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It is that time of the year.
Not just that time of the year where waistlines expand, wallets shrink, life gets lower and and divorces higher, but also that time of the year for the BBC sports personality of the year awards. The awards where you can get to vote for categories such as 'The best ultra marathon runner to use a taxi award', 'The best controversial VAR goal of the year' or even 'The best winning celebration of the year'....
It also happens to be that time for my own 'Shaving Personality of the year awards'. The one where I get to vote for categories such as 'Daft git of the year', 'Most annoying member of the year' and a few other more shaving appropriate awards. And you don't get to vote on anything because they are mine, all mine.
So here they are in two part format. My SPOTTY awards for this past year. MySexual Perversions Of The Titillatng Year. Oops you can find those on The Shaven Room forum. It is in fact time for my Shaving Personality Of The Tonsile Year
So without further of those adeiu things it is time to get on with the awards ceremony and winners.
'Oh no, it's time for me to reach for my tissue and cry'
Razor of the year
This past year has seen me offload a number of razors thanks to the BST including the Rocnel SE-P. An object of strange desire which would easily win any 'Slashing tool of the year award' but go it did. We are still going through the courts over the amount of grevious facial harm incurred by the purchaser.
I still hang on to my firm favourites the Mongoose, the Enoch, the Nodachi and the Ikon B1. However I left them out of my awards as a number of others need a bit of praise.
It also happens to be a year though where a number of DE purchases have been made by me including a beautifully packaged Feather AS-D2. As much as I would like to give it some form of award it is unfortunately so mild and gentile it barely passes as a razor for me. It does have a place in my shaving world but those moments are rare despite enjoyable.
Then there were two
The BST gave me the opportunity to purchase a 3ONE6. A razor I'd hummed and ahhed over for some time and this one came in the rarer ivory finish. More humming and ahhhh, bugger it, ch-ching. What a wonderful parting of money. This razor has blown me away, blew a few whiskers away and I never did get blown. This is a razor I could easily use everyday and quite happily be that 'one desert island' item. It has never bitten me and never failed to deliver anything other than perfection. One superb piece of kit and right up there.
But my winner for 'Razor of the year' goes to the......Lambda Athena
Without even getting to the razor itself this one deserves a prize for customer ordering and presentation. It just gave me a feeling of exclusivity having to order it prior to being manufactured and felt it was being made just for me. Then choose a serial number to increase that special feeling. Bollocks though as someone else had already stolen my 666. I shall wait patiently for you.
And then it arrives, and it arrives in the most wonderful wooden box with a soft lining. It simply said, 'we are proud of our product'. And they have every reason to be so. Throw in a certificate of authenticity with the owners name on it and that exclusiveness excels.
Then finally there is the razor itself. I can't think of any other razor which is so beautifully strikingly different and so perfectly machined. Just assembling it is such a joy with the way it all screws together in a smooth exacting manner and how the blade sits so comfortably. And then you shave with it. Do shaves come any smoother? Probably not. Close, comfortable and wonderfully balanced.
It may be a bit of a faff once shaved. Remove blade, place to one side, clean, buff and place back in its wooden case. But for something which oozes quality in every sense it is more than worth the effort.
They are not particularly cheap, but against other similarly priced razors there is that feeling of ownership and being special the 'others' can't really match.
My razor of the year for every good reason
Blade of the year
Blades. Thin slivers of steel with a sharp edge. Simple. No matter how you look at them they are all effing sharp. But as we all know despite being sharp they all feel different. And oddly feel different for different folk.
So for this one I have split in to different categories
DE Razor of the year
As much as the Feather has worked its way back among my favourites it was never going to win as they have a half life measured in seconds. What my world needed though was a replacement for my all time first choice, the now unobtanium, Polsilver Lodz. Thanks to digimonkey I think I have found that blade in the Wizzamet Super Iridium. So far it appears to work in every razor I have tried it with and never found a duff one yet. Truly sharp yet truly smooth. A worthwhile winner
SE blade of the year
Whoever in Kai labelled this one 'mild' is one sick puppy. The name gives the impression a soft approach is on the books, but soft it ain't. What it is though is one very usable sharp bit of metal with exceptionally pleasurable character. The Proline came close, but my prize goes to the Kai Titan mild
Shaving brush of the year
Montenegro? Not a country which comes to mind if thinking shaving brushes, but Giles bursts on to the TSR forum with his 'Hello, I make shaving brushes' and before you know it the name 'Highlander' becomes the buzz word of the year. And for every good reason.
