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 October 18th 2023.
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Today on the Show:
Big Bottom Dial Sale!! Proving Value going Up!
Joe’s Honing Diagram! A little honing lesson for a friend!
Awesome Way To Store a Kamisori!
Fall Set from Holy Black Announced
Fall Seasonal Special: 10/30/23
Working on a Big Project! Announcement on 10/30/23
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Bottom Dial Recently Sold…
Last cast we saw a Red Dot sell for over $1800. This week a Bottom Dial that needs a full restoration goes for $1800! What does this ean for collectors? Is it a good time to sell? I’ll tell you my thoughts.
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Joe’s Honing Diagram for A Friend
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Awesome Way to Store Kamisori
Saw this on Badger and Blade and thought it was pretty cool. It’s difficult to store these without damaging the blade. There are other options as well:
-Kamisori Holder set from Frugal Shave.
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2023 Fall Set announced from Holy Black
The Alchemist set from The Holy Black is the latest Halloween release!
Mysteriorum Aromaticus: The Ancient Art of Alchemical Perfume
Dive into a world of ancient mystique and modern allure with our latest Halloween box set. Inspired by the legendary journey of Alastair the Alchemist, this exclusive collection captures the essence of time, nature, and ethereal magic.
With the Alchemist box set, you’re not just crafting a fragrance; you’re weaving stories, emotions, and a dash of ancient magic into every drop. Whether you’re a fragrance aficionado, a lover of tales, or someone seeking a unique olfactory journey, this collection promises an experience that’s as enchanting as the legend of Alastair himself.
Gift it to a loved one or indulge yourself in this alchemical adventure, and let the magic of scents transport you through time and imagination.
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Fall Seasonal Special 2023
Coming to you on 10/30/23!!!
Previous Years Shows: See how much has changed !
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Working on a Big Project:
I’ve been working on a big project (on and off) for the past few years. It looks like this project will be complete in the next month or so. More info to come! I will be announcing it on the next podcast!
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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.
Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Contact Me!!!
If you’re a vendor and would like to be featured on the show please contact me!!
Next Show: 10/30/23
Fall Seasonal Special : 10/30/23
Big Wet Shaving project: TBA soon!
Until then… Shave Straight and Shave Safe!!
Transcript (Machine-Generated)
You’re listening to Wet Shaving Talk, powered by Sharpologist dot com, where we’re dedicated, preserving the art and skill of classic shaving. I’m your host. Joe Borrelli. And today is. October 18th, 2023.
Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. Sorry about that. I almost forgot what day it was. Yes, it is Wednesday the 18th. I am a few days late with this podcast, I really apologize. Life got in the way a little bit. It just got really busy and I, um. Well, to be completely honest, I usually record the podcast very early in the morning or very late at night, and it’s been a little hard to do that this week because my son hasn’t been feeling good. So for me to get that quiet, to be able to record just really couldn’t coincide this week. So that’s why we’re a little bit late. Apologies.
Still got have some decent content here and a lot of stuff coming up in the in the very near future. We have the fall seasonal special. I’ve been taking a lot of my time, so I’ve been working on that. Looking very good, very promising this year, really excited about about that and getting it going. So today on the show we had a big sale on eBay. Again, this is two times in a row, two months, two basically last month. And then this month we had some really big sales. This is a bottom dial that went for a lot of money, for a bottom dial that really a few years ago wouldn’t have gone for this amount of money due to its condition. I have a honing diagram I kind of made. I kind of I made it for a friend and I posted the picture. I would go a little bit honing for straight razors, a little bit for that. I do mess around with straight razors here and there.
As you guys know, primarily I’ve been using straight razors for the last probably two months and having to maintain my my blades and all that and just hone some new razor stuff and having fun with that. And I made a little diagram for a friend who’s actually starting. Starting out is his straight razor jersey, excuse me, journey. So I’ll show you that.
