When I first picked up Wet Shaving, I figured it would be a hobby, something I would treat myself to on the occasion where I had a bit of extra time to really slow down and enjoy the experience. I can tell you now I’m a daily wet shaver, but at the time I figured weekends would be the only time I’d get in a wet shave. I was trying to think of other times I might be able to slow down and enjoy the wet shave experience. Travel was the obvious choice, when I’m away from the obligations of home and work life, I can always fit in a bit of extra me time for a great shave.
So I set about looking to create a great travel kit to take with me when I’m on the go. A few things were important in this endeavor. First, I needed something compact that would carry my razor, blades and brush (After I acquired a Rockwell 6c for my daily driver, I new I would be moving my RazoRock Old Type to the travel case). Second, I wanted the brush to be small and synthetic for quick drying. And lastly, I wanted to be able to take a selection of soaps giving me software choice wherever I go. The results of that hunt is what you see above.
The razor/blade case, brush and brush case came from an Etsy find. I discovered FrugalShave there. They make 3D printed shave products. The razor/blade case is a 3D printed design that fits the razor I have, a selection of blades, a tiny blade bank and puts it all in a nice tin box. If I had a smaller razor I could have gone with an altoids case design which has an even smaller footprint. The brush case is also 3D printed with air venting and screw caps on both ends for easy brush load and removal. I ordered it with the synthetic brush but if you have a travel brush already you can get a brush case that matches your measurements.
The soap selections are handled by some 20ml plastic containers I bought on Ebay. (search for “50pc Mini Sample Bottle Cosmetic Makeup Jar” and you should find them) They cost about $20 for 50 of them, so I’m set up for a little while. These also double up for holding my samples, I fill them up with my products, label them and put them on my sample wall for organization. I will do a future blog post about that setup.
This past weekend we hit the road so it was my first chance to test out the full travel setup and it worked great. It was nice to have everything picked up and ready to go in a non bulky travel kit. I liked having some shave soap options so I could use something every day. The software selection is still one of the biggest draws for me to wet shaving. It still needs a bit of work. At the moment, I have the Alum stick pictured for post shave. I have some small vials coming to pack a small selection of aftershaves and balms as well. And I typically use a lather bowl (my wife’s awesome at creating those), so I have my eye out for a good travel solution to that. I also need something to contain the soaps/balms/aftershaves rather than floating around my dopp. But once I have those few kinks worked out, it will be perfect.
I highly recommend setting up a great travel kit for on-the-go wet shaving. It makes that travel experience even better. How about you? Do you have an awesome travel setup or travel recommendations?
-J
