Wet Shaving Talk For 21 November 2025

Podcast 11-20-25.mp3
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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 Borelli, and today is Friday, November 21st, 2025. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast here on this beautiful Friday morning.

I have to say, I apologize. I missed a show again. And reasoning being this time was I had the flu. Yeah, that's right guys.

I usually get sick. If you've listened to the podcast for the years, I usually get the flu almost every year or something goes on, but this time was bad. I couldn't talk for my voice is really scratched up up until about a few days ago. So I'm back to normal, feeling good and able to do a nice clear podcast.

So... Today on the show, I wanted to first off wish you all, all that celebrated a happy Thanksgiving here in the United States. It's coming up in a few days. For all you retail managers out there, I know it's the toughest week, one of the toughest weeks of the year, especially for grocery retailers coming up.

This is the busiest week of the year. And for those other retailers such as, you know, General Merchandise, Best Buy, Electronics, all that stuff, it's another really busy week starting on Friday of next, exactly a week from today. Wet shaving talk salutes you guys for working out there. I'm going through it too.

Nice six day work week for me and next week will be pretty crazy up until about Friday and then slows down a little bit for us and then it really just ramps up the first week of December until the end of the year. So happy Thanksgiving for you all out there, for you guys working in retail. It'll all be over soon. It's only six weeks out of the year.

That's what I like to tell everybody. The craziness for you retail managers and retail workers out there is six weeks. That's really where you are needed all hands on deck. And it's kind of crazy.

And then after that, it kind of goes back to normal. So we salute you out there. Black Friday sales are coming up, guys. What vendors are doing which?

We'll talk about that and how to stay in the loop. Best practices to get those deals that you want at the time that you want them for the price that you need, right? It's that time of the year. You want to save some money.

Get ready for the holidays. How to do it for Black Friday sales. I'll give you a few tips. And I've been noticing online a lot of people talking about razor storage and wet shaving storage.

And some people have been using a small toolbox that you can get out of Harbor Freight. Really good price. Again, it's going to be on a Black Friday sale. And I will talk a little bit about that in the show as well.

collector series for this week will be the Rolls razor. This is a razor that is very unique in sense of design and functionality. It's one of the first wet shaving razors I owned that I still cannot get a shave really that good off of. But they have a good story and a really cool mechanism that operates this razor.

We'll talk a little bit about that. And then finally, the year in review, 10 years of wet shaving. We are actually just past the 10th anniversary of when I started wet shaving with Sharp Biologist and I put a link in the show notes for something special for you guys to go over. The year in review this year will be a 10-year edition which will go through all the years of the podcast and just highlight some of the special parts and some of the events that happened through wet shaving in the last decade.

So, without further ado guys, let's get on with the show. Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales are coming through and here is what we know and here's what you need to know to get through it. So how do you stay in the loop? Well, I'd say.

To stay in the loop, you're going to have to really do some research and set yourself up for success, right? Just like work, set up for success. Meaning, a couple of tips. Stay on the lookout not only for sales every day by checking social media, but follow your favorite vendors and your favorite artisans on social media.

I know this might sound silly. Some people don't have social media or that. But if you follow them, that's pretty much the fastest way to get the news. Example, a couple vendors have been showing that they have sales coming on.

The Holy Black, I follow them. They said that they're doing a release on midnight of all their secret stashes. It's going to be the biggest release they've ever done. And they're giving us enough time to be ready for it.

You got Razor Emporium. They usually do a coupon or a sale for this time of the year. West Coast Shaving has a sale every year. They're going to post that.

What Shaving Products has already posted theirs, and so has the Shave Cave, and a lot of Amazon retailers are already starting to leak it. So the best way to do it is follow your favorite vendors. Next, another good hint, is on Amazon, the stuff that you have on your wish list, put it in a cart right now. Go in there, go on the Amazon app, look for stuff that you like, and then click on it and save it in your shopping cart.

That way when it goes on sale on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, just click on your cart and you'll see the updated price. I do that with a lot of things. I have over 60 items in my cart right now for Amazon. And I do it all the time just because I'm waiting for something to go down in price.

Example, I have to buy shoes for work here and there. My shoes can fluctuate. They can go up $10, $15 here or there. And I want the best price possible.

And I usually wait until they go on sale. So I keep the same ones that I like, the ones that I buy, for my work. And I look at it every, you know, whenever I start seeing them wear out and I need new ones, I start looking at it and waiting, okay, I got some time, and wait for the best price. So I check it, you know, periodically.

