June 24, 2025 • 24 mins
You’re listening to Wet Shaving Talk powered by Sharpologist.com where we’re dedicated to preserving the art and skill of classic shaving. I’m your host Joe Borrelli and today is June 23rd, 2025.
____________________________________________________________________________
Today on the Show:
Summer is Here!!
What’s Up With Menthol: How To Beat the Heat!
Why Does Wet Shaving Bring You Peace?
Are you a Collector? Or a User? Why I Think You Should Use Your Stuff!
Emails from Listeners
___________________________________________________________________________
What’s Up With Menthol: How to Beat the Heat!
Mentholated products are a great way to beat the heat! They provide a cooling effect that can make you feel fresh and cool especially during the hot summer months. Derived mainly from mint leaves, there are synthetic versions available.
There are some side effects, for those with sensitive skin, so always try a little before you go all in (I personally have issues with some items).
Many artisans make products with Menthol:
-The Holy Black Creeper Line
-PAA Frost Byte
-Stirling Glacial
For more information check out this link on Sharpologist:
____________________________________________________________________________
Why Does Wet Shaving Bring You Peace?
Does wet shaving bring you peace? An interesting post on B&B opened up this subject to me. I’ll tell you my thoughts and how it’s brought me peace for over a decade.
____________________________________________________________________________
Are You A Collector or a User? Why I Think You Should Use Your Stuff!
Are there parts of your collection you don’t use in fear of it getting damaged or losing value?
I’l tell you my thoughts and why every piece of my collection gets used!
____________________________________________________________________________
Emails From Listeners
I received some great emails from listeners. I’ll tell you all about them here!
____________________________________________________________________________
Mantic’s New Site: The Black Coffee Life
MAntic has a new site dedicated to coffee: Check it out: https://theblackcoffeelife.com/
____________________________________________________________________________
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
3 2 1 You're listening to Wet
(00:04):
Shaving Talk powered by Sharpologist.com,
where we're dedicated to preserving the
art and skill, classic shaving. I'm your
host Joe Borelli and today is June 23rd,
2025.
Alright everyone, welcome back to the
podcast glad to see you all here today on
(00:26):
this beautiful Start of summer day. That's
right. It is the start of summer and we
are in full-fledged Most parts of the
country right now. I mean there's been a
heat wave going on So I thought what
better way to talk about a heat wave than
to talk about how to beat the heat so With
the show today, we're going to talk a
(00:47):
little bit about menthol in the products
that you have, wet shaving products, how
to beat the heat with those items, and
give you a little bit of relief when you
walk out the door, especially after
getting ready in the morning or when you
do your shave at night, and just getting
that little blast of coolness on your face
and what it causes and what it does, and
really just a few products that have it
that are readily available that you can
get. There are a lot of items that have
(01:08):
the menthol in it, and it will give you
that cooling effect. and also a few things
that might make you allergic to it as well
as with me, so we'll talk a little bit
about that. and why I saw this on Badger
and Blade this week. Why does shaving, wet
shaving, bring you peace? A couple people
(01:29):
posted on that. I actually had quite a few
posts. It was posted as a thread on Badger
and Blade and I was really interested in
that and I was going to tell you what
brings me peace with wet shaving and why
actually, you know, why it makes a lot of
sense on how it's like just a little bit
of a peaceful thing or an event that
happens on a daily basis that you can
enjoy often. Are you a collector? Are you
(01:53):
a user? Why I think you should use your
stuff. That's right, guys. There are a lot
of collectors out there that like to put
stuff in boxes or hold them. And I feel
you shouldn't do that. I think you should
use your items. Use your products. Use
your collectibles. And I'll tell you
exactly why and what I think about the
whole collecting aspect of wet shaving in
a nutshell, I guess to say. So guys,
(02:15):
without further ado, let's get on with the
show. So what's up
with menthol and how can it beat the heat
in the summer months? So mentholated
products are a great way to beat the heat
and by providing a cooling effect that can
make you feel fresh, cool, especially
(02:36):
during these hot summer months a lot of
humidity and it's derived mainly from mint
leaves or and there's also synthetic
versions as well what it really does is it
gives you that real cooling breezy like
aspect and kind of like i guess it makes
it a little that makes you feel a little
tingly at times as well there are a lot of
items that do carry it uh... carry a
(02:57):
little menthol in it and there's some
really good um... there's a really good
website excuse me uh... posts on
sharpologist about What is menthol and why
is it in my shaving stuff? So I actually
put a link in the show notes to this. So
what it is, it's basically an organic
compound really obtained from mint oils or
can be made synthetically. So a lot of wet
(03:20):
shaving vendors are using synthetic
menthol. I think it's probably more on the
affordable side. It's also easier to find,
I would guess, and you don't have to
really divide. It's probably easier to
make. I'm not sure. I don't know much
about it. But what it really does is it
activates the body receptor structures
found in the skin and cold sensitive
areas, making you feel cold. And it does,
(03:41):
it kind of gives you like a little cold
message to the brain from the nerves, I
guess, in your, on your skin. So it's
got like a, almost like an anesthetic,
like a kind of like a, like a, I guess,
how to
(04:16):
Like it kind of almost clogs up my nose I
guess it makes you cut and I my face also
breaks out a little bit So I got to go
easy on the methylated products, but I do
love it when you shave with them Okay Let
me just give you a little insider when you
actually shave With a methylated shave
soap and then use and follow up with with
like aftershave or something like that in
that sense right or bomb You go outside
(04:39):
and you feel cold like it will feel like a
kind of I don't know guys if you've ever
put like a muscle relaxer on which I'm
guessing is probably methylated like a
Bengay or something like that. You feel
that tingly feel. It's similar to that
only just I don't think you get the bad
smell and also it's a little bit more on
the cooler side, right? Some of them will
(05:00):
warm, some of them cool. Icy hot would be
an example when it's the icy part of it,
right? So it kind of feels good and it
will also feel like when you go outside
and you're in the heat it kind of it does
make you feel cooler as in the sense if
you go in a sauna and you go right outside
the hot in the hot human air you'll feel
like cooler right you'll feel cooler for a
(05:20):
few minutes and if you jump in the pool
you'll feel really cold. Similar to that
if you've been in a sauna you understand
what I'm saying. So a lot of people use
these products especially during the hot
times because of that aspect the cooling
aspect. Now there are lots of products
that do it. If you've guys ever tried,
it's called the Holy Black Creeper line.
