Aloha! - Interested in ways gents travel with straight razors and strops in kit form

Aloha!

Been using Straight Razors and Double Edge Safety for a very long time. I have quite a few, including my Grandfather's Solingen from about 1930 (ish). Recently, I have been looking for ideas on traveling with a Straight Razor. I have traveled for decades with a safety razor because it's easy. But I enjoy shaving with a Straight Razor so I was glad to find this Forum and some good ideas on how gentlemen travel with their straight razors and strops et al.

BTW, my name "ZipZop" is from the Bill Cosby skit from the 60s about shaving. If you've never listened, you should. It's a very quick classic bit that ends with "Zip Zop, see that? My face is ripped to shreads!"

I heard this as a kid and never forgot it. Yet here I am.... shaving with a straight razor, trying to avoid the "ripped to shreads part.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqLv9js3L_U


Mahalo!

-ZipZop

There are numerous ways to travel with wet shaving gear.

Making sure your razor is fully dried is the biggest problem. For one night stays I use a DE. I use a straight if we are staying over.

The gear is carried in a Frost River kit that is made to hang on a motel bath door. The strops stay on the floor of the truck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rolodave

There are numerous ways to travel with wet shaving gear.

Making sure your razor is fully dried is the biggest problem. For one night stays I use a DE. I use a straight if we are staying over.

The gear is carried in a Frost River kit that is made to hang on a motel bath door. The strops stay on the floor of the truck.

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Yes, a DE is so convenient for travel, that's why I did it for so long. But the time has come to travel with a Straight Razor.

I was not familiar with Frost River. Thanks for that tip. I have checked out their website. My preferred luggage manufacturer is J.W. Hulme Company from Minnesota. They used to manufacture the "Battenkill" luggage line for Orvis. I have stuck with them for a long time. Their product is all hand tooled leather and canvas, and it's guaranteed for life. I have a Dop kit from them that should be large enough to put in a travel strop with all my accessories.

Full disclosure, for decades, I not only traveled with a DE safety razor, but travel shaving cream. Shame on me. I much prefer soap and brush, but it was just too convenient to use a DE and travel size shaving cream dispensors.

I suppose I'm at the age now where slowing down and doing things right in the morning are important to me. So I'm migrating from DE razors to straight for travel. Even for one nighters.

BTW, some here have said they roll the travel strop up and put it in the kit. I see you leave it on the floor of the truck. I travel a lot by air (because I'm out of Hawaii) and I need to fit the strop in my Kit with the Razor. I would think that this is OK for a Travel Strop as long as you unroll it and let it hang in the hotel.

Mahalo!

-ZipZop

Straight goes into a plastic toothbrush holder and I travel with one that I don't mind losing.
Brush goes into a large plastic medicine bottle with holes drilled in the top.
Soap is put into a plastic smokeless tobacco container (that has been washed out)
Paddle strop instead of a hanging strop.

I use the roll-up dopp kit from Frost River, also. I normally travel with a DE razor. If I am traveling with a straight razor I keep it in a the plastic coffin box for my Red Imp. I normally lay my strop over luggage in the back seat and cover it with a jacket. I use a rollup shave stick for traveling and face lather with my regular brush.

Here is a thread started by Obie with a smart travel set. Notice he rolls up the strop and places it in a can.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...avel-gear.html

What a great Forum.

Thanks for the immediate help, gentlemen. I will seriously look at the options here. Some GREAT suggestions. In another thread, someone mentioned using a Shavette for travel. I like Shavettes but quite honestly, I think my Straight Razors are more forgiving. I tend to nick myself more with a Shavette than a Straight blade. YMMV I realize that. For a short while, I thought it would be great if I bought some really cheap Shavettes like the Magic Razor you can get just about anywhere for under $10, and if I lost it in travel, so be it. But that idea went south quickly.

Personally, if I'm going the Shavette route, I'd rather stick with a DE.

