Thread: A minimal traveling kit

I'd rather break a bottle than shave with a bic lol. However, I forgot to mention the aftershave... Aqua Velva Ice Balm comes in small bottles, is cheap and works decently.

When I travel it depends how long I am going for.

A few days.
--2 Micarta straights in a twin cigar tube, the Micarta handles are chunky and they fit in just right. Strop them before I leave and they will be fine. If I need to stay an extra day I just use the ball of my thumb to strop the edge, it works.
--Travel brush.
--I small pot of shave cream.
--Tea Tree oil, the best post shave oil.

Longer,
--I just add a dovo travel strop.

A pair of razors will last two week easy, so anything longer than two weeks I may have to resort to my DE, you can get DE blades and cream any where in the world.

Peter

Originally Posted by phopwood

When I travel it depends how long I am going for.

A few days.
--2 Micarta straights in a twin cigar tube, the Micarta handles are chunky and they fit in just right. Strop them before I leave and they will be fine. If I need to stay an extra day I just use the ball of my thumb to strop the edge, it works.
--Travel brush.
--I small pot of shave cream.
--Tea Tree oil, the best post shave oil.

Longer,
--I just add a dovo travel strop.

A pair of razors will last two week easy, so anything longer than two weeks I may have to resort to my DE, you can get DE blades and cream any where in the world.

Peter

I just happen to be on the road now. I'm staying at a government facility for a week while taking a class. This time I'm using an approach similar to yours. I just brought a Henkels 7-day set in a leather traveling case, an old brush, and a mostly used tube of Tom's of Maine shaving cream. The old Henkels kit rolls up tight and fits in my dopp kit easily. I save my almost-empty tubes of cream for use on trips.

I didn't have any trouble sending my kit through as checked luggage on my flight. Getting onsite the guards made me pop my trunk open, and I thought they were going to go through my luggage. I guess my clean-shaven visage put them at ease though, so they didn't.

I stropped all 7 razors before I left. On about #5 I started to get a little punchy and put a little nick in my good leather strop. It was just a small one though, and didn't go all the way through the surface of the leather. It pretty much dissappeared as I continued (more carefully) stropping.

A 7-day kit would see me through a couple of weeks at least. For anything longer I'd probably want a strop or a finishing hone.

I'm going to keep my eye out for a fine abrasive that is lighter than a barber's fininshing hone. Something like that, with a single razor, would set you up for weeks or years worth of shaves and not be so heavy as a finishing hone.

I've always thought that it'd be great if someone sold small Norton 8K travel hones. Perhaps bought a full size hone and cut it down to 2-3 small travel hones....

Hmm, hint, hint....Anyone have a hone saw?

C utz

There are finer finishing hones than Norton that don't need to be soaked, thus being better for edge touchups and easier to use.

I usually just bring:
2 sided srop
My worldmaster Sheffield 6/8(coz I love it and it wasn't very expensive)
Badger/boar brush (small, handy and the only brush I own)
a nice soap like Mammabéar's or something similar in a container that closes well.

I don't really care about the size issue, I just want to be comfortable.

My travel kit:

• 2 8/8 Friodurs previously in razor coffins, but since my wife threw all mine away accidentally I am using bubble wrap and boots as storage (I rotate but I always take 2 which are replaceable incase of loss or damage)
• one small pure badger brush
• a travel strop made by Tony Miller
• 2 Tubs of shaving cream by Colleen
• 2 tubs of shaving soap by Sue
• Coral skin food
• Aqua Velva Musk aftershave
• GFT Sandlewood Cologne
• Royall Musk Cologne
• a Styptic pencil
• one bottle of lavander preshave oil
• One first aid kit (oh shush I havent actually ever had to use it!!!...well ok except for the ear...so once...big freakin deal lol)
• Lynn's address (I have it memorized at this point) for all my honing needs. I think I have sent Lynn razors from several states at this point...soon he can start building a stamp collection lol.

I thin thats it and yess it all fits in one dopp kit...its sort of big though hehe


I refuse to deny myself lifes simple pleasures just because Im not home...if I crash on a plane or get shot on the street I will miss saying hello again to my lovely wife, and I will miss all the birthdays and family celebrations, but I WILL die with the satisfaction that I got one last good straight razor shave in....and that will have to do, because its the only part of that equation which I can control, and thats going to have to be good enough for me.

oh and btw...I am absolutely NOT a minimalist...

I'm on the road again this week. My kit:

1 Dovo straight razor in it's metal box.
1 fine barber hone
1 small (18.75 ml) bottle "shave secret" oil.

It all fit easily in my toiletries bag.

No brush, no soap, no cream, no strop. I'll let you guys know how it went at the end of the week.

The oil came from Wal-mart and was under $4. I've found any light oil will do though.

I wrapped the hone in a clean sock to protect it from baggage handlers.

Everything went in the checked luggage.

Originally Posted by JLStorm

My travel kit:

• 2 8/8 Friodurs previously in razor coffins, but since my wife threw all mine away accidentally I am using bubble wrap and boots as storage (I rotate but I always take 2 which are replaceable incase of loss or damage)
• one small pure badger brush
• a travel strop made by Tony Miller
• 2 Tubs of shaving cream by Colleen
• 2 tubs of shaving soap by Sue
• Coral skin food
• Aqua Velva Musk aftershave
• GFT Sandlewood Cologne
• Royall Musk Cologne
• a Styptic pencil
• one bottle of lavander preshave oil
• One first aid kit (oh shush I havent actually ever had to use it!!!...well ok except for the ear...so once...big freakin deal lol)
• Lynn's address (I have it memorized at this point) for all my honing needs. I think I have sent Lynn razors from several states at this point...soon he can start building a stamp collection lol.

I thin thats it and yess it all fits in one dopp kit...its sort of big though hehe


I refuse to deny myself lifes simple pleasures just because Im not home...if I crash on a plane or get shot on the street I will miss saying hello again to my lovely wife, and I will miss all the birthdays and family celebrations, but I WILL die with the satisfaction that I got one last good straight razor shave in....and that will have to do, because its the only part of that equation which I can control, and thats going to have to be good enough for me.

oh and btw...I am absolutely NOT a minimalist...

That's not a travel kit that's a travel trunk..

Now that I've left a supply at my gf's house, I can travel minimally - with nothing.

Generally, though, I pack two razors of my choice, a paddle strop, and a tube or two of cream with a brush.