Shaving Year in Review: 2021

Another awesome year! Using my daily shaver and trusty DE89 on an iKon Bulldog handle for daily morning shaves.
Just a few highlights:

Used these soaps, committed to each:
- Haslinger Schafmilch (tallow, an  awesome soap indeed, sadly discontinued)
- Williams Mug Shaving Soap, 2 pucks (new recipe, but works for me). Unfortunately we lost this soap here in Canada, as it completely vanished from stores. I must admit I like this soap very much.
- Mitchell's Wool Fat, puck that I started in 2020 and continued in 2021. Half and half. One of my favorite shaving soaps, with a score 9/10. Outstanding performance, outstanding value.
- Arko, 2 sticks that I started in 2020, half. I grated these sticks and pressed them in a stainless bowl. Excellent performance, but I like the Arko Rose more than "lemon" scented ones. Ha.
- Kent. Just a MWF with a fancy label. If I didn't say it before, one of my favorite soaps. Finished it in 43 shaves.
- Vulfix, small puck. I put about 15 shaves on to this one as it has been used as a filler between the main soaps and to test performance.
- DR Harris Arlington puck. Another favorite of mine. Awesome performance and fantastic scent. Finished it in 68 shaves.

Used 47 blades, mostly Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless. Others used: Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge, Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (Blue, unfortunately discontinued), Astra SP, Wilkinson Sword, Feather, Super Iridium Extra Stainless. One blade of the following: Derby Extra, Shark, FlyDear. All three awful blades.. Ok, maybe Derby was not that awful, but still...
Used 10 fewer blades than in 2020. I can only explain this due to shaving everyday, so I can push the blades a bit further.

Aftershave used up:
- a tube of The Real Shaving Company Post Shave Soothing Balm. Sad face here as this is by far my favorite balm and it has been discontinued. Still have two tubes stashed in the fridge and just started one. Fantastic value, I would say best value in this market. No more, sadly.
- a tube of Kistna from The Body Shop. This was my travel aftershave. Excellent balm, sadly, discontinued.
Currently finishing up a bottle of Weleda. Used splashes a couple of times last year, but nothing to write home about.

The brushes I used throughout the year were badger and, towards the end, a synthetic.

I also finished a tub of Nivea Men cream that I used as a pre-shave, when I wanted a real pampered shave.

Looking forward to 2022, Covid or not.

How was your 2021?

Excellent idea for a thread.

Good thread idea indeed.

I too have really grown to like Williams Mug soap.  Partly due to it only being $.99, partly to it always being on the shelf at our local Wegmans grocery store, and partly due to the fact that it works well.  Not the thickest lather, but real slick and cushiony enough.  Did I say it's only a $Buck?

Razors...picked up some good vintage Gillette's at killer prices.  
Treated myself to a PAA DOC Ascension Twist stainless for my birthday back in Feb.  Absolutely love it.

Also managed to get a couple of vintage brushes as part of package deals while antiquing.  

Mugs...my Old Spice mug collection has grown nicely.  They must have been real plentiful in my neck of the woods (North Central Pennsylvania).  I see them all the time.  I have one that's a double and in mint shape that I'm going to bless a friend with.  His broke.

And all you here.  I've learned so much and have been able to pass it along to sone curious pals.

Here's to a stellar 2022.

Putting this in writing gives some perspective to the whole shaving saga. I finished all those soaps last year, as I always finish what I start, and only have a filler for the days I need a change. 
Scary how many times I used the word "discontinued" in my post! Or not, maybe just consider it as an opportunity to try something new.
One thing for sure, it does help justify my hoarding habits.

Wow 43 shaves for the Kent seems like not a lot, good for you for loading like your hate it!
2021 was a failed year in terms of telling myself I was just going to use things up and not buy more. I didn’t. The den grew, I didn’t finish off as many things as I wanted to, so that is the focus for this year.
Now if I can just stop myself from checking BST threads and eBay listings..

2021 was a meh year for me in terms of shaving. I did not buy much (elaborate a little more later), and didn't shave much either.

Due to Covid-19, I have been station to work from home for quite some time, not needed to show my face in meeting and so I think I did not shave more than 30 times last year. So definitely my shaving skills definitely dropped since 2020.

However, in December of 2021, I decided to go on a shopping spree as bought close to 30 soaps at one go (as I have a new hobby shelf with new spaces for more shaving gear). I hope 2022 will be a good year. for shaving.

I would be afraid to list my review for 2021 in case the wife were to see it and realize how much I actually spent.  

Is a good idea for a thread.