Well I actually travel a little bit. I have a small case that I pack my shaving stuff in. Mine was actually designed as a cigar carry case. It is similar to a Pelican case, but lighter built and cheaper. Occasionally, if I am traveling very light or want to take less stuff, I do take my disposable blade, Weck Sextoblade. It shaves very similar to a straight razor.

I have an Allegro 200 travel set, but because of the mint condition I usually take along the model 35.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b67e7d80c9.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dd29c614b3.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tonybee

I have an Allegro 200 travel set, but because of the mint condition I usually take along the model 35.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b67e7d80c9.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dd29c614b3.jpg

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Absolutely Gorgeous Set! Thanks for sharing.

Mahalo!

-ZipZop

For travel I put the razor in a toothbrush container in my toiletries bag, cream in a sample pot and stuck the brush in a small tube. Strop was my cheapest a Illinois 827 and just layed it flat on top of suit case before I stuck my suit in last. Just used the hotels hairdryer to make sure all was dry.

Aloha Gentlemen!

I have a large Pill bottle. I'll drill holes in it and use it for traveling with the brush. For soap, I will just use my tried and true Colonel Conk Watertight Travel Container with Soap. Been using this for years with my DE while traveling, but the brush has been problematic. Never thought of using an large pill bottle. That's a GREAT idea. Thanks gents.

The Strop is a different issue. I don't want to travel with my beloved Strops that I have loved over the years. I will need to buy one I can travel with. Suggestions on travel Strops will be appreciated. I'll check this great Forum as well in other areas. This has probably been discussed before. I'll also check out the few mintioned in this thread and look at the links suggested again.

Mahalo!

-ZipZop

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tonybee

I have an Allegro 200 travel set, but because of the mint condition I usually take along the model 35.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b67e7d80c9.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dd29c614b3.jpg

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I don't have it in hand to tell for sure but that sure looks like real alligator skin! Nice :tu

So ZipZop, let me get this straight…

You live in Hawaii, and you travel?

:hmmm:

Let me know if you need a house sitter who would be willing to hone up all of your razors while you are gone! :angel:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

So ZipZop, let me get this straight…

You live in Hawaii, and you travel?

:hmmm:

Let me know if you need a house sitter who would be willing to hone up all of your razors while you are gone! :angel:

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Yes, you have it right. I live on Oahu. In Kaneohe, overlooking the bay. Here is a shot from my Condo;
Attachment 265400

Those are the Ko'Alau Mountains on the Windward side of Oahu.



And yes, that's actually a shot from my condo lanai in the morning. Sunrise.

View from inside the condo;
Attachment 265401

Yeah, you clearly made better life choices better than I did.

(Writing this from not exactly ocean-side Minnesota.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Yeah, you clearly made better life choices better than I did.

(Writing this from not exactly ocean-side Minnesota.)

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I don't know if that's exactly true. I really like Minnesota (mostly in the Summer), especially in that magic time in the late Spring just before the mosquitos come out. I spent a lot of time in Anoka where I had a business partner for a while, and worked that entire state from Fargo to the Twin Cities to Rochester. I had some friends that worked at Park Davis in Rochester. My favorite restaurant in the world is actually in Egan, Minnesota, "Jensen's Supper Club". Best pan fried fresh Walleye I ever had.

All you need to do is have a WINTER home in Florida or Hawaii, and SUMMER in your Minnesota home. Best of both worlds!

Aloha!

-Zip

Unfortunately the locations of my winters and summers are dictated by my job, but I can dream.

Bringing a straight razor on air travel means checked baggage, so I don't do it.

If no TSA is involved I used to carry a strop but I don't anymore because on a short term basis functional stropping can be done on plenty of things like as towel or a piece of paper.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gugi

Bringing a straight razor on air travel means checked baggage, so I don't do it.

If no TSA is involved I used to carry a strop but I don't anymore because on a short term basis functional stropping can be done on plenty of things like as towel or a piece of paper.

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Aloha!

I have a 20" Travel Strop that works just dandy.

