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 September 17th, 2025.
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Today on the Show:
Fall Is In The Air
Badger and Blade Celebrates 20 years!
Do You Get a Better Shave with 2 Days of Growth?
Collector Series: Rooney Shave Brush
Fall Seasonal Special: Coming up this October
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Badger and Blade Celebrates 20 Years
The popular wet shaving forum Badger and Blade celebrates its 20th Anniversary !
To celebrate here is the link to the very first post on B&B. Welcome
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Do You Get a Better Shave with Two Days (or more) Growth?
A question I’ve asked myself many times. There are times I feel I get a better shave with a few days’ growth. Is this true? I’ll tell you my thoughts
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Collector Series: Rooney Shave Brushes
Although no longer in production, Rooney Shave brushes went as far back as 1796 until about 2015 or so when the company shut down. Rooney was a very secretive company with hardly any information on them, as they did not sell directly to consumers and limited interactions with vendors.
Value: $300-over $500.
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Mantic’s New Site: The Black Coffee Life
Mantic has a new site dedicated to coffee: Check it out: https://theblackcoffeelife.com/
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Our show is powered by Sharpologist.com, “What Your Father Didn’t Teach You about Shaving”
Special Thanks to:
Mark aka Mantic 59
Most of All……….YOU!!!!
Don’t forget to check out my blog site www.shavestraightandsafe.com for the tips and interesting wet shaving stories!
Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]
Subscribe to my You Tube Chanel for videos regarding some interesting wet shaving content.
Don’t forget to check out my book “The Modern Guide to Straight Razor Shaving” available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at Pasteur’s Pharmacy in NYC.
If you’re a vendor and would like to be featured on the show please contact me!!
Transcript generated by Transcript LOL
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 September 17th, 2025. Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast.
And when I was saying September, I almost said April. I don’t know why I was thinking April, but whoa. So guys, really glad to be bringing back this podcast after a few weeks being out. And I’ll give you, I’ll let you know what’s going on.
I am on a brand, well, not a brand new computer. Recently this year, I purchased a used MacBook Air, right? And I bought it for my work and just to have a small laptop to bring around. And it’s, I got it used, I got it refurbished or whatever on Amazon.
And I was a little skeptical at first, but, you know, I heard they were really good. It had good reviews. So I decided to purchase one. And now I’ve switched the podcast to it.
So this is the first podcast I’m doing on a new computer. in probably about seven, six or seven years since I got my other laptop. And I am going through the glitches and stuff so that’s kind of one of the reasons I’ve been trying to, I’m using the same stuff that I had, the same program that I used to use to record. It took a little bit of getting used to it and trying to figure out how to set it up.
I am, just to let you guys know, there’s a reason why I’m a wet shaver. I am not the most savvy with tech. I know Mark for Amantek, he is very tech savvy. He’s very good at that stuff.
I am just not there yet. I am just not, I’m not one of the computer connoisseurs. I can do a lot of business applications and make Excel and do that. So I would say my skill level on I’d say Windows and MacBook and all that stuff would be probably about intermediate if not novice.
I am very good with Salesforce. If you ever have a question on Salesforce and how to operate Salesforce, that application, for for anything at work. I’m very good with that. I can do that at work every day and I can actually do navigate that very well.
But I guess a intermediate knowledge of computers. So I’m just learning how to do this. So if it doesn’t sound the same, hopefully it sounds better. It sounds pretty good to me.
If it sounds a little different, let me know. I will definitely, you know, adjust it and fix it. And you know, there’s going to be some glitches here and there, but I’m pretty sure that this will work out really well. It took me a few minutes to figure out the microphone, so I had a few issues there.
Subscribe in US English I really do love that kind of stuff and I think one of my other hobbies I’m sorry just to kind of think about it was I do have a Mustang that I’ve had for over since 2001 since I was turned 18 so I’ve had it for a very long time and it’s been with me everywhere I’ve gone I’ve had other cars and stuff but for some reason You know I bought this car when I was a kid and I worked on restoring it and I’ve been working on it lately so I’ve been doing a lot of work to it and it’s been taking up a lot of my time so I’ve been trying to get it fixed you know talking to my wife recently I’m like hey listen I’m either gonna sell it or I’m gonna fix it up and finally get it like to drive it now I used to daily drive the car and drive it every day for four years but it’s been sitting in my garage I do start it up every week and and I do have a decent amount of mechanical knowledge.
