antichef

Yes!
Meant to add that you should mark the letter with your arrival date, as you want it to arrive a few days before you do.

AATrout

Well, if you aren't checking bags you could bring the EJ in carryon and put in a fresh blade for 5 days. If it pops up in screening hopefully the blade is all that's confiscated. Happened to me that way once, but decided for the future I didn't want to risk losing the EJ//

MAN Pax

Same here - just snap the cartridge back into the pack - I always travel with a full pack, working my way down. Never dry them, they always seem fine when I go back to them. I reckon I get about 15 shaves per blade.

Also - King of Shaves Oil - best travel shave lotion. I use the gel at home.

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

I have done that many times, and my blade has been confiscated each time I was stopped. My EJ has never been confiscated, but I had to teach them how to unscrew the razor as I was not allowed to touch it.

After enough times, I decided it wasn't worth the stopping effort.

Interesting factoid: I carry my EJ disassembled, and one time, I was stopped because they said it looked like a bullet.

senchennai

I use a Schick Hydro 5 which I carry in the original cradle that the razor came in. I use a rubber band to keep the blade and razor where they ought to be. No need to carry multiple blades. Keeping the blades protected seems to do the trick. A single cartridge lasts for more than 2 weeks.

Also carry a Kent travel brush and a tiny tube of Wilkinson shaving cream.

xtal

Mailing yourself a couple of blades taped to a card definitely works. I've done this before, and most hotels will search the guest registry for an arrival date when they receive mail for a guest.

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

Thanks for your input. I'm going to mail a blade to myself tomorrow.

AATrout

One guy actually thought my mini maglight (AA batteries) was a .50 cal round once, so now I carry a BD headlamp. No problems with that thing, thankfully.

loheiman

One trick that i learned to keep razer blades sharp is to dunk them in alcohol after use. It displaces the water and prevents rust which is ultimately what dulls the blade. I use each blade (Mach 3) for months without issue.

tfar

I have read up on that subject a great deal (there are razor forums, believe it or not) and done my own empirical tests.

Leaving the cartridge wet is not good. Three possibilities:

1. Simply dry the blade with your towel by gently beating it against the towel. then air dry.

2. Place blade in alcohol. Not practical for travel use because alcohol is a liquid and flammable.

3. Place blade in oil (olive oil will do nicely).

All of the above will prevent oxidation which will make the blade last longer.

Other methods to make the blade last longer include buying cryo-treated blades or buying coated blades. The latter is simple and cheaper because the Schick Quattro Titanium blades are coated and available anywhere. They also come with a simple slide-on blade protector. This means weight savings because you don't have to carry the bigger 4-piece pack.

A Schick Quattro Titanium blade lasts about 30 shaves for me. I am not kidding you. I used Gilette before but these SQT blades last way longer and the shave is just as good.

Moreover, Schick has a razor with a built-in long-hair trimmer. This is very handy for grooming sideburns and around the ears. It is powerful enough to even keep chest, leg and arm pit hair in shape.

This razor with its trimmer, the long-lasting blades and the practical blade cover plus a good soap (dry, thus no need for 311 baggie) is the best travel solution I found.

Try it out. You won't be disappointed.

Till

aschuett

After I switched to this, I will never be able to switch back. The oil does displace water, and I've found my blades last longer. I buy online in sets of 4-5 bottles and look for a coupon. Note the "Kinexium" type is much better than others, and has a nice little pump too.

http://www.drugstore.com/king-of-sha...skin/qxp151508

MAN Pax

This maybe why my blades seem to survive being thrown back into the plastic container - the residual coating of oil from KOS.

tfar

I don't think the plastic container has anything to do with an early demise of a blade. It's really oxidation that dulls the blade more than the cutting action the blade has to perform. That's why the three methods cited above will help your blades last longer.

Obviously blades are engineered to only last so long. On an ordinary Gillette Sensor Excel blade I get about 8 shaves, rather less. But on the Schick Quattro Titanium I get easily 30. On a Gillette Fusion I get around 10. Plus the SQT gives me the best and smoothest shave of the three.

Problem with most shaving oil (I've tried normal and Kinexium KOS) is that they do clog up the multi-blade razors. It's quite yucky and not very hygienic for hair to get stuck in there, I'd say. Solutions: Clean the razor with a toothpic but that will dull the blade. Or shave with a normal foam and then rinse. That'll also clean it.

Advantage of oil is that it's easy to use and that no aftershave lotion/balm is needed because the oil is already moisturizing and calming the skin.

Till

MAN Pax

I agree that there can be a build-up. After experimentation, I found that shaving with very hot water with as much pressure as available from the tap does the job for me with cleaning. A hard tap or two on the sink also dislodges gunk.

I never bother drying the blades before clicking them back into the case - but the hot water propbably dries quickly, like a dishwasher.

aschuett

That's certainly the truth! I always give the razor a "blast" with the high pressure from the shower head when I'm done, and have on occasion resorted to blowing through the blade. No joke.

I've found as long as I don't use too much oil, it doesn't really clog. Also the latest Kinexium is silicone-based and not oil-based, so it's not as thick, and doesn't clog the blade as much as it just makes it so the shaved-off stuff sticks to the blade a bit. That's what attracts me to that as opposed to the older KOS oils. I wonder if anyone else manufactures a silicone-base oil, possibly US-based? This stuff is hard to find here.