I agree with you on TSA. Pre-TSA it would have been easy. Now, I'm surprised I can get razor blades past TSA even though I'm a "Trusted Traveler" with TSA. But since I get free checked bags on the airlines I fly, and since my travel straight razor is not irreplacable, I am just putting it in checked luggage with the Strop. Believe it or not, in 35 years of heavy flying worldwide, I have NEVER lost a checked bag nor lost any contents of any bags. Damaged bags? Absolutely. Especially hard sided luggage. One new Delsy hard side Pullman I paid a fortune for back in the 90s was so severely damange on the first flight I took with it, it had to have been run over by a luggage truck. The airline "Repaired it" for me, but it looked like it had been repaired by five year olds in a Kindergarten class. Seriously, it was that bad. So I only got one fiight with it, and that was the last hard-sided luggage I ever purchased.

But no lost or stolen checked bags. Ever. Knock on good hard aircraft aluminum.

I just can't be on the Mainland for three or four weeks any longer and not have my straight razor. So I am now traveling with it, even though it requires a checked bag.

Mahalo!

-ZipZop

Never heard of the Frost River gear, just looked it up, they really have some nice gear. Thanks for the suggestion.

I love J.W. Hulme luggage and kit gear, but the cost is very steep, since it's hand made and with high quality control of the finest leather and canvas. I own a bunch of their luggage, but not their travel kits or DOP kits. For these, I just get leather or canvas or leather/canvas from other sources at 1/4 the price of J.W. Hulme.

I found an amazing DOP kit at a Marshall's recently (genuine leather) for under $20, and that's the way I like to find toiletry kits. These get the most abuse, so no sense in spending a fortune on them as they take the most abuse of all your luggage..... unless you are checking bags. Then the bag that's checke gets abused considerbly more times than not. But I'd NEVER check any of my J.W. Hulme luggage. All of it gets carried on. I only check luggage that would not breat my heart if it were destroyed, lost or stolen.

REGARDING STRAIGHT RAZORS AND FLYING;

I'm wondering if TSA would allow Shavettes to be carried on? These after all are razor blade razors, not hard blade straight razors. I'd suspect they would say "NO" since you could theoretically put the blade in the shavette and use it as a weapon, whereas a DE razor would be a bit more difficult to make into a weapon. Still, I may ask them to see. I'm not a huge fan of Shavettes, but they are better than nothing if you aren't checking luggage and want to go with a straight (ish) razor.

EDIT:
Just checked with TSA. No single razor blades of ANY kind are premissable onboard an aircraft as carry-on luggage. Not DE blades, not singles for shavettes, nothing. The only blades allowed are cartridge blades and disposable razors. You can bring on the shavette without the blade (be prepared to have it looked at with scrutiny at TSA checkpoint), but must check the blades or buy them when you get to your destination. This is odd since I have definitely brought on razor blades for my DE before. They just must have squeked through. So that ends that discusion. No biggie if I'm going to the mainland for weeks. I could carry on a shavette and buy blades when I get to my destination, or better yet mail them and have them waiting for me at my destination when I arrive.

Straight razors obviously need to be in checked baggage, but we knew that.

Like a safety razor, I assume a shavette would be fine as long as it has no blade in it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Like a safety razor, I assume a shavette would be fine as long as it has no blade in it.

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Yes. Correct. I have been traveling with a DE and blades, but they must have missed them on all the X-Ray scans i went through, since they were in the classic 5 pack box mixed in with lots of other toiletries. No loose blades of any kind allowed. Shavette and DE with NO blades are kosher. I'll just have to mail my Voskhod blades to my destination awaiting my arrival. ;)

I much prefer a classic straight razor, but if I'm going to take a flight with carry-on bags only, the empty shavette and the DE (SANS BLADES) are all I can legally get by TSA.