Same thing with other things too, like car parts or whatever, whatever you want to do. It works with really everything. So do that, keep a basket for Amazon ready to go, and then you can just check it on Black Friday to see if any of the prices went down. Also, sign up for emails.

If you sign up with emails with your favorite vendor, Artisan, they usually will do an email blast on their sales when it happens, and you'll be one of the first people to do it. So if you don't have social media or don't want social media, yeah, you still can get away with just an email. You can do that. And you can get an email alert or email exactly when they're doing their sale and just look for Black Friday and stuff like that.

So I think those are some of the best ways to actually get the sales and be able to stay on top of Black Friday. Also, there's also the old-fashioned way of just, hey, I'm just going to go online and just search everybody on Black Friday. And there's nothing wrong with that. The other methods that I pointed out are just to really help you save some time and keep you going.

Also, you can use ChatGPT or AI. You can say, hey, what's on sale from these vendors? And it'll go through and say, it'll do it for you, right? And I know that's something new for this last couple of years that's making it a lot easier for a lot of people to do a ChatGPT or some AI form of communication.

And you can put it in there, and it'll just tell you right away. I like AI. I think it helps, but I also think it's going to make us... I thought Google would make us lazy when that came out.

Man, this is going to be really good, right? This is going to make it way easier. You don't even have to do the work on Google anymore. You just got to put in what you want, and it's going to tell you, right?

So that's another story. Again, I'm trying to stay away from it for the podcast and for writing, and I haven't used it yet because I kind of like to keep the original content. I don't mind reading and writing. You know, that's something that I do enjoy as well.

So that's on a side note. But yeah, guys, so a couple of techniques. Again, fill up that Amazon cart and wait for the sale. Two, follow your favorite retailers and artisans and or artisans on social media.

Three, sign up for email alerts. And four, when in doubt, search, do the old-fashioned way, whether you use Google AI or just search each site. And I think with that, you'll be able to find the best prices with all of your favorite vendors and products. And you guys could save a little bit of money this holiday season and get those gifts early.

Moving along. A toolbox to store razors. So recently I saw online a lot of people are posting this, all right? If you have been to Harbor Freight or go to Harbor Freight or if you're into tools or not, like listen, I know Harbor Freight.

I go there all the time. I am an amateur mechanic at home. I do restore stuff at home and do stuff a lot. But I am not a professional mechanic or I guess a carpenter or anything like that, so I don't need snap-on tools every day.

I do have some snap-on tools that I buy, you know, and I buy my tools mostly on eBay or I buy them on, you know, whatever I see them. My father was a mechanic growing up, so I have a lot of his stuff that he'll give me or that he's given me and I've used. So I have good tools as well, but if I need something in a pinch and I need it only for one or two jobs, Harbor Freight's the place to go. So if you know Harbor Freight, if you've been there, They have this little toolbox by US General.

It's about $20. It's on sale for $15 right now for Black Friday, by the way. And there have been over 10 or 15 guys posting online that they're using this for razors. I have a picture in the show notes.

It's great. It comes in a different amount of colors. There's gray, there's black, there's yellow, there's red. You know, a bunch of colors are available.

And for $15 right now, guys, This works. You can hold up to 20 plus razors in here. Honestly, you can. And it's very compact.

It could fit definitely on a vanity or in your closet on a dresser. And it does give it kind of like that industrial look. Now, I understand, guys, some of you guys out there, you want traditional wet shaving. You want wood.

You want it in something else. But that's not all. It's not easy to find. And they never really made those types of of boxes back in the day, like I don't think wet shaving was really a collectible hobby or collectible thing up until the late 1990s, right, until we started getting into it, wet shaving.

And then through the 2000s and of course now. So back in the day, nobody really had it. You might be able to find some antique barber, like I guess vanities and stuff, but you're not going to really find like a box dedicated for it. So this is a good alternative.

15 bucks right now, usual price is 20. I think, right, around $20. So you're saving about 20% right now. Black Friday sale at Harbor Freight.

You can, if you're not near Harbor Freight, you can actually order it online. I left a picture of it in the show notes, but no link because I'm not affiliated with any vendor or anything like that. So I just wanted to make sure you guys get the information and purchase it the way you'd like to. But yeah, I think it's a pretty cool idea.

It comes with a liner in it too, so it's nice and neat. Set it up. If you've done a setup like that, send me the picture. I'll put it on the next show.

I think it'll be really cool to feature and see what you guys are doing with these boxes. And that brings us to the Collector Series, yes, the infamous Rolls Razor. The Rolls Razor was marketed as the best safety razor as it was, well, it's a British razor. It was made in the UK and was a self-contained safety razor that sharpened itself, stropped itself from around the 20s to the 50s, 60s.

