What was your ONE purchase in 2022 that impressed you most and why?

[Fiddler]

Please pick just pick ONE item (not this and that and another one etc)
and tell us why.

I didn't purchase many things in 2022. Nearly purchased an Overander
but it fell through.

My most impressive purchase was a premium stash of 180 vintage NOS
Gillette Platinum Plus blades in mint condition. The smoothness and
construction of these blades has raised my shaves quite a few notches.

Curious to hear what your star purchase from 2022 was.

 

[HXCnikka]

I bought the PAA Ascension Select DOC razor and was blown away! It's a mean looking razor but it gives very nice shaves. It seems to work well with all of my blades and soaps. I really like the build quality of it and the weight of it feels very well distributed. I use it once a week in rotation with my Rockwell 6c and VB Chieftain 5 BC. If I decide to go the full week without a shave, the PAA Ascension is my go to razor paired with a Perma-Sharp super. It slices the hair with ease.

 

[APBinNCA]

I was sorry to see that your vintage blades ended up having a non common cutout, limiting your razor choices. For me, it's no contest, my Blackbird Ti. I thought it would have too much blade exposure, but it turned out to be more of a benign blade feel.

If I want to keep this as short as possible, because I have gone over this before, the most impressive thing was that I had finally found a DE razor that both shaved as evenly(no missed spots) as a straight razor and matched all of the performance criteria of an AC razor while proving to be more comfortable for my skin. This allowed me to completely re-examine my enormous DE blade stash and fine tune my shave in a way that the AC razors can't.

 

[SharpieB]

Areffa soaps and aftershaves from Ukraine.

Fantastic scents and performance. And still being made in Kyiv during blackouts and much worse.

 

[MHBru]

personna blades.... never tried them before and was really impressed. when i run out of my current stash they will likely be my next bulk blade purchase.

 

[Trollky]

The standout purchase of 2022 for me was a tube of Proraso Red shaving cream that I got on New Year's Eve. The soap is pretty good but the cream is outstanding!

 

[awk_m4]

My Henson TI 22 was my standout purchase of 2022. This outstanding razor is perfect for everyday shaving. Excellent results, no irritation, no drama.

 

[jason2]

I'd have to say the Charcoal Goods everyday with maze handle. It exceeded all expectations. It's a very smooth forgiving razor with efficiency. Plus, I was able to customize the look to exactly what I wanted it to look like.

 

[srqshaver]

I bought the PAA Ascension Select DOC razor and was blown away! It's a mean looking razor but it gives very nice shaves. It seems to work well with all of my blades and soaps. I really like the build quality of it and the weight of it feels very well distributed. I use it once a week in rotation with my Rockwell 6c and VB Chieftain 5 BC. If I decide to go the full week without a shave, the PAA Ascension is my go to razor paired with a Perma-Sharp super. It slices the hair with ease.

Do you use the select part to adjust the shave? I guess it probably doesn’t matter but I’m just curious if it actually works.

 

[borwish]

The Simple Clean Shave razor. It's incredibly smooth and efficient. I never thought I'd like an aluminum razor, but it sure did surprise me.

 

[Old Navy_1]

In the realm of DE razors? It would have to be my RazoRock Game Changer 68-P and my GC 84-P.

I have been looking for an affordable, well-made stainless steel razor. IDK how I overlooked RazoRock? But, I did.

I love both of these razors! They give me, at a minimum, "DFS" and with a decent blade (like the Astra SP) BBS is well within the capabilities of both razors.

Anyway, that was one of my best purchase in '2022 and '2023.

b/r

ON_1

 

[silverlifter]

Translucent Ark. Takes a good edge and invariably transforms it into a phenomenal one. Literally seems foolproof...

 

[Odious]

Hard to choose between the Greencult 1.1 stainless razor and the 100 gillette nacet pack. I will pick the GC 1.1 because it is a very efficient razor with mid aggression which I prefer over low and high aggression razors.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Technically, there were several shaving items that impressed me in 2022. Having said that however, the one shaving item that impressed me the most?

PAA Ice Menthol Pre-Shave Cube 2.0!

Why?

I tried Proraso's Pre-Shave cream, its performance was just OK.

I tried Stirling's Executive Man Pre-Shave Oil, I don't like the oils, they are messy, and didn't do the job to my satisfaction. Worse then Proraso's cream.

Once I tried PAA's Pre-Shave cube block, I instantly fell in love. This is because the performance is the best out of everything I have tried. The slickness performance of the Pre-Shave cube block is so good, that I could literally shave with the Pre-Shave alone!

Combine the slickness performance, with the delicious menthol, and I have sweet sweet perfection baby woohoo!

 

[abershaver]

Løthur Nude shave soap. One of best I have ever tried and I bought it on a whim. Pricey when compared to my usual Palmolive Classic cream (was trying to be frugal during the last year) but outstanding performance.

 

[HXCnikka]

Do you use the select part to adjust the shave? I guess it probably doesn’t matter but I’m just curious if it actually works.

It does make a slight difference, I have tried with a half turn and a quarter turn. I could tell a difference with the half turn, it was more efficient, but I could also feel the blade alot more and did not like it. The quarter turn was hardly a difference from all the way tightened. I just use it fully tight because it is still very efficient and I can buff after each pass if needed without having to brush more soap on. The only downside I have found with the razor is shaping. It is not the easiest to shape with because of the DOC design, more hair will fit between the teeth than I would like and I end up with uneven lines. So I use a different razor when I need to shape. Other than that it is a phenomenal razor that I hope to have for many many years.

 

[CzechCzar]

The Simple Clean Shave razor. It's incredibly smooth and efficient. I never thought I'd like an aluminum razor, but it sure did surprise me.

Interesting, never heard of it. What is it comparable to in efficiency?

 

[SlimChicken]

For me it would have to be shaving goods I bought in Poland on vacation that we can’t easily buy here in the USA. Lider shave cream if I had to pick one item from that haul. I really like that stuff.

 

[borwish]

Interesting, never heard of it. What is it comparable to in efficiency?

$45 and you can get it straight from the one man shop that makes it: SimpleCleanShave - Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/simplecleanshave/?etsrc=sdt

You can also get it from TheRazorCompany and get some other goodies at the same time. TRC - Double Edge Safety Razor - Black Aluminum - https://www.therazorcompany.com/products/trc-double-edge-safety-razor-black-aluminum?_pos=1&_sid=e559d8043&_ss=r

It's in the same design ballpark as the Henson and Winning razors. It has negative exposure, so it's not an aggressive razor at all. The negative expousre and smaller gap cut much better than you'd expect. It's very comfortable. Several of us bought it. I just ordered a "Made in the USA" SCS-Model A Razor! - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/i-just-ordered-a-made-in-the-usa-scs-model-a-razor.625446/

 

[CzechCzar]

$45 and you can get it straight from the one man shop that makes it: SimpleCleanShave - Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/simplecleanshave/?etsrc=sdt

You can also get it from TheRazorCompany and get some other goodies at the same time. TRC - Double Edge Safety Razor - Black Aluminum - https://www.therazorcompany.com/products/trc-double-edge-safety-razor-black-aluminum?_pos=1&_sid=e559d8043&_ss=r

It's in the same design ballpark as the Henson and Winning razors. It has negative exposure, so it's not an aggressive razor at all. The negative expousre and smaller gap cut much better than you'd expect. It's very comfortable. Several of us bought it. I just ordered a "Made in the USA" SCS-Model A Razor! - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/i-just-ordered-a-made-in-the-usa-scs-model-a-razor.625446/

thanks!