Now, when it comes to cars, my father was a mechanic, so I learned at a very young age when a lot of people were doing, you know, certain things. I was working with my dad and learned a lot about cars, so I’ve acquired quite a bit of tools and I do most of the work on our cars at home. So, it was the time, so I’ve been starting to do that, so that’s taken up a little bit of my time and, you know, of course, working on little things here and there, they can take a lot and then you think that you only have a few things to do and then you have a lot.
and turns into be a big, big, big job and then takes some time to do so. You know, just doing that adulting thing, I guess, and then trying to get all my stuff. I just hate things just sitting around not being used and not being 100% usable. You know, when I drive a car, I love all the options working, so if something breaks, I try to fix it.
Like, example, if a window doesn’t go up, I’m going to fix the window just because if I have it, I want it to work. I guess that’s just the way I am. I’m the same way with wet shaving as well. So, you know, if I have something I want it to work, if I have a razor that doesn’t have blades.
Example, my one blade razor is out of blades, so I have to go order some blades now. Otherwise, I feel like it’s just sitting there doing nothing. That’s just a little bit of what’s happened in a nutshell and that’s why I’ve been very, I guess, very sporadic with posting on the podcast. So I’m sorry to give you guys all the small talk and maybe it’s a little boring, but that’s just what’s going on and, you know, I’m really glad to be back into doing this with a new computer that seems to be working.
So cross my fingers that I am able to do this take and not have to do it again or I don’t lose it, the recording or something like that. So I’m really hoping I don’t. If you’re hearing this, then you know that I didn’t, so wish me luck guys with this. I’m sure that I’ll be able to figure it out and I’ll spend some time on it in the next few weeks.
But today on the show, very important, we’ve got fall in the air. That’s right, summer is just about over. We’re a couple days away from fall, officially fall. And you know, that’s the best season for wet shaving, I think, and I’ll tell you why in the notes.
during the show badger and bleed celebrating 20 years of being there right there been around for 20 years this past August and I have got a little special treat for you guys have the first thread posted in the show notes so you can go take a look at the first one that when they open the forum up in 2005. Collector Series, so we’ve got a Collector Series razor, not razor this week, it is called Rooney Shaving Brush. That’s right, we are going to talk about a very classic shaving brush that is unfortunately no longer in production, but for the little that we do know about this company, I’ll tell you what I do know and why they’re good and we give them a wet shaving talk
salute. And of course, it’s that time of the year again, the fall season special is coming up this October, you don’t want to miss it, I will start, I’ve already started working on it. And I will have a really good show for you the guys this year for the 10th anniversary of the fall seasonal special. So without further ado, let’s get on with the show.
So guys, fall is in the air. I’m so excited. Why is fall so exciting for you newbies out there? Fall is the number one season for wet shaving products.
That’s right. Seasonal products come out this fall for Halloween and it’s always a great show. I’m telling you guys, you’re going to really enjoy it. If you’re new and you like Halloween and that’s one of your favorite holidays.
I love Halloween. I love Christmas. I love Thanksgiving. I love this time of the year.
And this is a way to kick it off. So falls in the air. Once you start seeing those, well in Florida, once you start seeing those snowbird cars coming down, those car carriers coming, you know the fall is here and you know it’s time. So for the rest of you out there, once you start seeing the leaves change, that’s when you know a fall is in the air.
And when you start seeing some of these soaps coming out, soap scents, like you’re going to have stuff that smells like apple cider, stuff that smells like pumpkin spice. I mean, there’s so many out there. I’m so looking forward to bringing out my fall stuff. I always wait for the first day of fall to start doing using those fall seasonal items just because I want to really enjoy the season.
I know a lot of guys use them all year round or they use them you know during the summer but I like to wait and just make it so I use it once a year and really enjoy it. Badger and Blade celebrating 20 years. Guys this is huge. An online forum 20 years and they’re still here right still holding a well over 50,000 members at all any given moment even when they do their purges with the when they have to go through that.