And then a couple of ways to store a kamisori straight razor. You know, those are those Japanese straight razors with a fixed handle. There’s very hard to store these razors. And I was looking for a way to store mine. I do own one. And I found a couple of really nice ways, a couple ways that other guys are doing it. And I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing, just in case. If you have one of those razors and you are trying and you’re struggling to find a way not to ding the blade or get a chip in it, because even in the little bento boxes that they come out with the wooden boxes, they still kind of slide around. So you have to be kind of careful with that.
The new fall set from the Holy Black announced, you guys, I know I’m I’m beating the bush a little bit on this, but since it’s brand new, I want to make sure that we get a chance to go over it. And before you, we all, you know, go through the fall season and can’t get it right because this is going to launch actually tomorrow. I want to give everybody a chance to, you know, get to know what it is before they before they take the plunge or to actually let them know that there’s something going on so they can take the plunge.
And then we got the fall. Seasonal specials is going to be on the 30th of October. And then I am working on a big project, and the announcement is going to be on the 30th. I am very proud of what I’ve of this project I’ve been working on for several years, and it will be announced on the 30th. Hopefully you guys enjoy it and find some use to it as well. So without further ado, let’s get on with the show.
So looking back and several years of being in the wet shaving world, right hour for people or some of us like, you know, myself, we’ve been in over a decade, we’ve seen lots of auctions, we’ve seen lots of trends recently. I’ve seen two major auctions go out with items that should not have been generating this amount of money, at least in my experience. Now, this week is a is a bottom dial, right? For those of you unaware, or who don’t know what a bottom dial Fatboy is, it’s basically a Gillette razor adjustable razor made in 1960. Around that point, or if it’s a prototype, it would have been a little bit earlier, like 57 to 58. And it was a razor that was sold at very, very minimal, right. Only only the actual sale. The actual model itself was only sold in 1960. Right.
And it was just kind of like Gillette toying around with different concepts with the adjustment dial, with the adjustment razor. So they had that they put they originally put the toggle came out, they had a toggle with the toggle lever to open it up nice and easy. They found that that that didn’t work. So they tried different ways with without the toggle mechanism. They tried it with the adjustment dial on the bottom, which the consumers didn’t really like. And then finally they were able to put the adjustment dial on the neck where it blunt, where it is, where most people know where it is.
And it’s that stuck for several decades, actually, right until the 1980s, when actually 1988, when the last Gillette Adjustable razor was made. So that being said, a bottom dial fatboy is usually the most sought after razor you can find in vintage Gillette. Now there are more rarer models. There are even cooler models in this, but this is really the holy grail to a lot of people. This the Gillette, the toggle, right? The toggle is more obtainable. The toggle, there are more of them out there, so you don’t have to.
The price on the toggle is usually not nearly as high as a bottom dial. And then you have the red dot Fatboy, which is a kind of like a toggle, and a regular Fatboy mixed together with different parts. And that was another concept razor as well, that was sold in test markets and minimal minimal sales. So it’s very rare. But the bottom dial Fatboy I remember when I started wet shaving, this was the Grail, right? Everybody wanted this, this and the toggle, the toggle more obtainable again, the bottom dial and the unobtainable. It actually took me nine years of collecting to buy a bottom dial myself for a price that I thought was fair enough. And I still have it to this day, and I still I actually use it.
I do use all my all my razors that I own. So this razor went for $1,800, $1,801 on eBay just a couple of weeks ago. And this razor is, I’m going to be honest, is beat up. It has brass ring throughout the whole razor. And what brass means is that the actual the initial plating of the razor is gone and it’s down to bare brass. Now, what Gillette did is they use brass parts on just about everything, not stainless steel. It’s all brass. And then they coated it, right. And they they plated it with a chrome plating. This one’s got brass ring throughout. This is definitely going to need service. It’s definitely going to need to be overhauled. And it went for $1,800.