This is my entire travel kit:Attachment 270679
Everything is travel-size, the badger brush is self-contained inside its metallic handle, the shavette is carry-on and TSA friendly, and the single half-blade I put separately somewhere in the outer pocket - ready to be thrown away if asked - have never been taken from me either (dozens of flights with different companies in various countries).
The brush and the shavette are usually packed in old rigid sunglasses case along with a couple of small silica-gel bags, and the whole lot doesn't take any more space than two pairs of glasses - which is also important to a carry-on-only space-conscious traveler :)
Of course, when I travel with checked-in luggage, it's entirely different matter, and I can take one of my real straights and a paddle strop. Like you, on my hundreds of flights during the past 30+ years I've never missed a single item (bags got broken, arrived day or two after me, etc. - but never one lost, stolen, or missing an item), so I'm not afraid to take a good razor with me when checking the luggage.

Attachment 270687
I guess one of these days I'll start dragging a straight razor around when I travel, but a set up llike this has withstood the test of time snd it works for me.
$6.50 razor
$13.00 case
$2.00 soap
$50.00 brush (but I could go a LOT cheaper on it)
$1.00-$2.00 blades
Packs small...brush dries very quickly. Not much reason to mess with any of this

Great stuff, gents. Mahalo!

The only recent change I have made is that I swapped my travel Badger brush for a travel Synthetic. I think it will travel better than a natural brush when wet, and dry quicker. Plus you don't have to soak it in the morning in the event you are in a bit more of a hurry.

I have a Shavette that I have been traveling with, but have been buying blades at destination, or shipping them there if I really want Voskhod. I suppose I can try and just put a few in another part of my kit and if they are taken, then so be it. I am a "trusted traveler" with Nexus clearing for the US and Canada, so I do know that you are not supposed to bring blades on a plane. But sometimes, we forget I suppose. I once traveled with a folding knife in my baggage because I forgot it was there, and indeed it got through TSA. I'm lucky I didn't lose it. I've lost some really nice pocket knives and Multi-Tools over the years. I hope the TSA officers that confiscated them are enjoying using them.

I'll have to photo my current kit tomorrow and post it here.

Thanks gentlemen.

-Zip

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phoenix51

Attachment 270687
I guess one of these days I'll start dragging a straight razor around when I travel, but a set up llike this has withstood the test of time snd it works for me.
$6.50 razor
$13.00 case
$2.00 soap
$50.00 brush (but I could go a LOT cheaper on it)
$1.00-$2.00 blades
Packs small...brush dries very quickly. Not much reason to mess with any of this

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Aloha!

Nice simple set-up. Proraso soap is easy to travel with and thick and rich... more like cream in a bowl than soap. Nice travel brush and razor.

I like the price point and the adjustable feature of that Merkur Futur knock-off, but mine is almost useless. It is very uneaven with blade reveal from poor manufacture. One side of the blade reveals about twice the other, so if you set it at 3, one side gives you max reveal, the other minimum. I've tried to re-align it but it's impossible. I may try another one for $8.00 deliverd via aliexpress.com. I'm currently traveling with a Weishi travel razor for the DE that I've been happy with. This is the same razor as the Pawn Stars Microtouch One.

Mahalo!
-Zip

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dimab

This is my entire travel kit:Attachment 270679
Everything is travel-size, the badger brush is self-contained inside its metallic handle, the shavette is carry-on and TSA friendly, and the single half-blade I put separately somewhere in the outer pocket - ready to be thrown away if asked - have never been taken from me either (dozens of flights with different companies in various countries).
The brush and the shavette are usually packed in old rigid sunglasses case along with a couple of small silica-gel bags, and the whole lot doesn't take any more space than two pairs of glasses - which is also important to a carry-on-only space-conscious traveler :)
Of course, when I travel with checked-in luggage, it's entirely different matter, and I can take one of my real straights and a paddle strop. Like you, on my hundreds of flights during the past 30+ years I've never missed a single item (bags got broken, arrived day or two after me, etc. - but never one lost, stolen, or missing an item), so I'm not afraid to take a good razor with me when checking the luggage.

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Aloha!

Very nice set-up. When I check bags, I have a Cut Throat Gents Straight I take with me with a travel strop, and I'm looking for a small travel barber hone for blade emergencies. It's a nice budget straight razor that honed-up well, as it's only $20-$25 on Amazon. IMO, much better quality than a Gold Dollar, yet if I lose it I won't be heart-broken.

