A Compact, Long Stay, SR Travel Kit

[rbscebu]

@marz1 have you looked here:

Recommended SR Starter Kit - Titan ACRM-2 for about US$22 including shipping worldwide

The Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 SR StarternKit consists of a good Titan ACRM-2 SR in PU leather zippered case, 60mm wide denim strop and a 4g block of CeOx stropping paste. It sells on AliExpress for about US$22 including shipping worldwide. After testing, I have found that the supplied gear is enough...

www.badgerandblade.com

Then there are the instructions here:

Traditional SR Shaving Instructions for Beginners - Issue 7

Attached is the latest issue (issue 7) of Traditional SR Shaving Instructions For Beginners. The instructions have been revised to show the current knowledge and have been split up into parts for easier access. The parts are: SR Shaving Instructions QS Guide Rev A - a Quick-Start guide for...

www.badgerandblade.com

A SR is the most infinitely variable razor you can get. As your SR shaving technique develops, you will find that you can go from the mildest to the most effective, all with the one razor .

As for edge length, most SRs come with an edge length of between about 60mm and 75mm. This has been determined over a few hundred years to be the most acceptable, but not saying that it will be the best for you. It is a personal preference, like most things in shaving.

 

[Legion]

That's a really aesthetically pleasing combination. Does the shorter razor get fatiguing in use compared to the regular sized one?

No, not really. When you shave only one or two inches of blade is in contact with the skin, so the process is not much different with a shorty.

Using a small hone can be tricky for beginners, but that is a matter of practice. And the shorter razor is easier on the small hone.

 

[Steve56]

Using a small hone can be tricky for beginners, but that is a matter of practice. And the shorter razor is easier on the small hone.

Yes. If the hone is narrower than the razor is long, you have to take some extra care to make sure that the bevel has even wear at the heel and toe, especially at the heel. If you watch some YouGoobers honing, many times the first thing that happens is that the heel immediately comes off the hone and so does not get very much ‘stone love’.

 

[marz1]

@marz1 have you looked here:

Thanks rbscebu, I had a look at both links and they were very informative. The Titan seems to be a great deal for something that can be honed up and put in a travel kit with minimal stress of damage or loss. I wonder how the Titan's steel compares to something like a vintage Bengall at similar price point. However the Titan would still have the advantage of having no hone wear and new fittings etc. Also the vintage wouldn't come with a strop, paste etc.

No, not really. When you shave only one or two inches of blade is in contact with the skin, so the process is not much different with a shorty.

Using a small hone can be tricky for beginners, but that is a matter of practice. And the shorter razor is easier on the small hone.

This caution against a small hone is useful. As a beginner, I've been tempted to get small natural stone (which is usually more affordable) and starting with that for razor maintenance. Thanks to the advice found here, I've managed to avoid this potential pitfall and opt for a full size synthetic stone instead. I do really like the idea of a compact one stone solution for maintenance though.

Yes. If the hone is narrower than the razor is long, you have to take some extra care to make sure that the bevel has even wear at the heel and toe, especially at the heel. If you watch some YouGoobers honing, many times the first thing that happens is that the heel immediately comes off the hone and so does not get very much ‘stone love’.

Haha "YouGoobers"! I've been watching a fair few videos lately since I have a Shapton set (including a 16k) arriving today and I've not notice this because I've not been looking out for it. I'll keep an eye out for this when I'm watching more videos this evening. I've seen some people gently put a finger on the heel and tip of the kamisori when doing strokes and its just clicked that this is why they do it.

 

[Legion]

This caution against a small hone is useful. As a beginner, I've been tempted to get small natural stone (which is usually more affordable) and starting with that for razor maintenance. Thanks to the advice found here, I've managed to avoid this potential pitfall and opt for a full size synthetic stone instead. I do really like the idea of a compact one stone solution for maintenance though.

I’ll admit, when I was learning, I started with big hones, and then even something the size of a barber hone was tricky. But after a lot of practice all sorts of little, or weird shaped stones are good. It’s just muscle memory. Small hones are great once you are confident.

 

[Steve56]

I’ve never understood the narrow hones, especially slates. They paved roads, built houses, roofed buildings with slate, but try to find a hone as wide as your razor is long. Good luck with that.

 

[KW Driver]

Is there a SR equivalent of a Gillette Tech? Meaning it's effective, low cost, reliable and doesn't break the bank if it gets lost. Gold Dollars seem the ideal candidate but I've heard they require quite a bit of work. What about the entry level offerings from TI, Dovo, Boker or Ralf Aust? Or maybe vintage?


