Thanks to whoever reactivated this old thread a few days ago.. I had forgotten all about it!
So, as promised, here are the very unscientific results of my "VFM Shaving Survey". When I say "unscientific", I mean it! Some people just gave one product as requested, whilst others gave several; so I have included ALL mentions to make the results a little more complete. Also, I have had to amalgamate a few answers in certain instances such as "Omega brushes", where some people have just said "Omega boar" whilst others have quoted specific model numbers. All in all, 98 unique products were mentioned and the total number of "votes" cast was 176. I've put the number of votes in brackets after each product:
Razors
1st: Fatip Piccolo (9)
2nd: Gillette Tech (6)
=3rd: Merkur Slant (various) (4)
=3rd: Lord (various) (4)
=3rd: Muhle R41 (4)
Brushes
1st: Omega (various) (9)
2nd: RazoRock Plissoft (6)
=3rd: Semogue (various) (3)
=3rd: Vulfix 404 (3)
Soaps/Creams
1st: Palmolive stick (14)
=2nd: Arko stick (6)
=2nd: Tabac stick (6)
4th: Lea stick (4)
Blades
=1st: Voskhod (3)
=1st: Astra (various) (3)
3rd: Russian (unspecified) (2)
Aftershave Lotion
=1st: Fine Platinum (2)
=1st: Aqua Velva (2)
=1st: Distilled Witch Hazel (2)
Aftershave Balm/Moisturiser
1st: Nivea Sensitive Aftershave Balm (6)
So, there we have it. Not too many surprises in the results, with a few products clear winners in their respective categories (although a bigger data grab would be required to get clarity in all categories). Thanks to all for your responses; I have purchased a few items from the thread already and I have plans to get a few more along the way..