE blades can keep them from passing the HHT, whereas your steak knives don't have the coating. That's my story and I'll stick to it unless told otherwise.

 

[77TransAm]

Personally, I've never been able to get a pocket knife / steak knife to pass the HHT. I can shave with my pocket knife though, so the HHT isn't really the end all be all. I think it works much better with straights because the edge thins down to a very, very, fine point. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it If anyone has gotten a steak knife / pocket knife to pass the HHT, please, let me know. I'm curious to know your methods. My knives are still incredibly sharp to the point that I can shave with them, but can't manage to pass the HHT.

 

[blackhhawk]

I was just trying to say that its a test that isn't the be all end all, due to inconsistencies. However, you should be able to at least get the blade to "catch" the hairs and hear some audible feedback. You might not necessarily pop hairs and slice them.