(05:43):
If you've ever tried that line that they
usually come out with in the summertime,
they've had a lavender creeper, they've
had lots of different creepers, orange I
think they've had, coconut, those have a
ton of methanol in it. And I believe they
use synthetic methanol in that. And that's
really to the extreme. Also, you have
(06:06):
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Frostbite.
That's another really intense. Soap that
will really give you that cooling essence.
And then Sterling, the Glacial line.
There's a whole line of Sterling where
they put a lot of those, a lot of
methylated crystals in your shaving stuff,
in their soaps. And you can get different
scents and stuff like that. There's also
some sites online where you can actually
(06:26):
buy the methyl yourself. I think PAA sells
it, Phoenix Artisan Enrichments. I know
the Shave Den store, she used to sell it
over there. Not sure if she still does and
I'm pretty sure you could probably find it
on Amazon if you wanted to. And you can
add it to anything. You can add it to your
own aftershaves. You can really methylate
anything. So, in short, if you guys are
looking for a quick way to beat the heat,
(06:47):
especially with these high temperatures
going on right now and the heat wave up
north, and if you live in the southeast
like I do, you really kind of get used to
the heat after a few years. It's just
going to be there every single day.
There's nothing you can really do about
it. but this is a great way to do it. You
can try this out, try these out. I do
(07:08):
recommend trying it out sparingly when you
first start because I've heard a lot of
stories about people being allergic or
having reactions to it and that's kind of
my boat as well. So check out the, also
guys, the link I left in the show notes to
the Mantix article, What is Menthol and
Why Is It in My Shaving Stuff? And see if
you can get some more information and see
(07:29):
if it's for you and then If you want, try
something out. Let me know the results.
See what you guys think if you haven't
tried one. And yeah, see if you could beat
the heat in a wet shaving style.
All right, moving along. So why does wet
shaving bring you peace? So does it in
(07:49):
fact bring you peace? Do you feel more
relaxed? Do you feel peaceful after
shaving or while you're shaving? Or even
while you're Googling and searching for
wet shaving products and shopping for
them? So an interesting post on Badger &
Blade really opened up for me. I took a
look at it and I saw this subject and I
started thinking about it. Does it bring
(08:10):
me peace? A lot of people responded that
it does because it's the few minutes a day
that they get to themselves and You know,
it's just fun that to do a hobby or to
have something special, you know reserve
for yourself every day So I will agree
this does bring peace and I'm gonna say
that there's a lot of things that bring
people peace Right. I talked to a
(08:30):
gentleman the other day and you know some
people Use do small things like example
There's a gentleman that this at the
coffee shop that I go to pretty quite
often He says that this place is his piece
like every day before work. He likes to
sit down He gets something to eat. He
drinks a coffee and goes to work from that
coffee shop So I asked him I said hey man,
(08:52):
you're here every single day, you know,
why don't you try a different place? He's
like well this place brings me peace
because I like to relax and it's like a
routine and it's something I do for myself
every day and Just to give myself that
little kick start and to treat myself
daily. You know, yeah, it might be $4, $5
for coffee, but it's just what I do for
(09:12):
me. And I thought about it and I, and you
know, he made a really good point because
I think for myself, it's wet shaving every
morning. So I wake up every day and for my
own personal self, I will make sure that I
shave. Before work, after work, whatever I
do every day. I like to do it in the
morning because it gives me a kick start.
(09:34):
I used to be a night shaver, I shave at
night when I first started because it
takes longer, you know, to wet shave when
you're starting out, especially with a
straight razor. I've
(10:02):
I think of it as like hey I accomplished
something that most people don't before I
even leave my house right if you're
shaving with a straight razor or if you're
shaving with a safety razor and a brush
and soap you can honestly say that 95% of
people out there didn't start their day
with a skill like that. Most people don't
(10:23):
know anything about wet shaving. They
don't know that. But think about
challenging yourself. A classic thing for
people to do is make their bed before they
go to work every single day regardless if
they live alone or if they live with
people because it gives them that sense of
accomplishment that they accomplished
something that most people don't do before
they leave for work. Well, I do like to
(10:45):
make my bed and I also like to wet shave
because I accomplish something that 95% of
the people do, don't do, right? And it
gives me, I guess, a little sense of
empowerment. It gives me a little boost
and it makes me feel like, you know, I'm a
little bit pumped up, to be honest with
you, like I'm ready for the day just
because I did it. And I can actually
noticeably see a difference If I don't,
(11:06):
like if I don't shave, I'm always touching
my face, I feel like I'm missing
something, I feel like I'm unkept because
at work I like to make sure I'm
professional, I look good. Now granted,
guys, beards are very acceptable in the
workplace right now, right? You can do
beards, no problem, nobody says anything.
