Hello all, as some of you know, I make my living bouncing around various oceans/bodies of water as a merchant mariner. I began my foray into the world of straight razor shaving about a year and a half ago whilst operating a research vessel for a small college trying out being on land most nights - and took on the new hobby as a decompression tool that quickly flared to a full-blown obsession. I moved on from the research vessel back to my natural habitat of tug boats this past spring. I worked out of New Orleans pushing ships around for a while, and now work on an ocean-going tugboat that operates from the Alaskan Inland Passage to the Aleutian Islands and beyond. Upon starting this new job I realized that I was going to have to reevaluate my shaving regime and equipment as it is not entirely advisable to use a straight in 15-20 seas 
. I thought I would share my experiences with the community - I miss B&B almost as much as home when I'm out.
I was faced with what I saw as a terrible dilemma: I would have to actually leave things behind chilling, I know. I had to keep my kit small, light and simple while still maintaining a minimal level of civility in the process. I would NOT go without a fully trimmed kit - we are not heathens after all but how to go about it was definitely a hurdle. I am almost embarrassed to admit just how much I agonized over what would make the cut.
I decided build from the base up starting with a Simpson Wee Scot. The Wee Scot is, to me, the essential travel brush since its a stupendous performer and fits into a pill bottle. With the first choice made I commenced to build my kit around the Wee little brush and promptly ran into an obstacle. I make lather in a big mug mainly, but to save on weight/space I decided to employ face-lathering. While the WS is a great little brush and kicks out more lather than I ever expected, I found that it was nearly impossible to create proper lather for a full, three pass shave from loading the brush and going directly to my face. The brush would certainly perform the intended task, but getting sufficient water into the mix had to be a slow and deliberate process so as not to spill all over the place too long when you are sharing a head with several other guys. It worked, but I knew there had to be a better way.
After several test shaves it hit me: shave sticks! (cue the collective duh from all around the forum) I had a stick of Arko that was sent to me a by generous member here and after a few trial runs I knew I had found the winner. The Wee Scot performed admirably when it was not required to actually hold all the soap from the get-go and mixed up a slick cushioning lather in no time! It still would overflow if trying to create lather in excess of a two-pass shave, but I decided it would be quite sufficient. This issue was easily overcome with a little more soap on the face for the third pass, but I decided to stick with two. As much as I hate to admit it, functionality is the name of the game here and there is no reason to have a full BBS shave on a tugboat J. Armed with my new Wee Scot and Arko combo I commenced to build the rest of the kit: a flare-tip super speed and an assortment of blades along with Nivea Sensitive ASB (I just cant bring myself to bring Skinfood on a tugboat). As a little indulgence I also tucked away a couple of Wester Brothers straights and a SRD 2 latigo strop just in case!
Over the course of three months and thousands of miles I learned a lot about the other side of traditional shaving. Many of us took this hobby up as way of deliberately taking a step back, slowing down, and taking back a little time for ourselves in a ritual that is all ours. My evening shaves are my Zen time and its well known in my house that when Trents shaving, sod off. Shaving on a tugboat 100 miles offshore, hauling a 400 container barge, in 10-15 swells is the exact opposite. You have no space, no time, and no nice array of razors/soaps/brushes to play with. Another variable to the equation is that you getting tossed around, so you must be aware that where you are standing at the present may not be where youll be voluntarily or no in 10 seconds. It is a challenging combination, but it is a good lesson in the principles of utility in traditional shaving. Much of my experience was as would be expected, but I had a few things really stand out.
First, blade samplers are wonderful things, but dont bring them on trips when you dont have time to play around with things. I brought several types of blades along with me and quickly found that it was not a good venue for experimentation. My go-to DE blades are Personna med-preps and reds, and thats all I would bring with me from then on. Trial and error is fun at home. On a boat you cant enjoy the different subtleties and it usually ends in razor burn and blood.
The second thing I learned was that all types of travel have their own variables, and the maritime environment has some rather unique ones. A very common topic regarding shaving soaps is the quality of water used. On a tugboat this is a constantly changing thing since water was taken on in different ports as well as supplied from a reverse-osmosis water maker when we were underway. If you have soaps that are even in the slightest bit finicky, you will have issues at some point along the way.
As I write this I am back on my boat another couple of months after I began this little essay. I got to go home to my razors and soaps and strops and happily shave away! Im back to the grind now, and we are currently holed up in Dutch Harbor for weather its nasty out there. I have had quite a time this hitch experimenting with other variables, though, so I thought I would continue this and share. I did not follow my own advice and brought more new blades to try .. I stick by my original statement about the subject and will try not to be tempted again. The Wee Scot is still gangbusters and it performs like the Wee champ it is, although SBAD is starting to creep in and I am thinking maybe experimenting with a new Berkeley?
Arko is still the workhorse of my kit; it will lather, and lather well in any environment and water type. I have, however, been able to branch out a bit and brought out a few more soaps and a cream or two to try out. In addition to my Arko, I brought along La Toja and Valobra shaving sticks, a tube of C&E Nomad shaving cream and some Trumpers Coconut cream. My findings were that the sticks performed well with La Toja coming a close second to the Arko. It has been quite consistent and performs nicely. Valobra, I found, could perform well but in the four times I have used it on the trip, it has felt like four different soaps. It has been very temperamental for me and the scent is meh, so it has taken a backseat to the other two. As for the creams both have pulled their weight, and I am beginning to think I may not have given creams a fair enough shake in the grand scheme of things. I am a soap man and love the personality soaps have, but the creams are very consistent and pleasant to use worth a lot when you are tired and dont want to think. The Nomad and Trumpers have both treated me very well and have earned their rightful places in my rotation. I think I will be exploring creams further when I am home next.