It is not as if they are the only choice though in my world of shaving brushes. Another BST purchase in the PAA Peregrino had me lathering from ear to ear. I am not a man who fully understands brushes, but I still get great pleasure when something comes along which says, 'yes this works nicely'. The Peregrino is one of those. My wife often says 'yes, you don't work nicely', but she's had 40 years of a malfunctioning husband and lives with it. Or doesn't quietly.
Back on the Highland trail and the Montenegro connection. This past year has seen me purchase three Gile brushes, each with a Cashmere knot and each with that knowledge each is a hand made specific item. That exclusiveness again. The TSR LE was a great idea and as far as I can make out, received very kindly by this community. I would love to give it the 'I win' rosette but feel every bugger on here as one so that exclusive feeling doesn't quite ring the same.
My first prize at the village fete goes to the Highlander LFC. It did lead to a number of plagiarised copies but this one remains king of the Kop because it's an LFC brush. I may be asking for my money back though as they have played shite since purchasing and it was never mentioned it came complete with a curse.
Shaving soap of the year
Utterly let down by Trumpers coconut soap Brian at Signature Soaps kindly sent me a one off sample of a coconut scented soap. What a complete revelation. If he doesn't take this a step further I am going to go to Bolton and hold a one man protest outside his premises. Hence it takes a slot in my 'last two standing' selection for soap of the year. The other being the Condate
As much as I would love to give the number one podium to the 'Top Secret coconut', being such a 'one off' at the moment (protests not withstanding) it wouldn't be shaving politically correct. Hence my new No.1 goes to the Condate. Anything which can give the Londinium a run for its lather and scent is worthy of top place. The Condate is that soap. Another cracking Brian product. I would have loved to give his foot balm top dog, but it's shite for shaving with.
Scent of the year
Smelling nice is always a post requisite of shaving. It is also essential for Wishful thinking. However I do presume my wife's brush with Covid has removed her sense of smell. And taste. And hearing. And reproduction, or at least the practicing of. Other than that who doesn't like a good scent? Except my crew.
This year the two main contenders start with Hermes Terres. Go back a few years and this is one scent I never really liked. It just never hit the right notes or struck a chord with me. This year arrives and before I know I know it I've purchased two bottles (one for travelling) and I simply can't get enough of it. It's dirty edge has still not attracted my wife's non existent smell (blame Covid again) but it certainly captured mine. I now wear it down the supermarket, the bag wash, the local brothel and anywhere else I can live in hope.
End of part one as I've just maxed my attachment allowance
Not just that time of the year where waistlines expand, wallets shrink, life gets lower and and divorces higher, but also that time of the year for the BBC sports personality of the year awards. The awards where you can get to vote for categories such as 'The best ultra marathon runner to use a taxi award', 'The best controversial VAR goal of the year' or even 'The best winning celebration of the year'....
It also happens to be that time for my own 'Shaving Personality of the year awards'. The one where I get to vote for categories such as 'Daft git of the year', 'Most annoying member of the year' and a few other more shaving appropriate awards. And you don't get to vote on anything because they are mine, all mine.
So here they are in two part format. My SPOTTY awards for this past year. My
So without further of those adeiu things it is time to get on with the awards ceremony and winners.
Razor of the year
This past year has seen me offload a number of razors thanks to the BST including the Rocnel SE-P. An object of strange desire which would easily win any 'Slashing tool of the year award' but go it did. We are still going through the courts over the amount of grevious facial harm incurred by the purchaser.
I still hang on to my firm favourites the Mongoose, the Enoch, the Nodachi and the Ikon B1. However I left them out of my awards as a number of others need a bit of praise.
It also happens to be a year though where a number of DE purchases have been made by me including a beautifully packaged Feather AS-D2. As much as I would like to give it some form of award it is unfortunately so mild and gentile it barely passes as a razor for me. It does have a place in my shaving world but those moments are rare despite enjoyable.
Then there were two
The BST gave me the opportunity to purchase a 3ONE6. A razor I'd hummed and ahhed over for some time and this one came in the rarer ivory finish. More humming and ahhhh, bugger it, ch-ching. What a wonderful parting of money. This razor has blown me away, blew a few whiskers away and I never did get blown. This is a razor I could easily use everyday and quite happily be that 'one desert island' item. It has never bitten me and never failed to deliver anything other than perfection. One superb piece of kit and right up there.
But my winner for 'Razor of the year' goes to the......Lambda Athena
Without even getting to the razor itself this one deserves a prize for customer ordering and presentation. It just gave me a feeling of exclusivity having to order it prior to being manufactured and felt it was being made just for me. Then choose a serial number to increase that special feeling. Bollocks though as someone else had already stolen my 666. I shall wait patiently for you.