Most companies, even back in the day with
retail, you used to not be able to have
(11:26):
facial hair, you had to have short hair.
No, it's very lax in that area and beards
are very widely accepted and a lot of
people have a beard. Most men at my work,
I'd say 90% of them have a beard of some
sort, with the exception of myself, which
I used to have one. I tried one out for a
few years, but I guess you could say It's
(11:46):
a way to accomplish something, give
yourself a little bit of time to you and
celebrate yourself every single day even
though most of us are celebrating others
most of the time, right? As a parent, your
kids come first and we know that. As a
friend, your friends come first, your work
comes first, whatever. Usually you're
going to work every day. And even if you
(12:08):
own your own business and you own your own
or you don't work at all, you usually
you're working, doing something for
someone else. So why not treat yourself on
a daily basis, whether it be a cup of
coffee or a clean wet shave in the
morning. So that's how I think of it. And
that's really how the article went through
with everybody and what it really came
about. So does wet shaving bring you
(12:30):
peace? Let me know. Send me an email. I'd
love to talk about it. All
right. Are you a collector? Are you a
user? Why I think you should do both. So
there are parts of your collection that
you never use and you have a fear of
(12:52):
getting damaged or losing value. Well,
guys, I'm here to tell you my thoughts on
this whole thing. And it's, uh, well, I
say, use it, use it or lose it. So a lot
of guys will say, Hey, I have a really
rare razor. I don't want to use it. Cause
I don't want to ruin it. Right. I don't
want to destroy it. It's I want to
preserve it. And that's great and all, but
I could tell you guys right now that these
(13:13):
razors are meant to be used. They can be
used and they, and you should use them.
And I'll tell you exactly why. Why Not?
(13:37):
Subscribe in US English
I've shaved with a straight razor several
straight razors from the 1700s 1800s you
know and that's the reason like a lot of
(13:57):
people say why would you use that it's
been it's been around for 200 years you
should you shouldn't use it
Well, you know what? I know I probably
shouldn't, but I'm going to because it is
(14:18):
awesome to use a razor that's 200 years
old. I can tell you that is pretty cool,
right? And it's a lot of fun to collect
and say to people, hey, this works too,
especially with safety razors. Safety
razors don't need as much work as a
straight razor will need to get a shave
ready. For example, my straight razor I
got from the 1700's, my EVAT that I had. I
(14:39):
did do an article on Sharpologist about
that some time ago. and this razor had a
lot of history to it and needed a lot of
work. I kept the original scales but of
course the blade needed to be re-honed. It
actually needed to be re-ground. I was
able to do all that work myself. It took
me about a week or two to do it and it
shaves perfectly now. It shaves
(15:01):
beautifully. It's great. Yeah, it might be
a little bit altered from when I found it.
and may have lost a little bit of metal
and may be a little bit cleaned up. But
it's really, the value of the item
probably didn't go down at all. I don't
think it's really worth much. I don't know
how much they're worth. But I paid about
$100 for it, right? And that's a lot for a
(15:22):
straight razor that's that old that needed
work. But it's fun. I really enjoy
collecting it. And I love using it every
now and then. And I love just trying it
out and looking at new things. I love
using vintage Kamisari Japanese straight
razors. I think those are awesome. A lot
of people think they are collector's
items. To me, I don't mind. I use it. If
it gets a scratch on it, hey, we'll live.
(15:44):
I could polish it out if needed. So I do
understand guys, some items might be
really historic to you, might have a lot
of meaning to you, might be worth a lot of
money. There are razors worth thousands of
dollars out there.
But you know what, if you use it, I highly
(16:04):
doubt you're going to hurt it. I think
that if you did hurt it or break it, there
are places, Razor Emporium fixes those
vintage Gillette razors no problem. They
can make it look brand new and better than
new with better coatings than came from
the factory. There are several companies
that do that now. uh... and they're now i
think reason for him to even making parts
(16:25):
for jillette razors now yeah they're
making the springs are making uh...
handles for vintage tech razors i mean
they're making a lot of a lot of uh...
parts and i have a feeling they're gonna
make more because i got a cnc machine now
so they might even make more parts for the
so that the part the day of hey you buy a
jillette and you break something on it are
(16:46):
are they might be coming to an end to
where hey you break something on it hey
we'll make the part for you we'll fix it
may not be a hundred percent original but
it'll be a hundred percent functional i
say guys use it or lose it no point in
just in just not using your yours your
beautiful shaving stuff if you can again
there's some people that don't want to use
(17:07):
it that just like holding it just like i
know some several watch collectors that
don't wear half their watches and to me
it's like hey man wear it you know enjoy
it Have a smaller collection and wear your
stuff more often. Or whatever, but wear
those watches that you spend all your time
looking for and having. Because that's
really what they're for, and that's what
they were made to do. But I understand if
(17:29):
you don't. I understand it's a collector
item, whatever. But that's my take on it,
guys. And I'll stick to it.