-Zip

I carry a straight in my DOPP kit in a leather case. The brush and shave stick go into pill bottles. I lay the strop between layers of clothes. I always check my bag and have never had a problem. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...920bc94184.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by criswilson10

Straight goes into a plastic toothbrush holder and I travel with one that I don't mind losing.
Brush goes into a large plastic medicine bottle with holes drilled in the top.
Soap is put into a plastic smokeless tobacco container (that has been washed out)
Paddle strop instead of a hanging strop.

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This is exactly what I do, right down to the brush container! figured I was the only one who used old prescription bottles and toothbrush containers in my shaving routine lol. except when I travel I just bite the bullet and use cremo shaving cream in their travel sizes rather than shaving soaps

As a musician, I travel a lot, and have different setups depending on how long I'll be away and whether or not I'll have checked luggage or not.

Checked luggage/long trips: Gotta 120 in a leather sheath, Wilkinson synthetic brush (which I got for free), whatever shaving soap or cream I feel like that has a screw top, alum bar and Proraso aftershave. Paddle strop goes wherever it fits. My Gotta doesn't look so pretty, so I feel there's less of a chance it would be stolen, and it's a fantastic shaver. I really enjoy travelling with this setup.

Carry-on/short trips: Parker 24C open comb safety razor, synthetic brush, soap/cream, and alum bar (no aftershave). I prefer to travel with the Parker because even if my vintage Gillettes were cheaper, I place more value on them. Even though it's cheap, it's a good quality razor and it gives a super close shave.

It's all very portable, and aside from the SR very cheap and replaceable.

So, I've decided to resurrect ZipZop's thread with a variation on the theme.

My wife and I have been invited to join some friends on a cruise in 2019 and while I have about 18 months to plan, pack and learn ASL (yep, the friends we are going with are almost all deaf and I'm the only hearing person of the bunch who isn't conversant in ASL) I ran across a potentially troubling point on Royal Carribean's website. You see the "What Not to Pack" list has the ambiguous item of "Sharp Objects, including knives and scissors." This is then clarified with the footnote that "Personal grooming items such as safety razors are allowed."

So...I can take a user-grade razor and risk having it impounded, purchase a shavette and rely on the fact that there won't be a blade in it until I need it, buy and learn to use a DE or, absolutely the worst case scenario, use a *%$@&! cartridge for a week.

Any thoughts, gentlemen? I'm assuming at least a few of you have ventured to the seas with your shaving kit but this being my first experience with cruising of the nautical kind I'm looking for advice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GreenRipper

So, I've decided to resurrect ZipZop's thread with a variation on the theme.

My wife and I have been invited to join some friends on a cruise in 2019 and while I have about 18 months to plan, pack and learn ASL (yep, the friends we are going with are almost all deaf and I'm the only hearing person of the bunch who isn't conversant in ASL) I ran across a potentially troubling point on Royal Carribean's website. You see the "What Not to Pack" list has the ambiguous item of "Sharp Objects, including knives and scissors." This is then clarified with the footnote that "Personal grooming items such as safety razors are allowed."

So...I can take a user-grade razor and risk having it impounded, purchase a shavette and rely on the fact that there won't be a blade in it until I need it, buy and learn to use a DE or, absolutely the worst case scenario, use a *%$@&! cartridge for a week.

Any thoughts, gentlemen? I'm assuming at least a few of you have ventured to the seas with your shaving kit but this being my first experience with cruising of the nautical kind I'm looking for advice.

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I would contact Royal Caribbean and ask them. If they say no to a straight, I would take my Feather AC and tell them it’s a safety razor, if asked. Good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Unfortunately the locations of my winters and summers are dictated by my job, but I can dream.

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Summer in Minnesota, and winter in Burkburnet. :hmmm:

Could always build your own travel kit, or have one made.
I was inspired by some I have seen and created a number of weekender kits with paired blades.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...weekender.html
Always an option. And always have two straights at your disposal.
Checked bags still apply of course.
Cheer..