Besides that Badger and Blade you also have besides Badger and Blade you have Straight Razor Place which has been around just a little bit longer when they started off as a Yahoo group and then went to the forum route as well. So Badger and Blade, we salute you, a wet shaving salute, because you have been around, not really giving us so much of the information, but making a way for us to meet friends and really spread the word of wet shaving cheer through all aspects of life, right? You go in there, I could tell you guys, I’ve been a member of Badger and Blade since 2011. and I have got it’s gotten you know a lot of people don’t like the forums and I get it because they they’re very biased at times or subjective they won’t let you post certain things certain vendors and I understand But for me, when I was in college, like
I went to college very late, if you know my story, won’t get into it. But I went to college in my mid 20s. And I remember when I was getting beat up at school and not beat up, not like bullied or anything like that. No, I wasn’t getting beat up.
I was talking about beat up with work and just really struggling and trying to get through and trying to pass. You know, it wasn’t that easy for me. I’m not one of those genius people that got straight A’s. I got A’s because I literally killed myself to get them.
but I used to go on Badger and Blade and it would so give me such a break and I would look at wet shaving and I was relatively new at it at the time very new at it and I would love just reading about Gillette toggles and bottom dials and stray razors and talking and participating and learning about it and it was just such a great time for me I can still remember right now sitting in the school library Going on badger and blade one and taking a little break from my work and just going in there and just searching and just reading and just Responding or hoping that I put a post in and it couldn’t because at that time I didn’t we didn’t have it linked to the phone So I would just go and and look and see if I got a notification on there and all whilst this person answered my thing and I And at the time, you know, I had so many nice members on there would send me stuff because I would say, Oh, I’d love to try that.
But you know, at the time, I didn’t have the funds. And they all send you one, I’ll send you a sample or something. It was just such such a great area to be in. And when you go through a tough time, like going through school and stuff, It’s good to have.
It was really nice. So Badger & Blade, we salute you for 20 years of service and probably another 20 years. And guys, looking forward to seeing some really good content coming out of there and also the other forums as well. Another really a thing that I wanted to mention a little bit was I and I didn’t say it in the in the intro, but I want to say now do you get a better shave with two days of growth?
This is something that I’ve heard a couple people mention and I too feel sometimes I get a better shave with two days growth. Now I’m a daily shaver. I shave every single day except on Sundays sometimes right or Saturdays usually Sundays I usually shave because I go to either you know, Please see review No.1152 on PissedConsumer.com when I shave I guess length of your beard or hair. It gives it, it makes the blade a little, it makes it easier to cut.
It cuts the hair a little bit easier and can get a little better. I think if it’s just a little stubble at times, the blade, you really have to dig in and use some pressure and I don’t do pressure so that’s why I notice it’s not as smooth. So that’s if I go to a barber and I’m going to go get a shave, I usually don’t shave for like three or four days. just because I want to get a really close shave and feel really good.
And I think that’s definitely the fact. I’ve been seeing people post on a couple of forums about this and on Facebook as well saying, hey, I get a better shave if I let it go for a few days. And I think that’s true because it gives the whiskers a little bit longer time to grow. And I think the shorter they are, the stronger they are, right?
If you get like a little curl out of them or they start getting longer, you got a little bit more cutting edge there. So you’re not just getting the top of it, you’re getting the whole haircut. And that’s why it goes back down to the skin. That’s why you get a better shave.
Now, if you are doing a daily shave and you wanna just go one pass, you’re gonna notice it more so than if you waited two or three days and got a little growth. But if you’re doing a two pass shave, the first pass, you’re not going to get as much as you usually do, right? But if you go against the grain or with or across the grain, you’ll get you’ll get the same amount because you’re still going just as deep in. So that’s what I think.
That’s what I’ve I’ve seen since I’ve been wet shaving and I’m gonna I’m gonna stick to it. So if you have any other ideas, or if you’ve noticed the same or if you don’t notice the same, let me know in the in the email, send me an email joe.wetshavingnews at gmail.com. Collector series. Okay, guys, so this is a collector series that there’s not much on this company, to be completely honest with you.
It is Rooney. Rooney is a shaving brush company that was around as far back as 1796 is the first records that we see on it. Unfortunately, in the 1800s, there was a fire, so they lost most of the records, but I guess from some people have found stuff linking it back that far. In England, of course, it was in the UK.
and they shut down I guess around 2012 to 2015 in that area, shut down permanently. So it was a very secretive company where they never, they really never had a website, they never showed any information or shared information with anybody and they never sold directly to consumers and they had limited interactions with their vendors. So it was really a close-knit company. I know that the last person working for them that was tying knots for that company or was head of it was Lee Sabini, which Lee was, a lot of people talk about him as a modern-day brush tier.