Some people say, I think, as late as the 1960s this was being made. And there were several versions that were produced on this one. So, he uses a hollow ground straight razor style blade on an actual handle. And you can shave it like a straight razor with a little bar that's adjustable, so it can go either way.

And you can shave just like a safety razor, but with a straight razor setup, right? So you'd have to strop it. It came with a little hone that came with it and a strop that came with it. And you can do all that in the mechanism.

It's really cool to use. You strop it. You can hone it in there. Although I don't think the honing actually really works because I have mine.

I tried it with the hone. I tried it with soap. I've tried it with water. And it just never gets sharp.

I had to actually sharpen it on a regular stone, right? Set up a stone. I used a Norton 1K, 4K, 8K after that, and then I used a conical to finish it off. And I was able to get a decent shave with it, but still not too good.

So I'm still learning on that one. I'm still working on it. But it's very unique. It is not affiliated with Rolls-Royce, a lot of people ask, but it is affiliated with the old company of the Rolls washing machines.

So it's the same company. They made washing machines, dryers, and I think they made the Rolls-Racer. That's what they made out of the UK. That's what they're famous for.

Now, the Rolls-Racer is readily available. There are tons of them out there. I have two of them, one that my grandfather bought I don't know when, probably in the 50s and had it in storage and just gave it to me. That's the one that I have and then I have one that my brother-in-law, my sister's husband gave me from his family as well.

So I have that one and that one I restored and kind of cleaned it up and made it better. It was a clever idea. It was a nice concept, I guess you could say. But it never really took off.

And honestly, it doesn't shave very well. So that's probably why nobody really wanted it. I think they bought it more for a gimmick or for a novelty. And that's why there's so many of them around, because people bought them.

It's solid metal. It's a really heavy piece. It's a quality piece. And they're like, well, I can't throw this away.

It's so nice. And somebody probably paid a lot of money for it. So I'm going to keep it. And that's why we're still 80 years or 70 years after the last of them have been produced, we still have them.

They're still around. So Rolls-Royce. Collectible of the week. We salute you.

If you're interested in getting a Rolls-Royce, expect to pay anywhere from like $20 to maybe over $100 for one that's in the box that's mint or one that's kind of been shot and it doesn't have the box. It might be missing a thing or two for around $20. Either way, if you get one, you'll probably never use it. There are a few guys online that do use it and there are a couple groups out there of people that are into it.

Again, those are the people you want to hit up and there's also a couple of companies. I know Larry from Whip Dog Straight Razors, he'll sharpen the blade for you. He actually advertises that he does Rolls Razor blades. If not, you just got to get out the tape, the stones and the water and you can just go do it and do it yourself just like you would do a straight razor.

Just mind you, be careful. You're using it on your hand and you don't want to cut yourself. So that's it. Rolls Razor, we salute you.

And finally, guys, yep, that's it. The 10-year anniversary of the Wet Shaving Talk podcast is here. It has been 10 years, believe it or not. I cannot believe it.

I looked it up and on the 11th of November of 2015 was my first podcast and that was back when What Shaving Talk was What Shaving News. Now, I'll give you a little bit of history for you new guys out there. I know there are a lot of listeners that have been listening for the last 10 years, so you guys know the deal. This might be a little bit more of a, hey, we're bringing a throwback for you.

So, 10 years ago, it was probably around the summer of 2015, Andrew got with Mantic and they started a podcast called the Wet Shaving News Podcast. Andrew was an enthusiast, not as detailed as many of you guys out there. really just into a few things here and there, just learning at the time, just getting into it. And he was starting to do a podcast, and he did a few shows, and he based his mostly on the news and interviews with artisans.

Now that's something that I know that a lot of people have asked me, hey, why don't you do artisan interviews? And the reasoning why I stopped was, well, I stopped because so many people have done them already. How many times are we going to interview Douglas Smythe from Phoenix Artisan Encroachments? A lot of people have interviewed him, talked to him.

A lot of people do it. And also the YouTubers kind of beat me to it because they're a lot faster. It's a lot easier for them to do it. So a lot of the YouTubers have already beat me to all the artisan, you know, Interviews or meetups or whatever and I haven't really had a chance and not only that to be honest I don't get too many inquiries from artisans to put them on the show So

it's I would say hey, I would probably do it But the thing is I just my time and everything it's difficult for me to collaborate with an artisan especially if they don't contact me or anything like that in regards to hey, can you interview me and It's a little bit difficult because then I kind of forget and I got to start from the beginning. So that's kind of why I don't do that. But the origins of the show was around that, the interviews.

