Thread: Traveling with the straight razor

Gentlemen,

The travel straight razor requires two essential companions: strop and barber hone. For me, anyway. Many shavers might include some type of paste, especially those traveling with a paddle strop one side of which might be pasted. I am not much for pastes, nor do I have a paddle strop — although I am tempted to get one just to give it a try. My current travel strop is the small Illinois 835 which I have fitted with a tether to wrap around a door knob. (I had a small Tony Miller strop with a tether that I gave up, for which I still kick myself in the tokhus.) I have two barber hones, a King Midas, a sweet little stone from the King Razor Manufacturing Co. of bygone years. The other one is a big name — not a Swatty — which I can't remember now, thanks to a senior moment.

I have been away from home about 10 days now, shaving daily with a 13/16 Henckels Friodur INOX round point. (The Gillette Fatboy backup in my wet pack has not been used yet.) Midway through the first pass this morning I realized the razor's edge weakening a bit. I don't remember when I had honed the razor last. For this shave, the blade had been stropped after I lathered. So I stopped the shave, lathered the stone and gave the razor five or six strokes then proceeded to shave. The edge felt better. When using the barber hone in the middle of a shave, I don't strop it afterward. If I do use the barber hone before the shave, a good stropping follows on leather only, about 100 or 150 strokes — I love to strop. Other gentlemen might have a different routine, but this works for me.

The essential element I have discovered in traveling with the straight razor is to make it a stainless steel blade. It is easier to take care. Not that I have not traveled with carbon steel blades. Taking care of a razor is not that much of a chore, especially since it is another part of the straight razor shaving ritual. In the old days I used to travel with two or three razors. These days one razor is plenty, with a DE backup, in case I need a quick shave. I don't subscribe to the notion of resting a blade 48 hour or more. Nothing wrong with using the same blade many days in a row. Or if you have just one blade. At home sometimes I use the same razor a week, two weeks and more just because I feel like it. So traveling makes no difference.

Well anyway, gentlemen, thanks for reading. Any thoughts?