Now a couple of years ago this razor itself would have gone for under a thousand. It probably would have gone for about 6 to $800. I myself purchased a beautiful Fatboy Bottom dial Fatboy myself for under $1,000 in 2020. I bought it, I saw it listed for sale. I didn’t even need to, I saw it, I didn’t buy it on eBay. I did buy it off of a Facebook. Well, reputable person in in the wet shaving world had had another one before I bought it for less than what he sold it to me for and gave it to me for a very fair price. And I cherished that razor and that mine is mint. I mean, it’s really in good shape. There’s no issues with it at all.
But I’m looking at this one. $1,800 is a lot of money for this razor. And I’m very shocked. And I saw how much action there was. It was only 38 bids. So there were big, large bids, I think, on the the red dot. That was a couple of weeks prior. It was like 80 bids. But just looking at it, I mean, you’re going to need to have this razor work worked on, right? It’s going to have to I mean, I would recommend sending it to razor. And for him having a plated, having first having it cleaned up and doing their their overall service and having it plated again. Now does that take away from the value. And you know what? It’s kind of like a classic car right?
You buy a classic car, you have it restored. It’s still worth a lot of money if it would be worth a lot more with the original paint. Yes. But is it possible to say, hey, a 70 year old car will still have the original paint? No, but just make sure you do it right. So send it to a reputable person that can fix it and replayed it, and make sure that it’s shave worthy and also back to its original luster. Or do your own custom thing, whatever you want. I know if there’s a guy out there that actually plated it in gold. Or a gold plating like style that he did his bottom dial like that, wanted it like that destroyed a lot of people. Didn’t want it like that. You know, I think he went to auction it often, didn’t get much action.
But I mean, it’s still the same razor and you could still fix it again if you want to get it replayed. And you can still do that. But really, really, what this tells me about the market is that the market is is on the upswing right now. So if you guys are looking to buy, you’re going to pay a premium for this stuff. I mean, two razors two weeks in a row, both going. I mean the the red dot was in better shape. Uncasville red dot for 1850 bucks last week. It’s a lot of money. I’m going to be honest. I remember I had an option. I could have bought one for $300 back in 2019, 2018. So that being said, if you are looking for one of these razors, be prepared to shell out more than you probably have ever. And if you’re looking to sell one, hey, it’s time to do it. If you got if you are looking to move a bottom dial or anything like that, time is now because they’re going for that with a beat up one one in mint condition or a case you’re looking at probably record right, a record sale.
I think the record I’ve seen is in the $2,500 range, 2728 I could see right now a case bottomed out. If these guys are motivated on the on the auction sites, go for 3000 3500 easily. So just be be be advised. You heard it here first on what’s saving talk. The bottom dial is back and it is better than ever. So keep an eye out for them guys. And remember there’s always deals to be had. There’s always those stories. I call those the the barn stories. The barn house stories. Kind of like when you find a classic car in a barn, you still fire her guys. I mean, it’s as few as like a couple of years ago, a guy said, hey, I went to an antique shop and I got a bottom dollar for eight bucks. Ten bucks? I don’t know if it’s 100% true, but it’s nice to know that if it was true or if it is true that that’s still possible.
So bottom dials are ready, are back in back in style. So let’s let’s let’s keep it up guys. And I will definitely keep informing you when these sales come through. Because I keep a pretty good eye on eBay myself.
All right. So taking a look at my my honing diagram with my great writing, writing and drawing skills, as you can see, sorry, I’m not a great artist is kind of the way I set this up, and it’s a little different than other places is with when they actually show honing, right? I don’t know if that makes any sense, but when I hone, I like to take it from one corner of the left corner and bring it down, and then I switch it.
