Updated 2020-03-23
(note: this page needs going through)

If a “normal” person needs to shave, he’ll pick up an electric razor or whatever wunderbar new system one of the big names sells at inflated prices. If a geek like me needs a shave, he might end up with a new hobby and an array of kit. Off course you don’t need nowhere near as much gear as I have to make shaving enjoyable again; on my ToD to Sudan (12 months in Africa) I brought my Parker 22R, a Body Shop Synthetic brush and the tube of Proraso cream – but I find that having to make a couple of choices in the morning adds to the enjoyment. And compared to some people out there my combined kit is definitely on the small side…

Razors:

• A handful of BiC Sensitive SE disposable razors – liked by wetshavers I trust, picked up on a whim, good for those times when I need to bring a razor in my carry on luggage
• A vintage Ever-Ready1914 in near mint condition – inherited from a family friend, and a nice if difficult razor for me to master
• A GEM 1912 SE – part of a two razor PIF, my second SE and the first that didn’t rip my face apart
• A GEM Micromatic Clug Pruf – the other half of a two razor PIF, my third SE and a nice shave once I worked out the angle
• A vintage Gillette 1958 TV Special Superspeed butterfly – a very nice razor indeed, with a D1 date code (ie.: first quarter of ’58)
• A vintage Gillette “Khaki” Old Type from 1918 – an old soldier that has gone back to the war, good kit for work and travel
• A vintage Gillette Single Ring from between 1921 and 28 (thick top cap, no S/N) – a flea marked find that needed a throughout cleaning to return to duty
• A vintage Gillette Slim – adjustable twist to open, date code M4 (ie.: last quarter of ’67)
• A blinged out Mergress Adjustable – a product improved Merkur Progress, a generous gift from Phil of BullGoose shaving
• A Merkur 39C slant bar – a fairly aggressive razor, and not one for those just starting out
• A Merkur 985CL open comb travel razor – sits somewhere between the 22R and 39C, and usually in my GoBag. I sometimes takes it out and uses it at home though…
• A NOS German Bakelite Slant – probably manufactured by Merkur, and a mild and efficient shaver
• A Parker 22R butterfly razor – a good first razor, and a rather good one at that
• A Pereira Shaving shavette – my first shavette and a good looker too
• A Phillips Philite three piece razor – generously PIFed from a fellow shaver
• A NOS Schick “Lady Eversharp” Injector – left in the back room of a shop for decades before it found it’s way to me, and my first injector
• A TGR razor – part of a cheap shaveset

Blades:

A wide selection of blades; Feather Hi-Stainless, Trent, Zorrik Super, Merkur Super, Willikins Sword, Gillette 7 o’clock, Astra Superior, Lord Platinum, Shark Super Chrome, Racer, Personna Platinum, Derby Extra, Persona Super, and still more… finding a favourite is hard, since most give a great shave.

Brushes:

• One Artisania Romera Manchurian Badger – my first ‘real’ badger and my first prosumer brush, a generous gift from Phil of BullGoose Shaving
• “Brush, Experimental, version Alpha” – my first home made shaving brush!
• An Omega #10048 Boar Bristle (box branded as Prosaro) – came with my starter kit and is pretty okay; handle is a bit on the big side for me, but I use it now and then
• An Omega #50014 Boar Bristle Travel Brush – lovely brush where the storage tube doubles as the handle
• A Semogue “The Shave Nook 2012 Limited Edition” mixed boar-badger brush – a great brush for face and bowl
• A Vie-Long #12705B natural white pure horse – swell brush, just like my other horses
• A Vie-Long #13051M unbleached pure horse – great for face lathering if you like a stiff brush
• A Vie-Long #14033 mixed horse-badger brush – a wonderful brush all around
• A Wilkinson Sword Badger – a 6.25€ souvenir from a trip abroad, and my first pure badger

Soaps, croaps and creames:

