Glad to hear it, Rick! I am sure the other guys are fine! Wet shavers are a tough breed!

Honda =

No thanks. ... there has to be stopping point. I thinks the casting technology in these old brushes are not up to today's standards and you are going to have some inclusions.

John, belated Happy Birthday and a super shave!

Very true. My buddy Wade works in a metal shop and is somewhat obsessive. He worked for hours and hours under that magnifying glass on his 400 handle. In the beginning I was the same, now I quickly reach a point of good enough and move on. You can spend a lot of time chasing inclusions to end up in the exact same spot.

For a good shave,I usually wait at least 36 hours, unless I am going somewhere important.

Ok guys, my day of reckoning of honing has arrived. I honed my Dovo Special and my Dovo Best Quality about an hour ago! These were the first 2 straight razors that I owned. I first used the 1 micron(green) lapping film and did 2 sets of approx. 50 for both. Progressed to the . 3 micron lapping film (white) and did 2 sets of approximately 40 -50 with very light pressure. Well, tested my razors to see if they cut arm hair and they did. However, I am cautiously optimistic. I will be shaving tomorrow with my Special and that will be the proof in the pudding. If I am cutting arm hair, then shaving facial hair shouldn't be in issue. Well, we shall see.
Here is my honing device with my lapping films. As you can see, the dark lines show that metal was being taken off the edge. The white lapping film doesn't show well against the white marble base plate. However, you can see the black markings to help you.

Joe, I keep a current listing of my Den inventory in the My Shave Den link in my signature. Here's what I currently have. It's a meager list compared to some of the 30DC Hall of Famers. The ones in bold text rank as tops for me.

Creams
C.O. Bigelow - currently in use. Great performance and value, but the menthol hit is not my favorite. I likely won't repurchase.
Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood - received as a gift but haven't used it yet. I have used a number of English/Scottish shave creams, and they all perform about the same. For the money, I'd recommend Taylor of Old Bond Street creams. I'll likely always have 1 shave cream in the Den for quick and easy shaves.

Soaps
Jabonman Eufros Wet Earth - recommend this soap maker for performance, skin conditioning properties, and rich scents.
Martin de Candre Original and Unscented - a good soap and nice scent; probably have a lifetime supply in these two containers, would not repurchase
Mike's Natural Soaps Hungarian Lavender - recommend this soap maker for both performance and skin conditioning
Stirling Soap Co. Blood on Steel - great performance, scent, and value
Tabac - great performance and value. I like the scent, and the fact that it's been around for more than 60 years.
Third Pass Shaving Co. - three different scents were generously gifted to me by Douglas Carey. Nice soap, but I haven't used them enough to offer an opinion.

What are your top soaps and creams and why?

i wanted to be able to shave every day for work purposes, which thankfully i am able to do now..had to toughen up the face..hence my daily dfs+ ..if i wait a day i get easier bbs with less passes..longer whiskers i guess cut easier..still..i wish i had found this type of shaving in my 30s..

you also have a 60 year supply of tabac..

Well, I only have 13 different soaps: 7 Stirling, 2 Razorock, 1 Proraso, I VDH, 1 Williams, 1 Moon Soaps (sample from Joseph). Stirling is my number 1 because of the scent, and great performance. Piacenza and Satsuma are my favorites with Bay Rum and Coconut Lime right behind.
Proraso would be number 2 because of the menthol, and the performance.
Tie for 3rd, Williams and Van DerHagen. The VDH has a nice scent and it lathers nicely, but is not as slick as my top 2. Williams gives me an option of a very light scent that is quickly gone so that I can get rid of other soap scents from prior shaves off any brush. Now, that I have learned to bloom this soap for 24 hrs to get a nice, non dissipating lather with an average slickness and cushion, I like it a whole lot more. Moon Soap Havana has an interesting scent that I like and it lathers quite well, but I use it only for my headshaves. I am disappointed with Razorock XX and Razorock Classic. The scents are meh. The soap hasn't performed well for me. It may just be that I haven't gotten the water/soap mixture down. So I won't give it a complete thumbs down, but it will never surpass or equal my #1 and #2 soaps.

At least, Gary!

You are correct. They are vintage and in my view point should not be perfect.

i hope you like it sir...

Very nice Joe......waiting on the shave report.

Thank you, Danny! As long as the sharpness improves and I get a nice shave, then I am happy.

I think it awesome that you a giving it a go......cannot wait for the results.

Excellent posts guys

The Ford GT does 216 mph with a 3.5 v6. Never dreamed I'd see that in my lifetime.

I remember in the mid 80s when there was talk that the v8s would disappear. Now look at the horsepower ratings.