So Andrew put out, I believe it was in October or September, I think it was September of 2015, that he was looking for a co-host to help and everything. So I saw it and I said, you know what, I got nothing to lose. I'm into wet shaving. Maybe I'll give it a shot and I can help make some shows and give this guy some content.

So, I contacted him, he got back to me, he decided, hey, let's talk a little bit. So, we did a few phone calls and then we decided to do, hey, you know what, I'm a little bit more knowledgeable in wet shaving than he was at the time. So, he's like, help me out, give me some content, we'll talk. So, we started working together and then he had me on as a whole, he offered me a co-host position, I took it.

I said, sure thing, and this is my first show, it was the 11th. of November. It was welcome to the show. Joe introduced me.

You can see how much, um, the podcast has changed over 10 years. It's changed a lot, but it hasn't changed that much to the point where it's like, Hey, this is a whole different concept. No, I keep it tour. I still use the same kind of layout as we did when we started that 10 years ago.

And the story goes as my first show, I started helping out co-hosting a couple of them. And then Andrew got very busy with work. I believe he was doing pilot school at the time. He also worked at Disney.

He lived in Orlando. So he worked at Disney and he was very busy. his family and everything like that. And at the time I was just married.

I was getting married. I wasn't, ooh, no, I just got married. So I got married in January of 2015. So I was just freshly married and I had no children or anything like that.

So I was like, Hey, I got time, right? I got plenty of time to do this. So I started taking over a couple of shows and eventually he just said, Hey, listen, I can't do this anymore. You can take over.

And that's when Mark came to me and said, Hey, let's give you your own identity and change the name and start a new podcast. And that's kind of what we did. So that's, That's the first bit of history, I guess, on how the Wet Shaving Talk podcast has come and has lasted for 10 years. Now, 10 years has been tough here and there for you guys because I know a lot of things have happened, right?

Wet shavings changed tremendously in the last 10 years. The industry has changed a lot. When we first started, it was on the rise of certain razors and stuff and artisans. There was only a handful of them then.

Now there's over dozens of artisans that make razors and stuff. You know, a lot of them have come and gone and I know I've been more frequent with the podcast in the past than now, but you know, life happens and it gets difficult, but we're still here. So, the Wet Shaving Talk podcast started as Wet Shaving News 10 years ago with this episode here. This is my first episode.

Now, there's about four episodes prior with two of those I worked on, but this is the first one where I believe my voice is actually on it and you guys hear me. So, it's an interview with me, if you guys are interested in seeing it. I linked it in the show notes, the first What Shaving Talk or the origins of What Shaving Talk podcast. And for the rest of the year, I'm going to feature a little bit more about those 10 years.

So, on the next show, I'll have a little bit of a segment of some history. And then at the end of the year, I'll go through the best episodes of all time. I'll keep it to about 10, the top 10 episodes, and we'll talk about that. So I think that'll be really cool and really special.

And one thing I do want to say, guys, thank you very much. If it wasn't for you guys listening and being interested in wet shaving for this amount of time, I probably wouldn't be doing this. And I really do enjoy it. I do have fun with it.

All right, guys, that concludes the show for this week. Remember, our show is powered by ShowerApologist.com, what your father didn't teach you about shaving. Special thanks to Mark, Mantic59, for everything that he does for the community and keeping us informed with wet shaving content on a daily basis. Most of all, got a special thanks to you guys, the listeners.

Without you, as mentioned before, there'd be no podcast. So don't forget to check out my blog site, ShaveStraightAndSafe.com. Also celebrating its 10-year anniversary, actually, in the next couple of weeks. So you'll be seeing a couple of things.

I'm going to try and do a nice little 10-year article for that as well. And then also, feel free to email me at joe.wetshavingnews at gmail.com with any wet shaving questions or pictures or anything like that. All right, guys, don't forget to check out my book, The Modern Guide to Straight Razor Shaving. It is out on Amazon.

It's available in Barnes & Noble and other major book retailers by order or ask them to carry it if you're interested. And also, it's also available at Pasteur's Pharmacy in New York City, which I will actually be at in a couple of weeks, so if you're in the area, let me know. I'll be there in two weeks from today. So I'll be there just for a brief visit.

I'll be bringing some books and I'll be in New York just for the day. So I'll be coming home the same day. But if you're in the area, let me know. Maybe I might be able to hit you up and do a quick, uh, you know, meet up over there.

But until then guys, I will see you in a couple of weeks. Remember shave straight and shave safe. Bye bye now.