Thread: Maintaining Your Shave, On The Road.

Hey Guys,

Inspired by another thread, This thread will deal with how you maintain your shave on the road. Straights or DE safety razors, it does not matter.

How do you pack them, what do you take, how do you implement them while on the road? Lets see some photographs & let the ideas spread.

I often use the "GearTie" twists found at Home Depot to hold my straights & brushes. This photo was from a hotel far, far away.



Thank you,,,,,,,,,

Those gear ties look slick. I'll have to pick some up.

I use them for many things. Different lengths & colors.

Nice, Hirlau. A clever product put to some fine use. Who needs MacGuyver?

If I am on a genuine road trip and not at work away from home, I frequently choose a Rapide safety razor, a cheap badger brush and soap. Everything packs neatly into a small airtight container intended as a travel humidor. It is the only safety razor I like using regularly

Aloha!

Basically, I take this Dopp kit packed with the items you see. What's not showing is the plastic pouch tht holds all the wet bottles. Otherwise, you see the contents.
Brush in pill bottle with holes drilled, soap, colognes in spray bottles, aftershave and astringent bottles, travel strop, straight and shavette and DE with 12k Barber Hone. I also carry a folding mirror just in case I have to shave somewhere there is no handy mirror. You never know. There is a small mirror on the case that holds my DE, but that's really tiny. Better than nothing in an emergency.



-Zip

I suppose I could write a book, at least a "how to" manual on this subject. Clint Eastwood is famous for saying "improvise, adapt, overcome." I live my life on the road as a long-haul truck driver. Everything I do regarding straight razor shaving on the road involves some sort of improvisation. Here's my favorite.



Something I've learned always being on the go is much of what some brude over means absolutely nothing. I say that without elaborating, except to say I need what works because I am always on the move. I don't have time for BS.



A bag to pack your gear safely, a strop, the razors, brushes, soaps, a small bottle of baby oil, travel stones, alum block, and your pretty much set.







Now that I have my routine pretty much set, I find little inconvenience straight razor shaving on the road.

I'm on this road right now and this is my setup. The razor has a leather case which goes into the Dopp kit. The strop goes in the suit case between layers of clothes.


The pharmacy bottles hold the shave stick and brush. I drilled holes in the one for the brush so it can air out.

I am very happy with this setup and am able to get great shaves on the road. Have fun!

Originally Posted by Mrchick

I'm on this road right now and this is my setup. The razor has a leather case which goes into the Dopp kit. The strop goes in the suit case between layers of clothes.
The pharmacy bottles hold the shave stick and brush. I drilled holes in the one for the brush so it can air out.
I am very happy with this setup and am able to get great shaves on the road. Have fun!

Aloha Mr. C.

My Dopp kit and gear look very similar to yours, right down to the pill bottle with holes for my brush (as you can see from my earlier post). I'm going to add an Arko shave stick in a second pill bottle on my next trip out. Either that or Palmolive. The only real difference in our kits is that I added a 12k barber hone recently. Otherwise our kits are very similar. And in full disclosure, the only reason I added that hone is because I realized by accident that I had it sitting idle with my fly fishing equipment. But after I added it to my travel shave gear, I used it frequently. If you don't have it, the strop is fine. If you have it, you think, "Why Not Polish The Edge Tonight?"

Of course, I do have a Shavette and a DE with me as well as my straight simply because I am trying to improve my Shavette skils. I need the DE for a second pass when I use the Shavette as I only do ONE pass with the Shavette to keep nicks and cuts at a bare minimum. I usually cut myself on Shavette second passes.

One more sidebar;
I have recently honed a Gold Dollar 66 that I got for free with my new travel strop. Honestly, it took a better edge that is lasting longer than my Cutthroat Gents razor. The Gents is OK but I struggle to keep a shave-ready edge on it. The Gold Dollar honed up a bit finer and the edge holds up better. Plus, the Gold Dollar gives much better tactile feedback and audible feedback. Go figure. The Gold Dollar was free and the Gents cost me $30. Yet the Dollar is performing better. I may (and I hate to admit this) start traveling with the Gold Dollar instead of the Gents. I can see why Youtube Gurus like The Stallion Anthony Esposito are shaving with the Dollar. I know I should use my better razors while traveling, but I can't bring myself to travel with my top shelf blades - yet.

Enjoy your trip.

-Zip

I'm not surprised a bit by your assessment of your Gold Dollar. Both of mine hone up quite well, dispite the short shrift they often get. I'm not familiar with your Cutthroat, but let me encourage you to take your best razors with you on the road. I take mine all the time with no apprehension.