• An Arko shaving stick – some people online swears to it, and others swears at it. I rather like it myself, once the strong scent had worn off a bit
• Two tins of Asylum Shave Work’s tallow soaps – Frankincense & Myrrh and Old Virginia
• A tube of Aubrey Organics North Wood shave “cream” – for use without a brush. Not too impressed with the glide, okayish for travelling. Backup for the stick in my GoBag
• A BEA shaving stick – similar tube to my LEA, and also a souvenir
• A tin of Brutalt Bra Barbersåpe TSN SE “Norwegian Wood” – smells like freshly cut spruce, or a well stocked woodshed
• A tub of Cold River Soap Works’ GLIDE shaving Cream Soap “Morning Ghost” – generously PIFed by a fellow shaver, and a pleasant and distinct scent
• A tub of Crabtree and Evelyn Sandalwood soap – smells great and works well
• A tube of Dalan d’Men Energic cream – a bit less mentholy than the Proraso cream, more mentholy than the Arko, nice lather
• A Derby shave stick – softer than Arko, less soft than GzD, good lather
• A tub of Dr Selby Lavender Luxury Shaving Cream – a tree times concentrated gift from a fellow shaver
• A GzD shave stick – very soft stick that lathers as good as the Arko, but smells less
• A tub of Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum Acadian Spice Shaving Soap – Seifenglatt Exclusive that smells niiice
• A LEA shave stick – solid plastic tube protects it as it sits in my GoBag, don’t like hard water
• Mike’s Natural Soap in tins; Lemongrass & Eucalyptus, Hungarian Lavender, Pine & Cedarwood, and Peppermint & Rosemary.
• Mike’s Natural Soap Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper shavestick
• A refill puck of Mitchel’s Wool Fat Shaving Soap – generously PIFed from a fellow shaver
• A tube of Nivea Shave Cream – a solid performer, generously PIFed from a fellow shaver
• A jar and a plastic tub of Pereira Shaving Cream With Activated Charcoal – an awesome soap generously donated by the maker
• A puck of Prairie Creations Walter shave soap – re-imagining of the classic Williams
• A tube of Proraso Eucalyptus & Menthol Cream – part of my starter kit and my sole cream while in Sudan; I like both the scent and the soft glide it has
• A tub of Proraso Eucalyptus & Menthol Soap – pretty much the same as the cream, but as a soap
• A very generous sample of a Wet Shaving Products pre-production soap

Post shave treatment:

• An alum block – an antiseptic and astringent, it’s used to clean and seal any minor nicks. Stings a fair bit if you got a larger nick, and tastes really weird if you get it on your lips
• A small alum stick in a push up tube – great for shaving on the Go, so in the GoBag it lives
• A bottle of Asylum Shave Work Frankincense & Myrrh aftershave – a rather pleasant scent
• A tube of BodyShop Maca Root Energetic Face Protection – with SPF 15 and a pleasant smell, it’s good for both the high summer and the depth of winter
• A thing each of BullDog Sensitive Aftershave Balm and BullDog Original Aftershave Balm – mildly scented balms that so far seems to work well
• A tube of BullDog Oil Control Moisturiser – helps with my greasy mug in summer
• A tiny tube of LEA after-shave balsam – a freebie from Gifts And Care, going in the GoBag
• A bottle of Myrsol After Shave Formula K – nice astringent with menthol for a cooling sensation
• A bottle of Myrsol Agua Balsamico – very herby, reminds me of roasted lamb
• A bottle of Myrsol Agua De Limón – very lemony indeed
• A bottle of Nivea Sensitive Cooling After Shave Balm – mild, non-alcoholic and with a hint of menthol
• A bottle of Krampert’s Finest 80 Below – made with a passion and menthol; lots of menthol
• A flask of Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum Aftershave – created and manufactured by a fellow shaver, and a very nice aftershave indeed
• A small bottle of Krampert’s Finest Prototype Menthol – PIFed from the same generous fellow shaver as above; a nice cooling and healing aftershave
• A bottle of Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave – PIFed from a fellow shaver after he learned I had used up my first bottle
• A bottle of Proraso “Single Blade” Wood and Spice after shave – smells pretty good to me

Beard grooming stuff:

• A jar of Big Red Beard Balm – all the benefits of beard oil, but also tames and shapes the beard
• A tin of Big Red Moustache Wax – keeps the ‘stache in line, just the thing for the refined gentleman
• A Big Red No7 Beard Comb – because beards needs combing too
• Two BullDog Beard Combs – one for home and one for my GoBag
• A tin of BullDog Original Beard Balm – because I like the other products in the series
• A bottle of Gentlemen of Sweden Original Beard Oil – since I liked how it smelled in the barbershop
• A Pereira Shavery Metal Multi Tool Beard Comb – great for keeping in a pocket in my fatigues, to aid with beard and other things in day to day life
• A Pereira Shavery Pear Wood Boomerang Beard Comb – that should aid in shaping as well as combing
• A small jar of Scotch Porter Beard Balm – a new arrival, claims to make beards soft and shiny
• A small bottle of Wet Shaving Products Matterhorn Beard Oil – lives in my GoBag

Lathering bowls:

• A Turkish copper bowl from Turkey – shiny when new, just the right size, currently out of rotation
• A ceramic cereal bowl from IKEA – for big brushes, currently set aside
• A hand thrown ceramic one-piece scuttle from an Israeli potter called Yoresh –  a gift from my Better Half that both looks great and works great
• A Pereira Shaving Lathering Bowl with brush rest – a gift from the maker
• A Pereira Shaving Plastic Lathering Bowl with brush rest – a prototype I’ve been allowed to test
• A Turkish acacia wood bow, which now sits on my desk – to pretty to use
• A folding plastic cup for my GoBag – because space is a premium in there

