Kit of the Year 2023

pjgh

pjgh

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Halifax, Republic of Yorkshire
Let's do this again ...

What has been your kit of the year?

Maybe it's what you've used most. Perhaps something you discovered this year? Whatever you like, let's hear it ...

Me? Well, my most consistently used kit has been various Gillette Trac-II type razors and vintage II cartridges with this year's discovery that I much prefer foam over gel.

Razor: Muhle Rocca < same as last year ... clearly my favourite razor with the Gillette Hybrid Tech right in its slipstream
Blade: Statum Platinum Chrome < truly top-tier stuff hiding in quite ordinary packaging
Brush: Omega 10108 Pure Bristle < gift from @donnie_arko ... much thanks, pal! All the best for the coming year.
Soap: MWF Reformulation < mostly for the drama ... highly contentious, but a really good soap replaced a truly great soap
Aftershave: Boots Albany < I found a good vintage bottle to accompany the vintage soap that I have
Wildcard: Flying Eagle razor blade < truly, truly, truly horrible ... but, if you want to try the vintage Gillette Blues and don't want to risk the tetanus
Attar: Al Aneeq Fakhrul Oud < if Quorum was an attar? Absolutely not a smell-alike, but folks who appreciate both will know what I'm saying' yo

We had a lot of fun this year with a few themed months and a few that I joined in were Fat February, Milky May and the very excellent Tech June-kies. Let's do more of those this year, eh?

All the best for the coming year, folks!
 
For me the razor of the year is Karve overlander which is definitely the best razor for daily shave I've tried so far. It got even better when I plated it in nickel. Honourable mention goes to Lambda razor which is one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen. It is great shaver but I haven't used it that much to dethrone Overlander.

The best soap I've discovered and used this year is @BrianH 's signature soap. Simply astonishing soap.

Blade of the year goes to the Shick proline single edge that I've used with razorock hawk V3. Smooth, sharp and long lasting.

Brush of the year choice goes to my TSR limited edition barber style handle with cashmere knot.

Aftershave of the year is my most used one and that it Dendi pure aftershave splash, unscented aftershave from our local artisan.

Happy new year to everyone and more great shaves in new year.
 
Razor: I would have said the Occams Oren as this is the razor for my blade choice, but as well as lending me this @Mike Smart Smart also lent me a Fasan slant and I'm besotted. We have agreed in principle I can have that or one like it from his collection in exchange for some of my blades and other goodies.
Blade: As above, the best blades I've tried so far would be the Feather Pro Guard, Professional and Kai Captain Pro Mild or whatever it's called. The one with the guard bars on it.
Soap: Another fan of SigNature soaps (@BrianH ). Truly excellent performing soaps with great scents and fair prices, plus generous sample sizes. I plan to get a sample of Novus Spice before 2023 is out.
Cream: the return of @SoapAlchemist 's Nanny's cream of the croap Moroccan Sandsfor the same reasons.
Cologne: I was generously gifted most of a bottle of Captain Fawcett's Maharaja from @Satanfriendly and then acquired a sample set of six scents for xmas. I'm hooked on the Maharaja and the 8836 scent sample. The latter will definitely be a birthday purchase early next year.

I plan to a have (near) year of abstinence in 2024... this time also in shaving matters as that's not imposed upon me :-D I have worked out a few theme months (or weeks if it becomes a chore) so I can enjoy my existing kit without collecting another warehouse of paraphernalia.

All the best to you good folks out there. Please pray for my wallet.
 
From this year I would say my favourite hair removal implements have been:
  1. Atelier Durdan Vestige ++ (though it doesn't appear in the top 5 as its a recent acquisition, I also used it in the passaround and it was great.)
  2. Koraat 14-2.0 (bought by my ever-patient and understanding other half)
  3. Razorock Wunderbar (paired with any Wizamet).
This goes against my top 5 list but they have been relatively new acquisitions and all have been absolutely top notch, I expect these to top the charts next year.

On the software front A&E Tobacco Road set leads the pack. Though there are better bases out there but I absolutely love the scent and so does the Mrs.

The brush category sees the Semogue Owners Club Taj and the Zenith MOAR Boar level pegging in terms of usage. The MOAR takes it by a nose, very soft but more dense than me when vegetating on the sofa after a rough night on the vino!


