thumb pad test

This test confuses (and scares the !@#$% out of) me. From what I can gather, I am supposed to drag the length of the blade lightly across the flesh of my thumb to feel if it cuts into the skin. The feeling is apparently supposed to be sticky.

Could someone break this down a little more for me? Should I drag thumb along blade or blade along thumb? Does anyone have more of a description of how the blade feels if it fails the test?

I don't drag the tumb on the entire length at once, I think you'll understand why.
I do drag my thumb part for part on the blade, so I cover the whole blade, but not using the same point on my thumb.
You can look at these videos:
http://www.dailymotion.com/group/65116

I think he presented this very well, I don't remember on which of the 5, but all is a good see.

I perform the TPT by lightly pressing and dragging my wet thumb along (not across) a small portion of the edge. The feeling that I am looking for is a smooth sticky feeling caused by the edge slicing into my skin. I then lift my thumb off that portion of the edge and check the next portion in the same way going all the way from the heal to the toe. You will likely find that some areas are sharp and some others are not, indicating that blade will require more work to get uniform sharpness from heal to toe.

jesus christ... this test scares the hell out of me.

It's really not as scary as you think. The other members have described the test well, so I'll go ahead and add my two cents. You lick your thumb and touch it against the blade and try to gently slide it up. The blade will just lightly dig into your thumb, and your thumb won't want to go anywhere. I test the heel, middle, and toe of the razor this way. It's better than the hair test for me and gives me some notion of whether the razor's sharp enough for a shave.

memorael said:

jesus christ... this test scares the hell out of me.

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If putting the edge to your thumb makes you feel this way, then how do you feel about putting the edge to your neck There really is nothing to be afraid of as long as you use common sense.

well, the difference is that the edge will digg in slightly on the thumb, but not on your neck (or should not).
The skin on our thumbs are strong, and you should not ofcourse let it dig in that much, you will feel it when you try.
If you are afraid of razors, try another knife first, so you understand how it works, but remember. NO pressure..

This is equal to the TNT also, no pressure, wet nail, short drags.. you feel it quickly how it works.

And yes.. I was very scared of this myself, but, it worked fine.

But look on the above mentioned videos, he explains it and does it so you see how they do it. Watch it beeing done first, then it is easier to do it yourself.

Even though I have very little experience, I'd have to say you know it when you feel it. If you're going, "I'm not sure if that was the sticky feeling or not" it probably isn't. I tried it on one and I couldn't figure it out. I tried it again on the razor I just got and went, "OHHHH, that's it."

testing on an DE blade will also give you the right feeling I guess.

You shouldn't think of it as cutting into the skin because thats not what is happening and the angle you are using will not cause a cut. Its just the sensation of the skin in contact with the sharpened edge.

Thebigspendur said:

You shouldn't think of it as cutting into the skin because thats not what is happening and the angle you are using will not cause a cut. Its just the sensation of the skin in contact with the sharpened edge.

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Now you got me curious.. what angle?, nobody had mentioned angle for this?, I'm doing it straight on, 90degre angle, and that is also what I have seen on videos. With some presure, that surely will cut, but since you are not using pressure it will not cut, well, as long as you don't drag your thumb the whole way ofcourse.