Alright guys, so I did receive a few
emails from a few listeners here and I
wanted to go over it. This was a few weeks
ago. I didn't have a chance to talk about
(17:51):
it on the last podcast but if you guys
send me an email I will feature it or talk
about it on the show. I did receive an
email from Tim and Tim was very gracious
and he sent me a Weber DLC Razor So he's
been listening to, he's been a long time
listener, actually listened to this
podcast and the one by Rick DeWeese, I
don't know if you guys remember. Rick,
(18:11):
Rick was doing a podcast before here,
before mine and I believe I, actually I,
he actually inspired me to do so because I
was listening to his podcast and I really
enjoyed it. And then I heard, you know,
the story on Sharpologist, I heard that
Andrew was looking for somebody, he was
the original podcast host. I joined him,
you know, I just contacted him, joined him
(18:32):
as like helping out, like an assistant,
and then kind of took over after a little
bit of time. But he's been listening for a
long time. And he, you know, offered to
give me a Weber DLC safety razor. So
that's the one with the the black
(19:06):
In a long time back in 2012 when they
first started coming out they were the
first one to be made in the United States
off by an artisan really ever I think or
since since the 80s with Gillette until
Gillette shut down production in the
United States so this is the first and one
of the better ones out there I believe so
it's actually turning into a quite a
(19:26):
collectible item And I have this razor,
and I'm going to try it out for a little
bit. I'm trying to figure out how to,
because I already have a Weber. I don't
have the DLC. So I'm going to figure out
how to gift this razor along the lines in
the future. So I'm probably going to hold
it until Christmas time or something like
that and do a nice little giveaway around
(19:47):
then. So I've got to say, Tim, thank you
very much for, one, being a listener for
many years, and two, for sending the
razor. I was very ecstatic to get it. It
was a very, very kind thing that you did
and nice, and I appreciate it. And we're
giving you a wet shaving talk salute
virtually here. So thanks again, Tim, and
look forward to hearing from you in the
(20:09):
future. So I also received
an email from a good friend of mine
online, Abby. Abby's been listening to the
podcast for a while. He's also sent me
several emails. And we go back and forth
and talk here and there. And he sent me an
email about the wet shaving market shift.
(20:30):
and he you know he's a he's also he heard
me talk about like how the market was the
industry was changing mostly on the
software side we talked about that a few
weeks ago and a lot of people and he he as
well shares that he's he's worried about
the market becoming oversaturated so
talking about the the competition you know
with mostly Innovation some artisans that
(20:53):
would to go through a lot of different
changes and stuff like that. We're losing
some artisans there there were noticeably
fewer attendees at the Maggots meetup and
you know looking at my database and
Looking at out there out there in the
world and in the wet shaving world. It is
true. There are quite a few vendors that
have shut down or slowly, you know kind of
(21:15):
phased out and From where there were about
five or six years ago, and that's just
because cost and all that stuff I think
competitions and also competitions getting
crazy And a lot of he also mentioned he
spoke to a few people there vendors one
vendor mentioned that Many of the
enthusiasts stocked up a ton during 2020
during the pandemic. We're all sitting
around boards We bought a lot so they're
(21:36):
not buying much and the bubble might have
burst and you know realistically we looked
at it talking about our wet shaving
collections and most of us out there
collectors and Abby is one of them has
probably about a hundred years worth of
shaving soap right if you kept all your
soaps and use them didn't buy another one
(21:57):
you got about a hundred years worth so
It's just like, well, you know what? Maybe
people are just slowing down in general.
And that's kind of where I'm at. At one
point, I had probably close to like 70, 80
soaps, maybe more. I don't know. I started
getting rid of a lot of them, because a
lot of them started falling apart. Some of
them, I just didn't use anymore, and I
(22:18):
just ran out of space. And also, I wanted
to use my collection. So I haven't bought
a shave soap other than maybe three to
five shave soaps a year, when I used to
buy probably 30. In the last couple of
years because I've been using my stuff up
but recently I want to I want to start
supporting the artisans and you know
listening to the reading this article and
then just talking about You know, hey
(22:41):
these guys might need some help with those
for their their businesses yeah i think i
will definitely go through it so if you're
a vendor or you're an artisan and you need
some help or if you you want to talk about
your product just send me an email alright
send me an email and i will definitely
mention you on the show we could talk
about it i could try to work out an
interview it's it's tough for me just
(23:02):
because i don't i still have any much time
to do interviews to set up and collaborate
and it's just uh... it's usually when you
do that kind of stuff does take a lot of
time so We'll talk about it though. So
definitely so Abby as always. Thank you
for sending me an email again It was
really good enjoyed it. I always enjoy
your guys's emails Whenever you send it to
me. I read every single one of them
(23:22):
respond to them. So I have a lot of fun
doing that and Really enjoy Abby as well
your content because you always send good
stuff and you're always very Very active
and very you have a very good perspective
on the whatsaver world. So thank you again
for the email All right, everyone, that
concludes the show for this week. That's
(23:43):
it. Talking about wet shaving and all that
good stuff, man, it doesn't get any better
than that for us wet shavers. It's still a
lot of fun. I'm going in on 10 years on
this podcast and still enjoying every
moment of it. I just wanted to remind you
guys our show is powered by
sharpologist.com, which your father didn't
teach you about shaving. Thanks to
(24:04):
Mantic59 for everything that he does for
the wet shaving community. And of course,
most of all, you guys, the listeners.
