Safety Razor of the Month, June 2015 - Travel Razors

Seeing as how I'm currently in Corwall on holiday with my whole family, I thought it might be fun to do a slightly different theme this month and talk about the razors we use when we're traveling. Do you have certain razors that you use, or do you bring the same razor you use at home? Do you have any travel tips you want to share? Even though we're nominally in the DE forum here, all travel razors are fair game.

On this trip I've been shaving entirely with my Travalong with no complaints. It packs down to the size of a pack of blades, protecting the installed blade, and gives a great shave to boot.

Something like this.


Enjoy your holidays, Porter.


Those of you who dislike carts/disposable razors, check this out.

That's awesome, never come across anything like that before. I use the same razor I use at home and if necessary mail the blades ahead.

-Stephen

nuclearblast said:

Something like this.


Enjoy your holidays, Porter.


Those of you who dislike carts/disposable razors, check this out.

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Try this!

I would love to find a Travalong. Seems like it would be an easy razor to produce as it's made out of stamped steel, no molds or milling required.

Ugh. I clicked on that.

My plan includes this little Tech ... might make the Altoids can kit instead of the 1968-vintage/unused.




AA

Usually I bring a EJ DE89 (one of the three I got when starting... I know, I know...). If it got lost, it would be a minor hurt. I've got a Parat (not in immaculate condition) that could be taken for travels as well.

And when flying.... sadly, cartridges again...

By coincidence, I just paid for this little travel set this morning .. it will soon be in the post from France to Australia.
I only know that it's a Gillette, and must be pre-1930 as it's older than a NEW from the look of it.
Can't wait to clean it up and get it going .. I'm travelling to Spain and Italy at the end of this year and this, if it performs well, will come along .. otherwise I'll take my smallest, lightest Tech.

Anthonyjhc said:

By coincidence, I just paid for this little travel set this morning .. it will soon be in the post from France to Australia.
I only know that it's a Gillette, and must be pre-1930 as it's older than a NEW from the look of it.
Can't wait to clean it up and get it going .. I'm travelling to Spain and Italy at the end of this year and this, if it performs well, will come along .. otherwise I'll take my smallest, lightest Tech.

Click to expand...

That's cool. It's an Old Type, from the '20s.

Something like this Vest Pocket set:

http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/Old Type/1920s Vest Pocket from Erwin Beekmans.jpg

I've never understood the benefits of a "travel razor." Maybe someone can enlighten me.

The reduced size and weight are negligible in the suitcase. Shaving with a "tiny" razor is not as pleasant.

When traveling I bring along any razor that I wish. I stick it in a "holster" that many shaving sites sell and toss it into the suitcase.

The travel tech shaves well and is easy to get used to. I can't understand some folks wanting an extra long handle, when all you should be shaving with is your thumb and two fingers. It's not as though you need extra leverage.

MacDaddy said:

On this trip I've been shaving entirely with my Travalong with no complaints. It packs down to the size of a pack of blades, protecting the installed blade, and gives a great shave to boot.

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Never seen before!
Wonderful!

For travel I usually go for shavette or Muhle 89 indeed.

santamariasteve said:

I've never understood the benefits of a "travel razor." Maybe someone can enlighten me.

The reduced size and weight are negligible in the suitcase. Shaving with a "tiny" razor is not as pleasant.

When traveling I bring along any razor that I wish. I stick it in a "holster" that many shaving sites sell and toss it into the suitcase.

Click to expand...

What we think of as a small suitcase, these days, was something of a luxury when that razor was made. The "holster" that you mention would be the same, if it even existed. When traveling in the '20's, you had very, very little space of your own to store your things. Most folks could not just throw a bunch of things into a suitcase and throw that suitcase (and others) into the trunk of a car and head on out on the road or to the airport for a single day's travel to a rather large room that may very well be all your own.

Rather, you packed a small case or bag and went to the train station (by foot, or maybe a small trolley or early bus--could even be on horseback). You probably spent one or more nights on the train with only your seat and a very small area to stow anything. You would share a common restroom with the rest of the passengers in your car, and that would be true even for those in the most luxurious, first-class cars (even the Orient Express), and you would barely have enough room to turn around in such a space.

Space was at a great premium in those days, which is why you can find such ingenious travel grooming sets. I have a handful of such sets, and they always impress me with what could be done with so little space.

Dear Tex,

That makes sense. Thanx for sharing.

You're right, that man has the kind of shave, and smoothness, I'm looking for.

I put this together for travel. Unfortunately I have not had to travel long enough to need to shave while away. A few weeks ago I paired up a NIB 4 Piece cased Travel razor, made in Germany, with a NEW Short Comb head when My Wife and I were planning a 2 or 3 night stay down the Shore with our 3 yr old son. That trip fell through at the last minute, but I wanted to get in a couple shaves before using it in the hotel bathroom. Amazing shaves. It is a really nice looking razor. The NEW head has no plating and has a copper top plate and Brass base. The Brush is a TGN 19mm synthetic knot in an E Shave handle. The original knot was garbage loosing hairs as soon as you'd pick it up. I held onto it till I found a Synthetic knot to put in for a travel brush. Although it is small, it is a great face lather brush that finds itself in the rotation fairly often. The Brut Deodorant stick is my VDH Deluxe shave stick.

Great topic. Unfortunately, I need to fly a fair bit. Have become a one bag traveler, and as light as possible. The downside is that I am back to cart with Pacific shave oil only. Keeps things light but not a good shave.

MacDaddy said:

Seeing as how I'm currently in Corwall on holiday with my whole family, I thought it might be fun to do a slightly different theme this month and talk about the razors we use when we're traveling. Do you have certain razors that you use, or do you bring the same razor you use at home? Do you have any travel tips you want to share? Even though we're nominally in the DE forum here, all travel razors are fair game.

On this trip I've been shaving entirely with my Travalong with no complaints. It packs down to the size of a pack of blades, protecting the installed blade, and gives a great shave to boot.

Click to expand...

AWESOME RAZOR. Congratulations!

Here is a little Cutlerix travel razor I picked up for motorcycle camping. The box is from a 10-year pin from the hospital where I used to work. Spare blades are under the bottom lining.

When I check a suitcase, I bring one of my regular razors that I haven't used recently and that, if lost, wouldn't cause grief (e.g., my starter Merkur 34C HD). If I'm carrying on, I either send blades ahead, buy blades when I get there, or carry Gillette Guards. The Guards are inexpensive single-blade cartridge disposables made in India. (I refuse to use multi-blades.) The Guards are very mild, but with pressure and buffing I can get a decent shave.

Either way, I also bring a small tube of Speick shaving cream, an EJ XL synthetic in a cool tube that screws together (and includes a hole for drying the brush), a collapsible plastic bowl from REI, and AS samples.