And then it arrives, and it arrives in the most wonderful wooden box with a soft lining. It simply said, 'we are proud of our product'. And they have every reason to be so. Throw in a certificate of authenticity with the owners name on it and that exclusiveness excels.
Then finally there is the razor itself. I can't think of any other razor which is so beautifully strikingly different and so perfectly machined. Just assembling it is such a joy with the way it all screws together in a smooth exacting manner and how the blade sits so comfortably. And then you shave with it. Do shaves come any smoother? Probably not. Close, comfortable and wonderfully balanced.
It may be a bit of a faff once shaved. Remove blade, place to one side, clean, buff and place back in its wooden case. But for something which oozes quality in every sense it is more than worth the effort.
They are not particularly cheap, but against other similarly priced razors there is that feeling of ownership and being special the 'others' can't really match.
My razor of the year for every good reason
Blade of the year
Blades. Thin slivers of steel with a sharp edge. Simple. No matter how you look at them they are all effing sharp. But as we all know despite being sharp they all feel different. And oddly feel different for different folk.
So for this one I have split in to different categories
DE Razor of the year
As much as the Feather has worked its way back among my favourites it was never going to win as they have a half life measured in seconds. What my world needed though was a replacement for my all time first choice, the now unobtanium, Polsilver Lodz. Thanks to digimonkey I think I have found that blade in the Wizzamet Super Iridium. So far it appears to work in every razor I have tried it with and never found a duff one yet. Truly sharp yet truly smooth. A worthwhile winner
SE blade of the year
Whoever in Kai labelled this one 'mild' is one sick puppy. The name gives the impression a soft approach is on the books, but soft it ain't. What it is though is one very usable sharp bit of metal with exceptionally pleasurable character. The Proline came close, but my prize goes to the Kai Titan mild
Shaving brush of the year
Montenegro? Not a country which comes to mind if thinking shaving brushes, but Giles bursts on to the TSR forum with his 'Hello, I make shaving brushes' and before you know it the name 'Highlander' becomes the buzz word of the year. And for every good reason.
It is not as if they are the only choice though in my world of shaving brushes. Another BST purchase in the PAA Peregrino had me lathering from ear to ear. I am not a man who fully understands brushes, but I still get great pleasure when something comes along which says, 'yes this works nicely'. The Peregrino is one of those. My wife often says 'yes, you don't work nicely', but she's had 40 years of a malfunctioning husband and lives with it. Or doesn't quietly.
Back on the Highland trail and the Montenegro connection. This past year has seen me purchase three Gile brushes, each with a Cashmere knot and each with that knowledge each is a hand made specific item. That exclusiveness again. The TSR LE was a great idea and as far as I can make out, received very kindly by this community. I would love to give it the 'I win' rosette but feel every bugger on here as one so that exclusive feeling doesn't quite ring the same.
My first prize at the village fete goes to the Highlander LFC. It did lead to a number of plagiarised copies but this one remains king of the Kop because it's an LFC brush. I may be asking for my money back though as they have played shite since purchasing and it was never mentioned it came complete with a curse.
Shaving soap of the year
Utterly let down by Trumpers coconut soap Brian at Signature Soaps kindly sent me a one off sample of a coconut scented soap. What a complete revelation. If he doesn't take this a step further I am going to go to Bolton and hold a one man protest outside his premises. Hence it takes a slot in my 'last two standing' selection for soap of the year. The other being the Condate
As much as I would love to give the number one podium to the 'Top Secret coconut', being such a 'one off' at the moment (protests not withstanding) it wouldn't be shaving politically correct. Hence my new No.1 goes to the Condate. Anything which can give the Londinium a run for its lather and scent is worthy of top place. The Condate is that soap. Another cracking Brian product. I would have loved to give his foot balm top dog, but it's shite for shaving with.
Scent of the year
Smelling nice is always a post requisite of shaving. It is also essential for Wishful thinking. However I do presume my wife's brush with Covid has removed her sense of smell. And taste. And hearing. And reproduction, or at least the practicing of. Other than that who doesn't like a good scent? Except my crew.
This year the two main contenders start with Hermes Terres. Go back a few years and this is one scent I never really liked. It just never hit the right notes or struck a chord with me. This year arrives and before I know I know it I've purchased two bottles (one for travelling) and I simply can't get enough of it. It's dirty edge has still not attracted my wife's non existent smell (blame Covid again) but it certainly captured mine. I now wear it down the supermarket, the bag wash, the local brothel and anywhere else I can live in hope.
End of part one as I've just maxed my attachment allowance
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