Don't forget to check out my blog site,
ShaveStraightAndSafety.com. And always
feel free to email me at
joe.wetshavingnews.com. Remember, my book
is out, still, The Modern Guide to
Straight Razor Shaving, available on
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at Pasteur's
(24:26):
Pharmacy in a brick and mortar location.
Next show will be on the 7th of July.
Until then, shave straight and shave safe.
Bye bye now.
3 2 1 You're listening to Wet
(00:04):
Shaving Talk powered by Sharpologist.com,
where we're dedicated to preserving the
art and skill, classic shaving. I'm your
host Joe Borelli and today is June 23rd,
2025.
Alright everyone, welcome back to the
podcast glad to see you all here today on
(00:26):
this beautiful Start of summer day. That's
right. It is the start of summer and we
are in full-fledged Most parts of the
country right now. I mean there's been a
heat wave going on So I thought what
better way to talk about a heat wave than
to talk about how to beat the heat so With
the show today, we're going to talk a
(00:47):
little bit about menthol in the products
that you have, wet shaving products, how
to beat the heat with those items, and
give you a little bit of relief when you
walk out the door, especially after
getting ready in the morning or when you
do your shave at night, and just getting
that little blast of coolness on your face
and what it causes and what it does, and
really just a few products that have it
that are readily available that you can
get. There are a lot of items that have
(01:08):
the menthol in it, and it will give you
that cooling effect. and also a few things
that might make you allergic to it as well
as with me, so we'll talk a little bit
about that. and why I saw this on Badger
and Blade this week. Why does shaving, wet
shaving, bring you peace? A couple people
(01:29):
posted on that. I actually had quite a few
posts. It was posted as a thread on Badger
and Blade and I was really interested in
that and I was going to tell you what
brings me peace with wet shaving and why
actually, you know, why it makes a lot of
sense on how it's like just a little bit
of a peaceful thing or an event that
happens on a daily basis that you can
enjoy often. Are you a collector? Are you
(01:53):
a user? Why I think you should use your
stuff. That's right, guys. There are a lot
of collectors out there that like to put
stuff in boxes or hold them. And I feel
you shouldn't do that. I think you should
use your items. Use your products. Use
your collectibles. And I'll tell you
exactly why and what I think about the
whole collecting aspect of wet shaving in
a nutshell, I guess to say. So guys,
(02:15):
without further ado, let's get on with the
show. So what's up
with menthol and how can it beat the heat
in the summer months? So mentholated
products are a great way to beat the heat
and by providing a cooling effect that can
make you feel fresh, cool, especially
(02:36):
during these hot summer months a lot of
humidity and it's derived mainly from mint
leaves or and there's also synthetic
versions as well what it really does is it
gives you that real cooling breezy like
aspect and kind of like i guess it makes
it a little that makes you feel a little
tingly at times as well there are a lot of
items that do carry it uh... carry a
(02:57):
little menthol in it and there's some
really good um... there's a really good
website excuse me uh... posts on
sharpologist about What is menthol and why
is it in my shaving stuff? So I actually
put a link in the show notes to this. So
what it is, it's basically an organic
compound really obtained from mint oils or
can be made synthetically. So a lot of wet
(03:20):
shaving vendors are using synthetic
menthol. I think it's probably more on the
affordable side. It's also easier to find,
I would guess, and you don't have to
really divide. It's probably easier to
make. I'm not sure. I don't know much
about it. But what it really does is it
activates the body receptor structures
found in the skin and cold sensitive
areas, making you feel cold. And it does,
(03:41):
it kind of gives you like a little cold
message to the brain from the nerves, I
guess, in your, on your skin. So it's
got like a, almost like an anesthetic,
like a kind of like a, like a, I guess,
how to
(04:16):
Like it kind of almost clogs up my nose I
guess it makes you cut and I my face also
breaks out a little bit So I got to go
easy on the methylated products, but I do
love it when you shave with them Okay Let
me just give you a little insider when you
actually shave With a methylated shave
soap and then use and follow up with with
like aftershave or something like that in
that sense right or bomb You go outside
(04:39):
and you feel cold like it will feel like a
kind of I don't know guys if you've ever
put like a muscle relaxer on which I'm
guessing is probably methylated like a
Bengay or something like that. You feel
that tingly feel. It's similar to that
only just I don't think you get the bad
smell and also it's a little bit more on
the cooler side, right? Some of them will
(05:00):
warm, some of them cool. Icy hot would be
an example when it's the icy part of it,
right? So it kind of feels good and it
will also feel like when you go outside
and you're in the heat it kind of it does
make you feel cooler as in the sense if
you go in a sauna and you go right outside
the hot in the hot human air you'll feel
like cooler right you'll feel cooler for a
(05:20):
few minutes and if you jump in the pool
you'll feel really cold. Similar to that
if you've been in a sauna you understand
what I'm saying. So a lot of people use
these products especially during the hot
times because of that aspect the cooling
aspect. Now there are lots of products
that do it. If you've guys ever tried,
it's called the Holy Black Creeper line.
