Evening, my good people of the Den. As some of you may know, I work shifts, blue collar, at a production site. That means after each day I shower at work, so I don't put on my civilian clothes while all dirty and sweaty from work. Normal procedure for me as been to either shave when I got home immediately, or wait until bedtime and then shave - a bit depending on what shift I work that particular week. Thing is, I hate shaving without a shower - it's just that much more convenient right after the shower. So I've been thinking about taking some stuff with me to work, very minimalistic. Nothing zen-like, but more functional. It's a shared shower/bathing facility with lots of traffic and limited floor space, so I can't occupy it all with bowls and various equipment.. haha. I'm thinking brush, DE and soap only, and then face lather. I'll have no option to let gear out of my closet over night to dry. So I'm guessing a synthetic brush would be best? And a shaving stick of some sort? (I have Arko in the mail). Space in my closet is very limited. Any thoughts from fellow blue collar shavers? How do you do it? I actually mimicked a possible shave here at home as if I was a work. Weishi razor, Voskhod blade, Proraso brushless gel and 2 passes WTG/Semi-ATG. Got a really nice result. But I'm not fond of brushless products, they simply gunk up the razor, at least the onces I've tried -- hence my choice in the stick'n'brush above. Thanks! Let the ideas flow
Shave stick Would Work well I think. Hmm.. do you have a soap container with high walls or maybe a plastic bowl? Im thinking maybe a shave or grate a piece of soap and press it at the bottom of a shavebowl. Use that to load plus lather a little
A little travel synthetic (like the one la shaving makes) would be great. I don't like arko, but a Palmolive stick is cheap. The weishi sounds perfect. That's what I would do
Sounds like a good plan: stick soap, synthetic brush, and your razor. Face lathering is the best for me. That should work very well.
I don't shave at work but I have some of the same questions when deciding what to use while traveling. I think the shave stick is a good idea and so is the synthetic brush unless you want to bring the brush home each day in your lunch pail and then return again with a different one. You don't describe your closet but I'm curious if you could use Velcro to hang the brush. I've seen where guys have put little Velcro circles on the base of the handles and then a strip of Velcro on the underside of a shelf for hanging. If the shave stick doesn't work out you might try a collapsible plastic bowl. They're usually found with camping supplies and the one I have is about the size of a small cereal bowl and it collapses flat.
I would think a shave soap stick, travel brush, and razor would all fit conveniently into a small collapsible bowl like that
Great replies! Thanks. I'll try and seek out a plastic bowl of some sort, if not for bowl lathering, then for warming up the brush. I like the smell of Palmolive stick better than Arko but I'm not on good terms with the performance of Palmolive products I'd love to love'em but something is sub-par no matter what I do. Great suggestion though! The razor gear I'll end up using will "stay" there, so I don't need particular travel-friendly items, but oh my that LA brush looks purdy! So far, without investing in more gear at the moment, it seems like I'm down to the Weishi, blade of choice, Arko when it arrives and one of my synthetics. Wonder what my colleagues will say - they all use carts, at least those I've seen shave there. Another nail in their "he's weird, that penguin"-coffin they're building for me
That would work in my closet I think. But I do have a little shelf in the top of the closet, so I can easily put the brush there. But the more you people mention a small bowl, the more I think I need one. For storage, if not for shaving. To rest the stick'n'brush in when not in use.
When I shave at the gym or work, I go very minimalist. I use an Arko shave stick with no brush and a mild DE razor. I rub the stick on my face and work up a lather with my fingertips. Not the most luxurious shave, but it works well enough.
You've all convinced me - I need a plastic bowl, so I have just now ordered one on eBay. 13cm across on top rim, so size is nice. Price also nice
An alternative to a shave stick would be to put some shaving cream into a hotel sized shampoo bottle. That's what I do for travel.
Spieck is a good stick, so is Ogallala bay rum. The shave den shop will make sticks of any of your shave den favorites. A synthetic brush and a superspeed. Your set. If i wanted a bowl to either make lather or storage, I'd get a stainless pet food bowl (dollar store). Id get my a/s's from the dollar store as well, i wouldt want to temp them fron walking off.