THIS WAS going to be a column about electric travel shavers, such as the well-regarded Remington MSC140 GoShave (€12.70, www.shavers.co.uk). But then Go Gadgets stumbled into the blog of the US television journalist Corey Greenberg (www.shave blog.com) and emerged several hours later with the realisation that something may be amiss, writes Adam Harvey.
Greenberg, who accurately describes himself as a shaving geek, is a convincing advocate of old-school "wet" shaving. He collects vintage safety razors - the kind you can load a real blade into, not disposables from companies such as Bic or Gillette.
He's the bristle-free face of a hidden galaxy of shaving enthusiasts who fill cyberspace with earnest discussions about "the best way to wet your skin" (I'm not joking) and comments such as "This razor changed my life" and "I'll never go back to four blades".
Greenberg and his followers say it's simple: use plenty of water, a good safety razor and cream, and kiss goodbye to razor burn, bristly post-shave skin and ingrown hairs. They've got videos to demonstrate best technique and shake their heads at gimmicky supermarket razors and expensive replacement blades.
As they don't make 'em like they used to, Greenberg recommends hitting Amazon.com and buying a vintage safety razor, but he also rates modern safety razors made by German manufacturer Merkur (Merkur Futur brushed- steel razor, €57, www.man kind.co.uk).
There's just one problem, particularly in an article about travel gadgets: airport security will let you travel with disposable plastic razors but not razor blades in your carry-on luggage. So stow it or lose it.
If, as with Greenberg, shaving becomes an obsession, you could store your equipment in the elegant John Allan rollup bag (above, €160, www.johnallans.com).