(05:43):
If you've ever tried that line that they
usually come out with in the summertime,
they've had a lavender creeper, they've
had lots of different creepers, orange I
think they've had, coconut, those have a
ton of methanol in it. And I believe they
use synthetic methanol in that. And that's
really to the extreme. Also, you have
(06:06):
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Frostbite.
That's another really intense. Soap that
will really give you that cooling essence.
And then Sterling, the Glacial line.
There's a whole line of Sterling where
they put a lot of those, a lot of
methylated crystals in your shaving stuff,
in their soaps. And you can get different
scents and stuff like that. There's also
some sites online where you can actually
(06:26):
buy the methyl yourself. I think PAA sells
it, Phoenix Artisan Enrichments. I know
the Shave Den store, she used to sell it
over there. Not sure if she still does and
I'm pretty sure you could probably find it
on Amazon if you wanted to. And you can
add it to anything. You can add it to your
own aftershaves. You can really methylate
anything. So, in short, if you guys are
looking for a quick way to beat the heat,
(06:47):
especially with these high temperatures
going on right now and the heat wave up
north, and if you live in the southeast
like I do, you really kind of get used to
the heat after a few years. It's just
going to be there every single day.
There's nothing you can really do about
it. but this is a great way to do it. You
can try this out, try these out. I do
(07:08):
recommend trying it out sparingly when you
first start because I've heard a lot of
stories about people being allergic or
having reactions to it and that's kind of
my boat as well. So check out the, also
guys, the link I left in the show notes to
the Mantix article, What is Menthol and
Why Is It in My Shaving Stuff? And see if
you can get some more information and see
(07:29):
if it's for you and then If you want, try
something out. Let me know the results.
See what you guys think if you haven't
tried one. And yeah, see if you could beat
the heat in a wet shaving style.
All right, moving along. So why does wet
shaving bring you peace? So does it in
(07:49):
fact bring you peace? Do you feel more
relaxed? Do you feel peaceful after
shaving or while you're shaving? Or even
while you're Googling and searching for
wet shaving products and shopping for
them? So an interesting post on Badger &
Blade really opened up for me. I took a
look at it and I saw this subject and I
started thinking about it. Does it bring
(08:10):
me peace? A lot of people responded that
it does because it's the few minutes a day
that they get to themselves and You know,
it's just fun that to do a hobby or to
have something special, you know reserve
for yourself every day So I will agree
this does bring peace and I'm gonna say
that there's a lot of things that bring
people peace Right. I talked to a
(08:30):
gentleman the other day and you know some
people Use do small things like example
There's a gentleman that this at the
coffee shop that I go to pretty quite
often He says that this place is his piece
like every day before work. He likes to
sit down He gets something to eat. He
drinks a coffee and goes to work from that
coffee shop So I asked him I said hey man,
(08:52):
you're here every single day, you know,
why don't you try a different place? He's
like well this place brings me peace
because I like to relax and it's like a
routine and it's something I do for myself
every day and Just to give myself that
little kick start and to treat myself
daily. You know, yeah, it might be $4, $5
for coffee, but it's just what I do for
(09:12):
me. And I thought about it and I, and you
know, he made a really good point because
I think for myself, it's wet shaving every
morning. So I wake up every day and for my
own personal self, I will make sure that I
shave. Before work, after work, whatever I
do every day. I like to do it in the
morning because it gives me a kick start.
(09:34):
I used to be a night shaver, I shave at
night when I first started because it
takes longer, you know, to wet shave when
you're starting out, especially with a
straight razor. I've
(10:02):
I think of it as like hey I accomplished
something that most people don't before I
even leave my house right if you're
shaving with a straight razor or if you're
shaving with a safety razor and a brush
and soap you can honestly say that 95% of
people out there didn't start their day
with a skill like that. Most people don't
(10:23):
know anything about wet shaving. They
don't know that. But think about
challenging yourself. A classic thing for
people to do is make their bed before they
go to work every single day regardless if
they live alone or if they live with
people because it gives them that sense of
accomplishment that they accomplished
something that most people don't do before
they leave for work. Well, I do like to
(10:45):
make my bed and I also like to wet shave
because I accomplish something that 95% of
the people do, don't do, right? And it
gives me, I guess, a little sense of
empowerment. It gives me a little boost
and it makes me feel like, you know, I'm a
little bit pumped up, to be honest with
you, like I'm ready for the day just
because I did it. And I can actually
noticeably see a difference If I don't,
(11:06):
like if I don't shave, I'm always touching
my face, I feel like I'm missing
something, I feel like I'm unkept because
at work I like to make sure I'm
professional, I look good. Now granted,
guys, beards are very acceptable in the
workplace right now, right? You can do
beards, no problem, nobody says anything.
Most companies, even back in the day with
retail, you used to not be able to have
(11:26):
facial hair, you had to have short hair.
