Thread: I think I have a problem...

As an airline pilot, I can't travel with my kit as the TSA frowns upon traveling with anything shaper than a cue ball. I'm usually gone 4-5 days and now I loathe using my safety razor. I'm finding that I will skip the last two days shave so I can have "optimal" stubble for when I get home!

Chief Pilot bumped into me and said I was looking a little scruffy. I mumbled something about a reduced rest overnight and that a late flight was waiting on me.

On long flights I just look out the window and conspire how to get my kit to the hotels :-(

Before I found this site, I would shave for work and be scruffy on my days off. Now I can't wait to get home just so I can shave again! Thanks a lot fellas!

As an airline passenger who can't travel with his kit, I feel your pain. If I'm going to be in one place for more than a few days, I might ship a razor to where I'm staying, with delivery confirmation, but if I'm staying in a hotel and not a private home, I always worry about their staff misplacing my package.

Utility companies have designed a number of reusable locking devices (not just copper wire/lead seals) to prevent customer tampering with their meters. Anti-theft devices on expensive clothes also require a special device to remove them at the cash register.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a really strong, x-ray transparent box to carry sharps in your carry on luggage? It would have a really secure, snap-to-close lock like those anti-theft devices on clothing, but industrial strength. We could request one when purchasing our tickets online and have it waiting for us at the ticket counter where we leave our checked luggage. The ticket agent or a TSA officer could certify (on the airport computer) it locked & in our carry on bag before our boarding pass would be issued. And when we arrived at our destination, we could go to the "lost luggage" office in the baggage claim area to turn in the box to the airline agent there, who would unlock it with a device bolted to the wall and return our razors to us. There could be a hefty deposit on the box that would be charged to the passenger's credit card for secure boxes not returned to the airline.

Airlines love tacking additional fees onto our ticket purchases. Surely there are other passengers besides straight razor users who want or have a need to carry sharp tools with them that are too valuable to place in checked baggage? (After three different airlines misplaced my luggage -- the last time for several days -- I will never put any of my straights in my checked bags.)

Surely there could be a large enough demand for a secure carry on box that would entice a manufacturer to delelop one and the airlines to use them to pad their fares?

Ah well, I can dream, can't I?
Morty

I undersand your pain. As a retired railroader I can say I never had that problem tho. One of the reasons I drive or take the train to this day is my need for my razor.

Mitch

I'm not sure anyone here will be able to propose a solution to your problem. I'm sure you know the TSA better than the rest of us, and if there was a way around it you probably would have found it by now.

I suppose the only thing I can think of is to mail your kit from hotel to hotel. Of course this would only work if your layovers last a couple days or more. Otherwise you'll have to be happy with your DE...

I was a little vague in my "problem" :-)

The real issue is that I shave as little as possible at work now so that I can get back to my straights when I get home! I just have to quicken my pace as I walk past the Chief Pilots office, thats all ;-)

It's too bad that you, as a pilot, aren't allowed to check a bag and pick-up at your final destination, you could keep a couple cheap vintage straights packed well inside the checked luggage... Or you could carry a DE with you and pick up some cheap blades at Wal-mart or the local pharmacy...

But hey, if you're getting away with not shaving for a few days then living in luxury with your favorite razors at home, more power to ya!

Might be worth a shot next time the chief says something. Yea, sorry, switching to a straight razor has proved so effective in reducing irritation and bumps. The continued use of it has actually increased the discomfort and irritation when I have to shave by other means. Unless you want your first class guests to confuse my face with pizza I am stuck with either the straight or hair clippers, and its not quite that long yet. Dont forget you feed them spoiled brats pizza and you wont ever be able to stop it.