Other related and semi-related things:

• A tube of BullDog Oil Control Face Wash – since even the manliest face looks better when clean
• A tube of BullDog Original Face Scrub – to help keep those pores from clogging up
• A bottle of BullDog Original Beard Shampoo – beard hairs are different than head hairs, and it help that it don’t taste nearly as foul as my regular shampoo
• A Clarisonic Mia 2 facial cleansing brush – a somewhat expensive device that really works
• A Medium weight Pereira Shavery Towel – becase no shave den is complete without a shave towel
• A TSN LE Tactile Turn Slider pen – an artisan pen machined from brass
• A Taramundi knife – handmade by Spanish Artisan Pedro Bermudez – a very nice every day carry knife.

PIFed, used up or otherwise disposed items:

• A tube of Arko Cool Mint shaving cream – nice and cool on warm mornings, not the hardest menthol punch, ran dry while traveling
• A sample of Aubrey Men’s Stock North Woods Aftershave – good scent, but nothing more, used up
• Two Body Shop Synthetic brushes – a decent enough brush and a good one for travelling; it dries quickly – I got one as a backup and one at work
• A bottle of Big Red Beard Oil – helps with dry skin and brittle hairs, bottle wringed dry.
• A Cadet TP-01 long handled open comb – an Indian made razor that gives a good shave
• A Cadet TTO-11 Twist To Open Open Comb – my third Cadet, a lovely if aggressive shaver, and my first open comb that is also a TTO.
• A Cadet TTO-13 Twist To Open – Indian made and quite aggressive
• A tub of Col. Conk Bay Rum shaving soap – my first bay rum, while the soap wasn’t great the scent was subtle and good
• A tube of Derby Lavender cream – more than passable lather, tube squeezed dry after four years of service
• A Feather Popular razor – remarkable mild, but requires a fairly light touch; PIFed away to a newbie DE shaver
• A tub of Maca Root shave cream from Body Shop – procured before I started with classic DE shaving, and a pretty decent shaving cream. Contains a fair bit of nasty chemicals though… It started to smell funny at the end – less than a ¼ left – and got ditched
• A tub of Mama Bear’s Awakening – did what it said on the lid, used up on Menthol Mondays
• A tub of Mama Bear’s Brazilian Coffee – smells like coffee, lathers well, and PIFed away on my favourite shave forum, because you should give away things you yourself would like to receive
• A sample of Martin de Candre Soap – a solid performer, generously PIFed from a fellow shaver, used up
• A Merkur 25C long handled open comb – same head as my travel razor, and bought so I can keep my 985CL in the GoBag as it should be
• A Merkur 45C Bakelite – a very lightweight razor, smooth with a mild blade
• Several samples of tallow, lanolin and kokum butter shaving soaps from Mike’s Natural Soaps turned into “Mike’s Mixed” and used up – lesson learned? Keep your samples in air tight boxes…
• A tub of Orange Essential Oil Shave Soap – smells good, generously PIFed from a fellow shaver, used up
• A jar of Prairie Creations KISS cream w/ tea tree oil – best for bowl lathering, picky about water, and used til there was nothing but the scent left in the jar
• A bottle of Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave – a pleasant smell in my opinion, used up un six and a half year
• A Racer razor from Egypt –  a remarkable decent razor for the price
• A tub of RazoRock XXX Shave Cream – nice croap generously PIFed from a fellow shaver, used up
• A tube of brushless Rise Shave Gel – generously PIFed from a fellow shaver, used up
• Sample of TFS Bergamotto Neroli Soap – a solid performer, generously PIFed from a fellow shaver, used up
• A TGR brush – part of a cheap shaveset and probably boar, but sheds like there is no tomorrow
• A small bottle of Thayers Original Witch Hazel with aloe vera and without alcohol – good for those days I didn’t want an aftershave, used up
• A old style Turkish No6 ‘horse hair’ brush – wonderfully stiff and can make good to great lather out of anything, PIFed away to a newbie DE shaver
• A Turkish No6 ‘horse hair’ brush -“now, more quality, and aesthetics”
• A Turkish No7 ‘horse hair’ brush – same knot as the old No6 but with a different handle
• A Wilkinson Sword Classic – performs much better than the price tag suggests
• A Yuma razor from Turkey – cheap and cheerful, and deserved the good reviews it got online, but after five years the surface was a mess of oxidation… so I retired it
  • The handle of the Yuma can be mated with the head of the 25C or the 985CL to create the Franken-nought-four – a Merkur 1904 look-a-like
  • The head of the Yuma can be mated with the handle of the 985CL to create the Travel Yuma, or the handle of the 25C to create a Long Handled Yuma