No, it's very lax in that area and beards
are very widely accepted and a lot of
people have a beard. Most men at my work,
I'd say 90% of them have a beard of some
sort, with the exception of myself, which
I used to have one. I tried one out for a
few years, but I guess you could say It's
(11:46):
a way to accomplish something, give
yourself a little bit of time to you and
celebrate yourself every single day even
though most of us are celebrating others
most of the time, right? As a parent, your
kids come first and we know that. As a
friend, your friends come first, your work
comes first, whatever. Usually you're
going to work every day. And even if you
(12:08):
own your own business and you own your own
or you don't work at all, you usually
you're working, doing something for
someone else. So why not treat yourself on
a daily basis, whether it be a cup of
coffee or a clean wet shave in the
morning. So that's how I think of it. And
that's really how the article went through
with everybody and what it really came
about. So does wet shaving bring you
(12:30):
peace? Let me know. Send me an email. I'd
love to talk about it. All
right. Are you a collector? Are you a
user? Why I think you should do both. So
there are parts of your collection that
you never use and you have a fear of
(12:52):
getting damaged or losing value. Well,
guys, I'm here to tell you my thoughts on
this whole thing. And it's, uh, well, I
say, use it, use it or lose it. So a lot
of guys will say, Hey, I have a really
rare razor. I don't want to use it. Cause
I don't want to ruin it. Right. I don't
want to destroy it. It's I want to
preserve it. And that's great and all, but
I could tell you guys right now that these
(13:13):
razors are meant to be used. They can be
used and they, and you should use them.
And I'll tell you exactly why. Why Not?
(13:37):
Subscribe in US English
I've shaved with a straight razor several
straight razors from the 1700s 1800s you
know and that's the reason like a lot of
(13:57):
people say why would you use that it's
been it's been around for 200 years you
should you shouldn't use it
Well, you know what? I know I probably
shouldn't, but I'm going to because it is
(14:18):
awesome to use a razor that's 200 years
old. I can tell you that is pretty cool,
right? And it's a lot of fun to collect
and say to people, hey, this works too,
especially with safety razors. Safety
razors don't need as much work as a
straight razor will need to get a shave
ready. For example, my straight razor I
got from the 1700's, my EVAT that I had. I
(14:39):
did do an article on Sharpologist about
that some time ago. and this razor had a
lot of history to it and needed a lot of
work. I kept the original scales but of
course the blade needed to be re-honed. It
actually needed to be re-ground. I was
able to do all that work myself. It took
me about a week or two to do it and it
shaves perfectly now. It shaves
(15:01):
beautifully. It's great. Yeah, it might be
a little bit altered from when I found it.
and may have lost a little bit of metal
and may be a little bit cleaned up. But
it's really, the value of the item
probably didn't go down at all. I don't
think it's really worth much. I don't know
how much they're worth. But I paid about
$100 for it, right? And that's a lot for a
(15:22):
straight razor that's that old that needed
work. But it's fun. I really enjoy
collecting it. And I love using it every
now and then. And I love just trying it
out and looking at new things. I love
using vintage Kamisari Japanese straight
razors. I think those are awesome. A lot
of people think they are collector's
items. To me, I don't mind. I use it. If
it gets a scratch on it, hey, we'll live.
(15:44):
I could polish it out if needed. So I do
understand guys, some items might be
really historic to you, might have a lot
of meaning to you, might be worth a lot of
money. There are razors worth thousands of
dollars out there.
But you know what, if you use it, I highly
(16:04):
doubt you're going to hurt it. I think
that if you did hurt it or break it, there
are places, Razor Emporium fixes those
vintage Gillette razors no problem. They
can make it look brand new and better than
new with better coatings than came from
the factory. There are several companies
that do that now. uh... and they're now i
think reason for him to even making parts
(16:25):
for jillette razors now yeah they're
making the springs are making uh...
handles for vintage tech razors i mean
they're making a lot of a lot of uh...
parts and i have a feeling they're gonna
make more because i got a cnc machine now
so they might even make more parts for the
so that the part the day of hey you buy a
jillette and you break something on it are
(16:46):
are they might be coming to an end to
where hey you break something on it hey
we'll make the part for you we'll fix it
may not be a hundred percent original but
it'll be a hundred percent functional i
say guys use it or lose it no point in
just in just not using your yours your
beautiful shaving stuff if you can again
there's some people that don't want to use
(17:07):
it that just like holding it just like i
know some several watch collectors that
don't wear half their watches and to me
it's like hey man wear it you know enjoy
it Have a smaller collection and wear your
stuff more often. Or whatever, but wear
those watches that you spend all your time
looking for and having. Because that's
really what they're for, and that's what
they were made to do. But I understand if
(17:29):
you don't. I understand it's a collector
item, whatever. But that's my take on it,
guys. And I'll stick to it.