Best and I have a couple I have a brush that apparently he tied but also I’ve heard from people that actually were in the plant in the area worked with him said that he had a team that did it he didn’t really do them so I’m not too sure what to believe but I do know this Rooney brushes were really well made and there I if you’re lucky enough to have one I wish I had when I don’t I had one way back in the day about 2010 2011 when I first started wet shaving and I sold it or traded it for a paladin brush Which I kind of regret because paladin brushes were made for a lot longer And I never knew because of Rooney was such a staple. I didn’t think it would ever be gone, but They’re gone and you know they’re away with the dodo but if you look on eBay you can definitely find a couple new old stock ones they were selling a ton of them back when they first closed down and I
really wish I picked one up even though they were expensive it well worth it it’s a lifetime brush if you get one you’re definitely gonna hold on to it forever. but a very secretive company not too much information on them very limited in interaction with people that they worked with and well I would say the value on these would be anywhere from three to five hundred dollars maybe a little bit more a little bit less but for the most part that’s what you’re looking at three to five hundred dollars in value so we do salute you Rooney collector series you are a collectible item now i never thought i’d say that but if you guys do have one or if you’re looking to acquire one i highly recommend them they’re really good brushes so we’ve got the fall seasonal special coming up now for those of you that just started listening this may even be your first show but if you’ve been listening for this year and you haven’t been around too long i’ll tell you
a little bit about it the fall seasonal special is the longest, biggest show of the year for this podcast. Been doing it for 10 years, right? This is the 10th one. And I spend roughly 40 hours to 50 hours of work on it.
So it takes me about a month to build it. And I go through hundreds of wet shaving websites, right? And vendors and suppliers and all that stuff. And I always find new stuff every year that I might have missed or whatever.
And I also just like to salute some of the past releases some of the better ones. So example you have the Holy Black does a really big deal every year. Phoenix Arts and Accoutrements they do a big deal every year. You have also Sterling does great.
You have Barrister and Mann with their annual releases and a couple of other companies that used to do really big releases that may not be with us anymore but are definitely going to get mentions this year. So it’s really fun. So that’s why when I tell you save your money, save your budget for this time of the year, I mean it because these are the best items you will be able to get. Now you have a lot of great releases.
Some of them come with swag. They come with, I guess, brushes. They come with razors. Sometimes you can get a t-shirt, you know, really cool stuff.
So highly recommend guys looking into the fall items watching this show It’s always a show right before the last show of October So I always do it right before Halloween Just because I want to give those vendors enough time and I want to give you guys a wet shaving wet shaving community Maybe something cool to listen to on Halloween on your way to work or way home, hopefully so I’m really looking forward to that show it is my favorite time the year again like I said guys I really have fun doing the fall items and you’re gonna have a lot of fun using them this year too so hopefully you get to get a few items and you get to try it out so Well guys, I apologize for cutting it a little short this week. Again, I went through some technical difficulties and I’m really working on it.
So, making sure that I get this new setup done right and sounds good. I’m going to adjust the settings a little bit and see how it sounds. So, just doing a couple. This is the trial run and then you guys will be able to see, I guess, the final by the Fall Seasonal Special.
I should be 100% ready by then. Remember guys, our show is powered by Sharpologist.com. What your father didn’t teach you about shaving. Special thanks to you guys, the listeners, of course, for Week In and Week Out.
Without you, there’d be no podcast. And of course, MarkMantic59 for everything that he does with the wet shaving community. And then he’s got a new website too for drinking, for black coffee, The Black Coffee Life. Link is in the show notes if you haven’t checked out that site.
Don’t forget to check out my website, ShaveStraightAndSafe.com. Always feel free to contact me at joe.wetshavingnews at gmail.com. Straight Razor Shaving Episode I was something that was gonna bring up to in the near future If you want to if you have a vendor and you have an item you want featured Hey, let me know about it. I will definitely mention it on the show I love new items.
And if you have anything that you need help with let me know as well We will I will be back in two weeks guys. So until then shave straight shave safe. Bye. Bye now
