Shaving and Carry-on

2006-07-17

Just back from Barcelona. I plan to write in greater detail on my trip when I have the chance, but a quick question to the guys out there: how do you shave when on a short trip, given that you can’t take razors onboard planes these days? (I have the same opinion about this as Bruce Schneier does about mobiles in Mumbai). Increasingly I’m trying to manage with carry-on luggage only these days, and I managed it for Barcelona. But after three days, I do look a touch unkempt.

Does anyone have a magic solution I’m missing? (electric razors don’t count; I gave up on mine over a year back and haven’t looked back).

Update 2006-07-18: It appears I may have been wrong about this all along (and going unshaven as a result!). See comment trail for more details.

Comments

[...] The irony is that I was discussing Shaving and Carry-on not that long ago - it turned out then that I was being over-cautious - but it now seems I was being naïve. It turns out that the UK government thinks that we should be forbidden from carrying pretty much anything on planes because of a ‘critical’ threat (Bruce Schneier has written about the stupidity of these threat levels before). All I can say is, don’t believe everything you are told. When we can hold the government accountable because they actually give us some concrete information, that might change things, but I don’t think we should expect that any time soon. This is why I’m a libertarian. [...]

— Andrew Ferrier’s Blog » Blog Archive » UK Air Travel Recreates 1984 2006-08-10 09:16

Hehe :-)

— Richard G Brown 2006-07-18 08:49

Yes. This was why I was always a little surprised that the security scanners were that stringent. It now turns out that they aren't: I just can't read. Shame on me. :)

— andrewferrier 2006-07-18 08:37

I've never had a problem taking a razor onto a plane. I'd be outraged if they were to stop me from taking one on. My suspicion is that the airlines would also kick up a stink if the security screeners started getting that picky... one of their differentiators for business-class cabins is that you can take more baggage into the cabin.... meaning later checkins and quicker exits from the airport (plus no risk of lost baggage). This is a big plus. Telling their best customers they now have to wait at the carousel with the plebs from the back of the plane just because they need a clean shave for an important meeting would *not* go down well :-) Good to know at least _someone_ reads the rules though!

— Richard G Brown 2006-07-18 08:32

Hmm, maybe I had assumed too much here - that they weren't allowed in the cabin. British Airways seems to be typical of unhelpful websites which simply mention 'sharp' items (which is what caused me to think they were banned in the first place): http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagcabin/public/en_gb But even the FAA in 2001 says they are fine: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/10/10/rec.faa.rules/index.html Perhaps I'm being over-cautious - I've become desensitised to this kind of nonsense when travelling by air. If you've never had a problem, I'll take one next time and see how things go. What's the resolution of an X-ray machine? Good enough to spot one, I would hope...

— andrewferrier 2006-07-18 08:12

Since when have razors been banned on planes? I haven't flown on business for a few months now but never had a problem before that. Has a rule changed? If so, it's utterly ludicrous!

— Richard G Brown 2006-07-18 07:46