I recently received a torrey razor for my birthday, and wanted to get started straight shaving. It was sharp, but not shave ready, so I was going to send it off to be honed, but instead I bought a GD straight and strop from buca, so that I would have a shave ready ready to shave with and started talking to Jarrod at the superior shave about getting a coti. After some absolutely awesome customer service/advice, I got a La dressante bout to hone on. After receiving all my gear, and extensive honing research, I got started honing the Torrey. After ~30 min or so going from bevel up, I got a hht-2 after stropping, and it gave an ok shave, but not as good as the GD I got from Bill. Some more honing on another day got me up to about hht-3 or so, and it was quickly competing with the shave on the GD. (However, the GD is MUCH heavier than the Torrey, and I kind of like the weight but that's another story.) Soon after I dropped the GD, and then it needed honing to get a small ding off of the edge, which required me to go all the way to bevel set up to shave ready and ended up with a solid hht-4. Today, I decided I wanted to get the Torrey as sharp as the GD. After honing, stropping, more honing, and a LOT more stropping I got to my first hht-5! Going to shave with it probably the day after tomorrow, still healing from a little irritation from an atg pass on the neck.
First hht-5
- Thread starter dakotajfarley
- Start date
Good stuff! 
I don't think I've ever hit HHT-5, maybe 4 once or twice in the past few years.
I don't think I've ever hit HHT-5, maybe 4 once or twice in the past few years.
I know what the HHT is but I hear you guys talking about HHT3, 4 and 5 so what's the number thing all about
My best HHT ever, this is with the root in too
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I routinely achieve HHT-6. When I announce that I am going to perform the test, the selected hair picks up my blade and performs seppuku on itself.
- Thread starter
- #8
I'll update tomorrow morning!
LOL!
I remember my first 5 I was like "woah.... that's sharp"
Now to get HHT-5 on a super hollow ground, then you're a boss.
- Thread starter
- #10
It really wasn't difficult, but I'm contributing the ease to the stone, not to my ability. My dressante is quite hard, and on water is slow. I'm thinking it was around 15 minutes of just finishing on water to get the final product. One thing I noticed after about 5 min on the water was that I had visible scratches on the bevel, so I made a light slurry and did circles and x strokes until I had a uniform matte finish. Then I did a unicot progression from there, with stropping ever 5 min or so while on water, and testing after stropping
That looks like the definition of a perfect 5 Doc!
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- Thread starter
- #12
Shave results: Prep was shower with conditioner applied to beard. After shower, I lathered up some RR captain's choice with the cade plisson. Shave was effortless, no tugging or pulling even in the few spots I can go atg. I didn't have to use as steep an angle to get close when going wtg. Usually I am at 30 degrees or so going with the grain, but today 20 degress felt like plenty. Dfs on most of the face and jawline, ccs everywhere else, no irritation. Followed up with proraso blue balm with a squirt of WH and the required CC BR a/s 