Alright guys, so I did receive a few
emails from a few listeners here and I
wanted to go over it. This was a few weeks
ago. I didn't have a chance to talk about
(17:51):
it on the last podcast but if you guys
send me an email I will feature it or talk
about it on the show. I did receive an
email from Tim and Tim was very gracious
and he sent me a Weber DLC Razor So he's
been listening to, he's been a long time
listener, actually listened to this
podcast and the one by Rick DeWeese, I
don't know if you guys remember. Rick,
(18:11):
Rick was doing a podcast before here,
before mine and I believe I, actually I,
he actually inspired me to do so because I
was listening to his podcast and I really
enjoyed it. And then I heard, you know,
the story on Sharpologist, I heard that
Andrew was looking for somebody, he was
the original podcast host. I joined him,
you know, I just contacted him, joined him
(18:32):
as like helping out, like an assistant,
and then kind of took over after a little
bit of time. But he's been listening for a
long time. And he, you know, offered to
give me a Weber DLC safety razor. So
that's the one with the the black
(19:06):
In a long time back in 2012 when they
first started coming out they were the
first one to be made in the United States
off by an artisan really ever I think or
since since the 80s with Gillette until
Gillette shut down production in the
United States so this is the first and one
of the better ones out there I believe so
it's actually turning into a quite a
(19:26):
collectible item And I have this razor,
and I'm going to try it out for a little
bit. I'm trying to figure out how to,
because I already have a Weber. I don't
have the DLC. So I'm going to figure out
how to gift this razor along the lines in
the future. So I'm probably going to hold
it until Christmas time or something like
that and do a nice little giveaway around
(19:47):
then. So I've got to say, Tim, thank you
very much for, one, being a listener for
many years, and two, for sending the
razor. I was very ecstatic to get it. It
was a very, very kind thing that you did
and nice, and I appreciate it. And we're
giving you a wet shaving talk salute
virtually here. So thanks again, Tim, and
look forward to hearing from you in the
(20:09):
future. So I also received
an email from a good friend of mine
online, Abby. Abby's been listening to the
podcast for a while. He's also sent me
several emails. And we go back and forth
and talk here and there. And he sent me an
email about the wet shaving market shift.
(20:30):
and he you know he's a he's also he heard
me talk about like how the market was the
industry was changing mostly on the
software side we talked about that a few
weeks ago and a lot of people and he he as
well shares that he's he's worried about
the market becoming oversaturated so
talking about the the competition you know
with mostly Innovation some artisans that
(20:53):
would to go through a lot of different
changes and stuff like that. We're losing
some artisans there there were noticeably
fewer attendees at the Maggots meetup and
you know looking at my database and
Looking at out there out there in the
world and in the wet shaving world. It is
true. There are quite a few vendors that
have shut down or slowly, you know kind of
(21:15):
phased out and From where there were about
five or six years ago, and that's just
because cost and all that stuff I think
competitions and also competitions getting
crazy And a lot of he also mentioned he
spoke to a few people there vendors one
vendor mentioned that Many of the
enthusiasts stocked up a ton during 2020
during the pandemic. We're all sitting
around boards We bought a lot so they're
(21:36):
not buying much and the bubble might have
burst and you know realistically we looked
at it talking about our wet shaving
collections and most of us out there
collectors and Abby is one of them has
probably about a hundred years worth of
shaving soap right if you kept all your
soaps and use them didn't buy another one
(21:57):
you got about a hundred years worth so
It's just like, well, you know what? Maybe
people are just slowing down in general.
And that's kind of where I'm at. At one
point, I had probably close to like 70, 80
soaps, maybe more. I don't know. I started
getting rid of a lot of them, because a
lot of them started falling apart. Some of
them, I just didn't use anymore, and I
(22:18):
just ran out of space. And also, I wanted
to use my collection. So I haven't bought
a shave soap other than maybe three to
five shave soaps a year, when I used to
buy probably 30. In the last couple of
years because I've been using my stuff up
but recently I want to I want to start
supporting the artisans and you know
listening to the reading this article and
then just talking about You know, hey
(22:41):
these guys might need some help with those
for their their businesses yeah i think i
will definitely go through it so if you're
a vendor or you're an artisan and you need
some help or if you you want to talk about
your product just send me an email alright
send me an email and i will definitely
mention you on the show we could talk
about it i could try to work out an
interview it's it's tough for me just
(23:02):
because i don't i still have any much time
to do interviews to set up and collaborate
and it's just uh... it's usually when you
do that kind of stuff does take a lot of
time so We'll talk about it though. So
definitely so Abby as always. Thank you
for sending me an email again It was
really good enjoyed it. I always enjoy
your guys's emails Whenever you send it to
me. I read every single one of them
(23:22):
respond to them. So I have a lot of fun
doing that and Really enjoy Abby as well
your content because you always send good
stuff and you're always very Very active
and very you have a very good perspective
on the whatsaver world. So thank you again
for the email All right, everyone, that
concludes the show for this week. That's
(23:43):
it. Talking about wet shaving and all that
good stuff, man, it doesn't get any better
than that for us wet shavers. It's still a
lot of fun. I'm going in on 10 years on
this podcast and still enjoying every
moment of it. I just wanted to remind you
guys our show is powered by
sharpologist.com, which your father didn't
teach you about shaving. Thanks to
(24:04):
Mantic59 for everything that he does for
the wet shaving community. And of course,
most of all, you guys, the listeners.
Don't forget to check out my blog site,
ShaveStraightAndSafety.com. And always
feel free to email me at
joe.wetshavingnews.com. Remember, my book
is out, still, The Modern Guide to
Straight Razor Shaving, available on
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at Pasteur's
(24:26):
Pharmacy in a brick and mortar location.
Next show will be on the 7th of July.
Until then, shave straight and shave safe.
Bye bye now.
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