Thread: Traveling with the straight razor

Last time I traveled I brought 3 razors, my strop, 2 soaps and a cream and 4 different kinds of aftershave. Oh I also brought my alum, witch hazel and aftershave balm. Overkill? Maybe. Great shaves while on vacation for 2 weeks? YUP!

I generally take a seven day set with me if I have to be away for any length of time. Overseas conferences, for example. My sister very thoughtfully bought me a retractable strop some years ago, and that is my staple travel strop.

I always pack a badger brush and a tub of whatever soap/cream I am using - I don't worry about trying to pack downsized versions.

If I am at all concerned about the edges on the razors I hone them before leaving. It is very unlikely that they would all need a touch up while away, and I refuse to take hones with me when I travel as I think it would be quite easy to break them.

James.

Usually I'm afraid to take SR with me or any other expensive shaving stuff:
a) because I already lost my baggage, thanks to the Air France.
b) because usually while diving I travel to the country with very hight humidity and live in bungalow and didn't really know how to maintenance razors in such climate.
So, usually I take Shavette razor, some cream or soap and cheap Tweezrerman

Since I as much as possible travel with carry-on luggage I am stuck with less exciting options. Namely a Gillette Mach 3. Applying all the acquired skills in preparation, a good soap and a good brush, it is still possible to maintain a good clean business look. Although, I haste add before I get accused of heresy it is nowhere near as satisfying a start of the day.

And yes, I throw in an alum block there too and some Nivea After Shave lotion. I like that nice and smooth feeling.

On short trips I take a yellow Bic, if I'm flying with carry-on. I've only been using a straight for a couple of months, but I'm starting to think that a shavette-type thing might be the easiest thing for longer trips. I've been using one on and off, so it won't be a big surprise. The other up side of that is that if something happens and it becomes missing, it will be easy to replace, since I've been using a home-hotrodded $5 Chinese version of the Parker. I don't really want to be leaving/losing my Dubl Duck in a hotel or airport, and since I travel light, the idea of dragging a hunk of honing stone along isn't appealing, either.

Unless you're gone for months there should be no need to bring any kind of honing equipment! If anything your finisher should be good enough!

I travel a lot...as in 35,000 miles for the first six weeks of the year..
For the short, carry on only trips, I use the Storsven solution. Bring a travel Boar brush and a stick of Tabac but use a Cart (Mach 3). I find that with the Wet shaving habits, a good soap and stretching I can hang on to as many parts of Wet/Straight shaving as I can.

Checking a bag? - I have dropped my old system (2-3 razors, travel strop) in favor of either the Feather SS (fixed or folding) or a CJB clone of the Feather and 1-2 spare blades.

The Kit is smaller
If it gets lost or stolen it can be replaced with the exact same thing.
A pack of 20 blades (or 3 in the holder) takes up the same room as a pack of chewing gum - less if you tape a blade to a card.
Maintenance (pre and post shave) is minimal.
A perfect new edge is only seconds away...
Once you find the "Holder" (DX, RG, SS, Kai, CJB, Fixed, Folding) and blade (Feather Pro, Super, Guard, Light - Kai Mild, Mild Guard or Dorco to name the bigs) this is a great system. (Give it a week)

And if my travel has me going to the same place for short (carry on) trips I leave a Feather/Clone/Blades on site in a safe & secure spot.

This works so well that I often use the Feather SS for a work-day shave, great results in short order.

And I have to admit that I resisted trying the Feather because of the "slash and gash" rep that it had.
This was a mistake on my part. IMHO the SS is a good system even for starters (Pro Guard Blade) and anyone who is comfortable with a SR could master the light touch required in short order.

And of course...YMMV...

Wow, I feel like a heathen. I travel 2 weeks per month, one week at a time and usually only pack my SR, a travel brush, and a stick of Arko. I usually strop with my morning newspaper and call it good.

When I travel I take a DE, a badger brush, and a cake of shave soap. I have tried taking everything needed for a straight shave, but it is too much stuff. Also when I travel back to Australia I want to travel lite so that I can bring more stuff back with me.