Woulda', Shoulda', Coullda'

Gentlemen,

I am traveling this week and, during my shave this morning, realized my shave set up leaves a lot to desire. The razor is the Feather Artist Club DX pearl with ProGuard blades, the brush the 21 mm Muhle silvertip fiber in the aluminum tube and the cream Institute Karite in a tube. An Edwin Jagger DE 89 shave head with the iKon bulldog handle are backup.

Sure, it's not the end of the world, but a whole week of this? Oy!

My standard travel razor is the Henckels Friodur 6/8 stainless steel, which is easy to maintain and is a sweet shaver. I love that razor. The Feather Artist Club is the backup. My travel strop is the Illinois 127 fashioned with a leather tether to wrap around door knobs — my Doorknob Special. For soap, I use that delicious Klar Seifan in the travel tin. This is a German vegetable base shave soap with a clean and soapy fragrance that quite pleasant. It lathers well and has good glide and cushion.

For me, this is the perfect travel gear. Has been for years. This trip is an experiment in travel shaving gear and it's a bomb. So much for that.

Through the years I have tried a variety of straights, big and small, stainless and carbon, but none has been honey sweet like my Henckels Friodur. For soaps, I think I have covered the gamut of tins and sticks, including D.R. Harris and La Toja, and none has pleased me as much as the Klar Seifan.

The travel brush selection also has been extensive and included Simpson, Vulfix, and even a couple boars. I'm on the fence about the Muhle silvertip fiber in the aluminum tube. It's a fine brush, but I'll decide on its final status when I get home. I've had my eye on the shavemac and the Thater travel shave brushes in the tube, but they are a wee bit pricey.

For the strop, I have gone back and forth on what I have and what should try: the SRD paddle strop. That is another decision to be made by the time I head out to the big shave meet, October 19, in Kansas City.

So there you have it, gentlemen, some thoughts on the ideal travel shave set up — for me. Stay tuned.