I must have too much time to sit around and stare at my toes or something but here goes anyway. Do most of you folks in your day to day sharpening, after finishing with whatever stone, strop, or skin you use for the finial touch, test the iron for sharp with whatever test you prefer for testing sharpness? Be it shaving body hair, paring end grain of white pine imported from Finland, or dropping a long hair from a 13 year old strawberry blonde on the iron to see if it will split.
The reason I ask, it seems most replies to "how to" sharpening threads will advise as a final step "testing" the iron for sharpness. Maybe I'm different, could be I don't know what I'm doing, or even both but I almost never "test" a iron. When I finish sharpening I look at the iron closely, feel the edge and if it looks sharp and feels sharp it is sharp and I either rack it if it is a chisel or put it back in the plane if it is a plane iron.
If there is a better way enlighten me.
ken