All that sounds similar to my pre-Christmas experience at Heathrow - no liquids; any deodorant, toothpaste etc in carry on had to be put in a plastic bag of certain proportions. I was also made to put my carry on bag inside my laptop bag to get through security - only one piece of carry on luggage was allowed at that point.
I did take two straights and a strop with me to the UK (in the checked-through luggage) and brought back an extra three razors the same way. I had no problems with this, but that may have been more good luck than anything else.
James.
PS I don't have a major problem with this level of security, especially if it deters psychos from exploding my plane mid-air. We had an experience in Melbourne recently where a young guy was refused entry onto an international Qantas flight because he was wearing a t-shirt depicting George W. Bush as a terrorist. Poor taste perhaps, and certainly ill-conceived, but hardly a security threat, I would have thought.