Once again picked up from my sheet that somehow I maintained the will to keep it up-to-date. The intent being to figure out what needs to be chopped. Rather than achieving that it turned into a list that tells me my favourite styles of scents...nowt like adding a geek factor to make the acquisition disorder worse! Though it did help me put together a handy reddit formatter for the gear.

Top 5 Razors
Shield - Predator (GEM) - 40
Charcoal Goods - Gen 1 Level 3 - 25
Blackland - Blackbird - 19
Blackland - Sabre - 18
Wolfman - WR2 SB 1.25 Basic Polish - 16

Top 5 Blades
Personna - GEM PTFE - 94
Wizamet - Super Iridium - 56
Wizamet - Super Iridium (Zyletek - straight y though) - 46
Gillette - Silver Blue - 27
Gillette - Rubie - 22

Top 5 Brushes
Zenith - MOAR Boar - 39
Semogue - Owners Club Taj - 39
Dogwood Handcraft - Declaration Grooming B16 - 36
Simpson - 'M7' Manchurian - 34
Declaration Grooming - 'Fougere' B15 - 24

Top 5 Soaps
Ariana & Evans - Tobacco Road - 51
Mitchells - Wool Fat - 27
Ariana & Evans - The Novelist - 16
Seaforth - Black Watch - 12
Stirling Soap Co. - Oro Valley - 11

Top 5 Aftershaves
Ariana & Evans - Tobacco Road AS - 49
Thayers - Rose Toner AS - 24
Ariana & Evans - The Novelist AS - 18
Seaforth - Black Watch Toner - 12
Ariana & Evans - Lavendar Noir AS - 11

Top 5 Balms - Not much of a balm user
Stirling Soap Co. - Oro Valley Balm - 11
Wholly Kaw - Vor V Balm - 5
Barrister & Mann - Lavender Balm - 5
House of Mammoth - Beloved Balm - 4
Barrister & Mann - Leviathan Balm - 4

Top 5 Scents
Ariana & Evans - Tobacco Road EDP - 46
Barrister & Mann - Lavender Interupted - 18
The Essence Vault - 470 (TF Ombre Leather) EDP - 17
Histoires de Parfum - 1899 - 17
Gentleman's Nod - Ernest EDP - 10

Success rate for the year:
Screenshot_20231229_144941_Sheets.jpg
 
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By the numbers is fun @Crossan ... for me, it's:

Razor - Leaf Twig, Muhle Rocca, Gillette Hybrid Tech, Razorock Hawk V3 & Merkur 37C
Blade - GEM by Personna, Statum Platinum Chrome, Treet Platinum, Treet Dura-Sharp (Carbon) & Wilkinson Sword (Brazil) < so, still a GEM guy (10% of shaves)
Soaps - Savonniere du Moulin, Haslinger Schafmilch, Bee Clean Peppermint, Dr Selby & MWF (Veg) < heavily weighted by Fat Feb & Milky May
Brush - Omega 10108, Omega 80005, DSC w/Synbad 26mm, Omega 11137 & PAA Doppler (Synbad?) < guess I'm still a piggy latherer
Aftershave - Brut Splash-On, Pashana, Jovan Musk, Akçay Tütün Kolonyasi (thanks for that also Shubs @donnie_arko) & Pinaud Clubman VIBR

365 shaves

For the coming year, I'm vowing to follow my own (re-quoted) advice of "find something you like and use it often" (actually attributed to Mike Phillips from Meguiars Auto Care) and try to stick in the main a small number of things that I like a lot: Muhle Rocca, Gillette Hybrid Tech & 1912s; Treet blades, Lord blades, Personna blades & GEM blades; predominantly British triple-milled soaps and vintage at that; Omega piggies, Semogue SOC & that couple of synths that I really like; my small array of classic splashes.

... otherwise, it's just all over the place.
 
Razor:
Torn between Wolfman WR2 1.25 and Karve CB.... I definitely got way more shaves on Karve this year - the D plate been my nobrainer go to. Always a good smooth 2 pass shave. So let's go with Karve. Tougher year that felt like I didn't spent as much time being 'in the moment' during shaves so autopilot razor comes on top!

Soap & Aftershave:
House of mamoth - rumble... I think his soaps became my favourite out of the artisans, been using HoM a lot this year. Surprisingly, it's probably a set that I've used the most this year, if we're not counting the 2-3 sets that I was pushing through to use them up.

