i wish they would bring back the Gillette Techmatic.i had one in the Army-60's-and it was great.really sharp and no need to have blades handy,just turn the lever and a new section of the razor band would come into use.it had high and low settings,very handy when you had just a small kit. i used a mug and brush and still have the brush on a bathroom shelf..make sure you store it on the base..i got lazy and just tossed it in the mug and the brisles are sort of out of shape..another tip--if you use a straight razor don't run it under really hot water!..when you touch it to you skin the heat will make your hand jump and you might cut youself--i know..a wind-up razor might be handy for a BOB if you just need to get out of harms way for awhile.
i still have the Techmatic and got enought refills from ebay to have a shave with it once in awhile..

Generally, I don't shave in the bush. When I travel, I often opt for a Mach 3 - I shave once in the shower and do a second pass with shave oil in front of a mirror; a Mach 3 and spare blades, shave oil, sm. chip of alum block, and small mirror, and $12 US Brawn Travel Shaver (2 AAs) are in my dop kit for short-term use while traveling.

At home wet-shave with a Merkur Slant-Bar (long), a Merkur Silver-tip Badger Brush (stainless steel) and Col. Conk soap ($1.50 US), and finish with an alum block and then a dab of Nivea for Men Sensitive After Shave Extra Soothing Balm.

Shaving with a safety razor takes a bit of time, but its a great shave - especially for guys with heavy, coarse beard growth.

I started with a regular Merkur HD (long) before moving to the Slant-bar razor. I buy blades in bulk - I like the platinum Merkur and Feathers and get about 5 or 6 good shaves from a single blade.

Sometimes you can find inexpensive, used saftey-razors online.

As mentioned by another member, an Alum Block is an inexpensive anti-bacterial deodorant, and is also a great after-shave that closes pores and stops minor knicks from bleeding. I use My Nik is Sealed for nicks that need it.

There are lots of online recipes for crafting your own shaving soap: http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soaprecipes/a/cpshavingrecipe.htm

I've never tried making it myself, but shaving soap is usually a good quality soap with about 2 tsp. of Bentonite (or other clay: Kaolin, Rhassoul or Fuller's Earth) mixed in for every pound of soap in the batch.

There are also many of safety razor and straight razor tutorials online: http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59

Best shave I ever got was from a Vietnamese barber with a straight razor and hot towel. Freaked me out when he shaved my whole face. His wife offered to thread my eyebrows but I passed - both good barter skills though.

I saw this youtube video. The guy is funny.

Frankie,

I used to use Noxzema Shaving Lather in a tube with a badger brush. I'm sure the brush was 25+ yrs old when I started using it, it was my Dad's. Best shave ever. I used to pick up a couple of tubes of the lather when I went back to Canada, sadly it is no longer available. Apparently it was made by P&G but was discontinued a while back.

There is an online source that says they get theirs' from Italy, but at $18 a tube its pricey. Might just get myself some for Father's Day/Birthday. I'm worth it!!

http://www.razorandbrush.com/nox.jpg

Thanks. I'll try Williams shaving soap and Omega Made in Italy boar hair shaving brush. Inexpensive and easy to find in our local drugstores.

François