Fabulous preparation for dire times.

Great shave, photo, and report, Jeff--the Cage Head is perhaps my favorite of your vintage DE's, and it looks like the shave went flawlessly.

Would you say the shave went noticeably better with the stacked blades?

Awesome report, Randy! I'm at the point, finally, where I don't have to have a BBS--but if I can nab one easily, I most certainly will. Glad you were able to nab yours, sir

Good afternoon guys! It's another nice day on Long Island and hope you are having a nice day as well. Well yesterday's shave with one of my Ralf Austs was subpar for me because the razor was not sharp and leaving stubble. Yes, I heard the cutting of burnt toast, but that doesn't mean anything. So today, I decided to hone this bad boy and then do a shave test by shaving 4 days growth of temple hair to start my head shave. It has been 7 months since I used lapped films. OK, I did a 3, 1, and .3 micron progression. I did 50 laps, then wiped off the film and razor; then rewet the film and did another 10 laps. Repeated these steps for the last two progressions. I went to my Crox treated fabric and did thirty laps. I know that sounds excessive, but I have used this treated fabric numerous times that the Crox amount is has worn off considerably so there isn't any danger to the blade. Wiped the blade to take off any Crox particles and did thirty laps on the untreated fabric and then did 60 laps on the leather. Now, the moment of truth is about to start. I used my Rocky brush to head lather with Stirling Sandalwood. The Ralph Aust shaved the right temple like it was Swiss cheese. I didn't put any pressure on this blade and it was like uber sharp. I got the same results shaving the other temple. Looking at the sides, it looked like it was a BBS shave in one pass that was with the grain. I decided to finish the headshave with the Rockwell 6C. On the second pass, going across the grain, I got very little feedback from both sides of my temple which tells me that my straght is very sharp and effiicient. I would say that the Ralph Aust passed this shave test with flying colors. After the shave, I did the tree top test on my arm and I wasn't surprised that it passed that test as well. I will face shave with this razor again tomorrow to make up for its meh shave from yesterday. Have a nice day guys!

I'll be putting that statement to the test this summer.

Awesome report, Paul--glad to see you back up to Most Excellent

Puts a new spin on the phrase "Brace yourself"

Beautiful photo and kit, Mark--super impressed with the C'MON brushes I've seen here

Wonderful photo and report, Joseph--those Ralph Aust razors are beautiful!

Thank you gentlemen.

Epic. I love reading about epic shaves

Awesome photo, gear, and report, Jim--love the blues you've got going on!

Thanks Clint! I'm always watching your posts and remain interested in your new discoveries.

Thanks Gary. I wanted at least one proper British aftershave and maybe the cologne too. I recently ran across a small container of liquid soap I brought back from England. When I opened it, the scent immediately took me back to England. It's hard to describe, but many of the British-inspired scents have a certain characteristic that I find unique and enjoyable.

Thanks Jason. That's good info. I will check out the A&E dupe. I really enjoy having the TdH Parfum in my rotation. It's a nice break from all the classic (OK, old man) scents, which pretty much describes everything else in my humble rotation.

I've got a Welsh Purple Slate. It's apparently equivalent to about 10-12k.

You can use it as a refresh. Have you.used it before?

Charlie, I need to attack this video from two angles: 1)-Focus on the lady ONLY, and 2)-Replay the whole thing.

Wait, you head shave with a straight razor?!

Dude, you win this forum lol.
I'd scalp myself!

Impressive.

Edit: Must get the shavette out again and have another go at murdering myself!

Lol! I am glad my post awakened you Jon. I started using a shavette a year and a half ago. On my 16th shavette shave, I did a headshave. Was it great, no, but it spurred me on to invest in a straight razor. I figured if I can do a face and headshave with a shavette, then I can shave with a straight. I rarely headshave with a shavette or a straight. I only do it to keep my skills up to snuff. By the way, I don't use mirrors to shave the back of my head with any razor and that includes cut throats.

You've the wrong name. It should be Zorro, not Trigger!

You should try aluminum scales

Praying for your wife, Charlie. She so fortunate to have you.

Rimshot.