Blade:
Polsilver Lodz - the brown packaging. Finally brought myself to opening up a tuck of them and love them... great blades! Honorable mentions
that are also on par, are Gillette Platinums and Wilkos that @Mike Smart provided. Amazing blades! All of them worked well in any razor I threw them into!

Brush:
Zenith bleached boar 508 XL 31mm x 57mm loft - r/wetshaving exclusive 2022, aka 'Moar Boar'.
This brush on it's own has been used for 80% of my shaves this year (easily 250+). It did shed 5-10 hairs max and still going strong.

Fragrance:
Might as well include this, because why not! MDCI Chypre Palatin. Only got a decant of it, but damn it is an amazing fragrance. Classic chypre vibe with a bit of modern twist on it. Perfect blend for my nose.

Haven't been as active on here this year - promise I'll do better next year!
 
I currently only own 3 razors. The Leaf, The Twig and a Yaqi Adjustable Brass. I will be buying something this upcoming year if something takes my fancy but I have nothing on the wantlist. It'll be spontaneous. Hopefully it'll be something I have owned before and have fond memories of. I do have a few I really enjoyed such as the Tatara Nodachi and the Mongoose. If one of them comes along I may not be able to resist.
 
pjgh said:
Leaf got something VERY right with the Twig. I've not tried their multi-blade offering ... maybe that'll be my quest for the year.
Click to expand...
They very much did. I really enjoy the Twig, the Leaf for me could be better if they made the head a two blade design and the head smaller and easier to use under the Nose. Not to worry though as in every other respect it is a fantastic razor and so easy to use. I have recently used it with the GSB blades and it is a perfect combintion in my humble opinion. I only use two blades in mine.
 
30 December

Best razor:
DE; Blackland Blackbird (looks to die for) or Tatara Masamune Nodachi (function and form) honourable mention Merkur slants (just because)
SE; Blackland Vector (I’ve tried nothing better)

Best blade:
DE; Feather Hi-Stainless (sharp) or Treet Platinum (smooth)
SE; Schick Proline P30 (sharp and smooth)

Best brush:
Simpson Chubby 2 Platinum Fibre (great synthetic that feels like a Chubby)

Best soap:
Signature Soaps Capra Deva (excellence in a tin)

Best cream:
Simpsons Luxury Shaving Cream (it so is)

Best splash:
Signature Soaps Hibernia splash (just loved it)

Best balm:
Bart’s Balm Ben Nevis (love the new glass bottle)

Best scent:
Chanel Bleu parfum (just my favourite ever)

Suit you sir?
 
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pjgh said:
By the numbers is fun @Crossan ... for me, it's:

Razor - Leaf Twig, Muhle Rocca, Gillette Hybrid Tech, Razorock Hawk V3 & Merkur 37C
Blade - GEM by Personna, Statum Platinum Chrome, Treet Platinum, Treet Dura-Sharp (Carbon) & Wilkinson Sword (Brazil) < so, still a GEM guy (10% of shaves)
Soaps - Savonniere du Moulin, Haslinger Schafmilch, Bee Clean Peppermint, Dr Selby & MWF (Veg) < heavily weighted by Fat Feb & Milky May
Brush - Omega 10108, Omega 80005, DSC w/Synbad 26mm, Omega 11137 & PAA Doppler (Synbad?) < guess I'm still a piggy latherer
Aftershave - Brut Splash-On, Pashana, Jovan Musk, Akçay Tütün Kolonyasi (thanks for that also Shubs @donnie_arko) & Pinaud Clubman VIBR

365 shaves

For the coming year, I'm vowing to follow my own (re-quoted) advice of "find something you like and use it often" (actually attributed to Mike Phillips from Meguiars Auto Care) and try to stick in the main a small number of things that I like a lot: Muhle Rocca, Gillette Hybrid Tech & 1912s; Treet blades, Lord blades, Personna blades & GEM blades; predominantly British triple-milled soaps and vintage at that; Omega piggies, Semogue SOC & that couple of synths that I really like; my small array of classic splashes.

... otherwise, it's just all over the place.
Click to expand...
The really sad thing is that I also had them updating into charts...I need to change careers and get away from this stuff lol
 
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