I gave a lot of thought into my next shave setup, and finally decided to leave out my straight razors and focus totally on the DE. I have missed my blades, but it has allowed me to play around with other things such as the above, so I guess its an even tradeoff. I have another month or so to go before catching a plane home, but until then I shall enjoy what shaving comforts I have and look forward to shaving Nirvana on my return!
. I thought I would share my experiences with the community - I miss B&B almost as much as home when I'm out.I was faced with what I saw as a terrible dilemma: I would have to actually leave things behind chilling, I know. I had to keep my kit small, light and simple while still maintaining a minimal level of civility in the process. I would NOT go without a fully trimmed kit - we are not heathens after all but how to go about it was definitely a hurdle. I am almost embarrassed to admit just how much I agonized over what would make the cut.
I decided build from the base up starting with a Simpson Wee Scot. The Wee Scot is, to me, the essential travel brush since its a stupendous performer and fits into a pill bottle. With the first choice made I commenced to build my kit around the Wee little brush and promptly ran into an obstacle. I make lather in a big mug mainly, but to save on weight/space I decided to employ face-lathering. While the WS is a great little brush and kicks out more lather than I ever expected, I found that it was nearly impossible to create proper lather for a full, three pass shave from loading the brush and going directly to my face. The brush would certainly perform the intended task, but getting sufficient water into the mix had to be a slow and deliberate process so as not to spill all over the place too long when you are sharing a head with several other guys. It worked, but I knew there had to be a better way.
After several test shaves it hit me: shave sticks! (cue the collective duh from all around the forum) I had a stick of Arko that was sent to me a by generous member here and after a few trial runs I knew I had found the winner. The Wee Scot performed admirably when it was not required to actually hold all the soap from the get-go and mixed up a slick cushioning lather in no time! It still would overflow if trying to create lather in excess of a two-pass shave, but I decided it would be quite sufficient. This issue was easily overcome with a little more soap on the face for the third pass, but I decided to stick with two. As much as I hate to admit it, functionality is the name of the game here and there is no reason to have a full BBS shave on a tugboat J. Armed with my new Wee Scot and Arko combo I commenced to build the rest of the kit: a flare-tip super speed and an assortment of blades along with Nivea Sensitive ASB (I just cant bring myself to bring Skinfood on a tugboat). As a little indulgence I also tucked away a couple of Wester Brothers straights and a SRD 2 latigo strop just in case!
Over the course of three months and thousands of miles I learned a lot about the other side of traditional shaving. Many of us took this hobby up as way of deliberately taking a step back, slowing down, and taking back a little time for ourselves in a ritual that is all ours. My evening shaves are my Zen time and its well known in my house that when Trents shaving, sod off. Shaving on a tugboat 100 miles offshore, hauling a 400 container barge, in 10-15 swells is the exact opposite. You have no space, no time, and no nice array of razors/soaps/brushes to play with. Another variable to the equation is that you getting tossed around, so you must be aware that where you are standing at the present may not be where youll be voluntarily or no in 10 seconds. It is a challenging combination, but it is a good lesson in the principles of utility in traditional shaving. Much of my experience was as would be expected, but I had a few things really stand out.
First, blade samplers are wonderful things, but dont bring them on trips when you dont have time to play around with things. I brought several types of blades along with me and quickly found that it was not a good venue for experimentation. My go-to DE blades are Personna med-preps and reds, and thats all I would bring with me from then on. Trial and error is fun at home. On a boat you cant enjoy the different subtleties and it usually ends in razor burn and blood.
The second thing I learned was that all types of travel have their own variables, and the maritime environment has some rather unique ones. A very common topic regarding shaving soaps is the quality of water used. On a tugboat this is a constantly changing thing since water was taken on in different ports as well as supplied from a reverse-osmosis water maker when we were underway. If you have soaps that are even in the slightest bit finicky, you will have issues at some point along the way.
As I write this I am back on my boat another couple of months after I began this little essay. I got to go home to my razors and soaps and strops and happily shave away! Im back to the grind now, and we are currently holed up in Dutch Harbor for weather its nasty out there. I have had quite a time this hitch experimenting with other variables, though, so I thought I would continue this and share. I did not follow my own advice and brought more new blades to try .. I stick by my original statement about the subject and will try not to be tempted again. The Wee Scot is still gangbusters and it performs like the Wee champ it is, although SBAD is starting to creep in and I am thinking maybe experimenting with a new Berkeley?
Arko is still the workhorse of my kit; it will lather, and lather well in any environment and water type. I have, however, been able to branch out a bit and brought out a few more soaps and a cream or two to try out. In addition to my Arko, I brought along La Toja and Valobra shaving sticks, a tube of C&E Nomad shaving cream and some Trumpers Coconut cream. My findings were that the sticks performed well with La Toja coming a close second to the Arko. It has been quite consistent and performs nicely. Valobra, I found, could perform well but in the four times I have used it on the trip, it has felt like four different soaps. It has been very temperamental for me and the scent is meh, so it has taken a backseat to the other two. As for the creams both have pulled their weight, and I am beginning to think I may not have given creams a fair enough shake in the grand scheme of things. I am a soap man and love the personality soaps have, but the creams are very consistent and pleasant to use worth a lot when you are tired and dont want to think. The Nomad and Trumpers have both treated me very well and have earned their rightful places in my rotation. I think I will be exploring creams further when I am home next.
I gave a lot of thought into my next shave setup, and finally decided to leave out my straight razors and focus totally on the DE. I have missed my blades, but it has allowed me to play around with other things such as the above, so I guess its an even tradeoff. I have another month or so to go before catching a plane home, but until then I shall enjoy what shaving comforts I have and look forward to shaving Nirvana on my return!
Thanks for sharing!