That's a really aesthetically pleasing combination. Does the shorter razor get fatiguing in use compared to the regular sized one?

Any razor will travel the same as any other really. I don’t take my special to me blades. GDs well set up travel easily too. If you like 5/8s, any vintage with a good name is probably easy to come by depending on where you live/shop and can be cleaned/honed up fairly cheaply.

I’ve got a Le Grelot stamped TI C135. Properly honed, the edges last forever if you do your part. Doc226 did 130-something shaved without a touch up and no noticeable degradation in face feel before he quit the experiment. I like it in hand more than my Aust. That’s me. this is one of my preferred traveler with the De Pew in the pic.

And there’s plenty of ways to pack them. Pad them and protect them from moving or banging around, so they don’t end up with a broken scale maybe. I just run mine in my silicone sleeves, and used to use toothbrush cases (most 6/8 and smaller fit), toilet paper/tissue in the ends would have prevented this break in the pic.

 

[marz1]

Any razor will travel the same as any other really. I don’t take my special to me blades. GDs well set up travel easily too. If you like 5/8s, any vintage with a good name is probably easy to come by depending on where you live/shop and can be cleaned/honed up fairly cheaply.

I’ve got a Le Grelot stamped TI C135. Properly honed, the edges last forever if you do your part. Doc226 did 130-something shaved without a touch up and no noticeable degradation in face feel before he quit the experiment. I like it in hand more than my Aust. That’s me. this is one of my preferred traveler with the De Pew in the pic.

And there’s plenty of ways to pack them. Pad them and protect them from moving or banging around, so they don’t end up with a broken scale maybe. I just run mine in my silicone sleeves, and used to use toothbrush cases (most 6/8 and smaller fit), toilet paper/tissue in the ends would have prevented this break in the pic.

130 shaves without a touchup? To someone new to SR like me, that is amazing. I've had 2 weeks of shaves and I've had to touch up my razor because I could see irregularities on the edge, probably due to a mixture of poor shaving technique and poor stropping when I first got the razor. To go to 130 shaves is pretty impressive to me. No doubt the skill of the shaver plays a large part in maintaining the edge.

Is there something about the steel on the TI that helps with edge longevity (assuming decent technique etc). Or do you think similar results would be possible with the steel/grind that Aust or Dovo use.

More than 90 comfortable shaves with no touch up is certainly travel worthy in my book

 

[KW Driver]

130 shaves without a touchup? To someone new to SR like me, that is amazing. I've had 2 weeks of shaves and I've had to touch up my razor because I could see irregularities on the edge, probably due to a mixture of poor shaving technique and poor stropping when I first got the razor. To go to 130 shaves is pretty impressive to me. No doubt the skill of the shaver plays a large part in maintaining the edge.

Is there something about the steel on the TI that helps with edge longevity (assuming decent technique etc). Or do you think similar results would be possible with the steel/grind that Aust or Dovo use.

More than 90 comfortable shaves with no touch up is certainly travel worthy in my book

the C135 is hard. I don't know where it rockwells though.

 

[rbscebu]

130 shaves without a touchup? To someone new to SR like me, that is amazing. I've had 2 weeks of shaves and I've had to touch up my razor because I could see irregularities on the edge, probably due to a mixture of poor shaving technique and poor stropping when I first got the razor. To go to 130 shaves is pretty impressive to me. No doubt the skill of the shaver plays a large part in maintaining the edge.

Is there something about the steel on the TI that helps with edge longevity (assuming decent technique etc). Or do you think similar results would be possible with the steel/grind that Aust or Dovo use.

More than 90 comfortable shaves with no touch up is certainly travel worthy in my book

Generally, but not always, the harder the steel the longer it will keep its edge. I say generally because there are many other factors that contribute to edge longevity, things like; toughness, alloy, gain size, intergranular bonding, bevel angle, etc.

I have a Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 SR that was "honed" and finished/maintained all on a CeOx pasted denim strop that so far has 18 X three-pass shaves on it and going strong. I will soon be putting another 20 shaves on it to see how it holds up.

 

[Tomo]

A bit off topic but I put together a similar DE set. This is for those times that you don’t want to scare your colleagues in the change rooms before work. It’s a little more compact again. With a ten pack of blades it should last a month easy.