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If you could have the travel-strop of your dreams what would it look like and why?

Wow, that's awesome. I have used a couple of small hollow-tensioned strops like that in France, and they will do the trick. Go for an exact replica! Remove the brush and soaps(?) and you have room for a couple of custom-cut finishing hones. Oh yeah!

P.S. I don't know your location, but Ertan at Rasoir-Sabre in France has made and sold hollowed-out paddle strops like that in the past, albeit a bit larger. You might contact him to see if he could make something custom for you.
@Alum of Potash - I'm currently based in Bavaria, travelling regularly hence the need for a travel strop. I shall try to source an exact replica of the hollow-tensioned strop for travel - it does look splendid, doesn't it!


Failing that, a deep enough tin to host a strop like yours @KW Driver looks very practical indeed!

Remove the brush and soaps(?) and you have room for a couple of custom-cut finishing hones.
I was thinking about having a similar box made and have it fitted exactly to my equipment (e.g. this Mühle travel brush - what a beauty! A next-generation synthetic fibre that Mühle developed to behave like silvertip badger when it comes to water absorption, softness etc.), a strop, an SR and yes, a piece of soap (face lathering) and alum block for emergencies, then a bottle of aftershave carried separately, since every bottle has a different shape (unless someone knows where I can get a fairly flat, small, rectangular, splash bottle that I could refill with whatever I fancy at before the trip and have a separate compartment for it in the box?). Only the essentials all-in-one box for travel, not merely storage - which I'm assuming is what you meant when you mentioned the finishing hones - unless you meant travelling with the hones...? A box like this to store a stationary set at home is an interesting idea though!
 
@Alum of Potash - I'm currently based in Bavaria, travelling regularly hence the need for a travel strop. I shall try to source an exact replica of the hollow-tensioned strop for travel - it does look splendid, doesn't it!

[. . .]

I was thinking about having a similar box made and have it fitted exactly to my equipment (e.g. this Mühle travel brush - what a beauty! A next-generation synthetic fibre that Mühle developed to behave like silvertip badger when it comes to water absorption, softness etc.), a strop, an SR and yes, a piece of soap (face lathering) and alum block for emergencies, then a bottle of aftershave carried separately, since every bottle has a different shape (unless someone knows where I can get a fairly flat, small, rectangular, splash bottle that I could refill with whatever I fancy at before the trip and have a separate compartment for it in the box?). Only the essentials all-in-one box for travel, not merely storage - which I'm assuming is what you meant when you mentioned the finishing hones - unless you meant travelling with the hones...? A box like this to store a stationary set at home is an interesting idea though!

I reread some of your questions and remarks and realize that I really didn't respond to them exactly. By all means, you should tailor things size-wise to what you think you might need. I just the kit as pictured was really great. And in starting out, using a small strop may not be the easiest; and as with larger strops as well, there is always the risk that you will accidentally cut it as a beginner. But as you are apt to cut a first strop due to inexperience, I would suggest not spending a lot of money or energy until you have your licks down first. That said, paddles tend to be on the cheaper side, and my experience in France has been that small paddle strops are more popular than they are in the United States, which would also seem to the case in Germany as most of the paddles are made there these days. You could always seek some advice from a local barber on how to use one.

As for paddle types, I personally would not recommend a flat leather on a flat board for straight razors; these are better for knives from my experience. A loom strop can be slightly slackened like a hanging strop and would be preferable to a flat paddle. The small strop in the travelling kit you pictured is similar to a loom strop in this way. My paddle preference these days is for one where the strop is lined underneath with felt (sometimes described as "sponge"). This allows for a little give with a little bit of support at the same time. There is a two-sided version made by Herold in Solingen that works quite well for me. One side I leave with the leather as received, and the other side I will paste with either the red or black Solingen block-type paste. In this, one strops for ~8 laps on the pasted side before another ~8 laps on the non-pasted finish side during each shaving session. And as it is a dedicated pasted and non-pasted strop combination, the issue of contamination becomes moot. No doubt there are a number of seasoned users of such strops in Bavaria.

By all means, fill the kit with what you think you need. And a pasted strop would remove the necessity of a finishing stone for touch-ups in theory. One thing I would suggest is that you avoid storing liquids like oils and aftershaves in your kit as there is always the possibility of leakage and such a leak would damage the other contents like the strop.
 
My travel strop is 2" wide kangaroo leather. It rolls up into a plastic box which I can just throw into my Dopp kit.

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I have something similar but with D Rings. I would however love an Allegro 200.

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I have used the Dovo travel strop for years with excellent results. A 20” loop of paracord and loop it over a door knob. Rolls into a 2 inch roll, fine napped leather on one side, cotton linen on the other, no need for paste.

I roll the strop and pack in a shoe.

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The first and only strop I've ever made was quite nice, from a bit of roo leather I picked up on a pub crawl:

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I then took it on holiday and contrived to a.) drop it in the sea, and b.) burn the end. There may have been alcohol involved, I can't remember. Anyhow... this evening I washed the salt off, cut the burnt end, sawed a bit off a chopstick, glued it round, and now I have the travel strop of my dreams!

The most important feature of which (ime) is: repairability.


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Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
Early on I questioned the need for anything special, and I’ve tried a lot of things. My ‘travel’ strop is just a full size Kanoyama in it’s case, along with a piece of paracord.

If I’m traveling by air, the strop goes in a checked hard side bag against the outer shell, and takes up maybe 24” x 1/2” or space in the bag. If I’m traveling by car, it just lays in the back seat or trunk (boot).

The paracord will attach it to almost anything, shower rods, towel racks, doorknobs, etc and also functions as a ersatz clothes line.

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