And then I like to sometimes flip the razor and go the other way and have the handle facing going left instead. Right. And the only reason why I do that, and I do that with the stroke, is because I think it gives it like more of a rounded feel on the stone, especially with the natural stone. I do do that, and I also do the other way. I just kind of switch it up, but I just want to make sure that, you know, that that’s known in this picture. And that’s kind of what I sent my friend, a friend of mine got a set of hones, got a razor I gave him, actually an older vintage razor some time ago. He’s like, I want to hone it myself. He doesn’t want me to do it. So I said, sure, I’ll show you how to do. I kind of give him a little diagram. And I said, you know what? This might be great to share on the cast.
Maybe somebody will find it useful. So that’s how I do it and have. I like to have fun with it like that. I think trying different things is good. I think it’s as long as you’re keeping to the same concept. I think with honing, really everything kind of works out whatever way you do it. But that’s how I do it. And the stroke pattern, I like doing x strokes. I also do like little circular motions when I’m setting the bevel. Really the best person in the world. So that’s Lin Abrams. He’s the one that invented it. I think that’s that process, and he’s the one that I watched on the videos and talk to him about that. And it does work. It does work quick. I noticed that with the bevel setting, it does help out tremendously, especially with wedge style blades. Like quarter grind really works fast.
So that’s the way to do it. If you’re doing just a touch up, just do the strokes. You’ll be fine there as well. So that’s my picture and that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. An awesome way to store Kamisori razors. If you guys own a Kamisori, you’re going to be very much listening to this right now because you’re in the same boat. Every time I’ve had a Kamisori, I’m always worried about shipping or have shipped the blade because it gets moved around. You put it on a drawer, you put in your box, you put it in the little wooden box that it comes with, and it gets jostled around. It hits the edge on something, right?
Because it doesn’t fold. So what I used to use, I used to I use painter’s tape. I would take painter’s tape, I would stick it on about halfway through the blade and then do like a two inch piece and cover it. So then the blade is not at the edge of the tape and it would just bang around. You can you’re in good shape there, right? And that painter’s tape doesn’t have any residue. So if you use like I think it’s frog tape, use that the yellow frog tape, the one that’s less than 24 hours for paint that doesn’t leave any residue. And ItrillionEALLY is nice. You don’t need to have a big problem with it and you won’t hit the blade.
So I’ve been using that for years, but I’ve been looking for other options. I saw this one in the show notes. If you’re looking for pictures there, somebody use a binder clip and put that on there to keep it up so that razor won’t would stay on. It’s on spine. I thought that was a really good idea and really cheap, because a binder club will cost you a couple of cents, or you could probably just find one at your work or in your office, at home or something like that. Everybody has a couple of these lying around, or you can even go to Office Depot and go by the printing section where they have the self-serve print. I guarantee you you’ll find one of these hitting sitting around there. You can grab that and it holds it up and keeps it in place and keeps it from shifting around.
So I thought that was really cool. And I thought that was, you know, really crafty for that, for that guy on Baderandblade that said it. And he’s doing that and a couple other people following suit. Now, if you also have ever heard of Frugal Shave, Frugal Shave an Etsy shop, this guy makes a bunch of 3D printed wet shaving stuff. He makes it, you know, he makes quite a few stands. He makes brushes all 3D printed. He has a set of commissary covers for that. He 3D prints that you can use too, and I think this is probably the best bet. I think it’s two for ten bucks or one for ten bucks, whatever it is shipped and whatever the price is. I think that’s fair enough.
Like two for ten is pretty cool. It’s a handmade item that he 3D prints up to order. You order it, you can get different colors and stuff like that, different sizes, and they’ll protect your commissary so they don’t fall and hit the edge and all that stuff as well. So I mean, I think that’s a great option as well. So those three options, the binder clip to keep it up, the painter’s tape to protect the edge. And I think these commissary covers also are really, really helpful in this area. So I highly recommend it. I think that if you have a commissary, you should do something to protect it. Again, the painter’s tape works worked well with me. Help me solve my problem, but I like I think these commissary covers look a little bit cooler in the, um. The binder clip is definitely very practical as well, so if you have a Kamisori, try it out. If you do something else with your commissary besides putting it in like a Kamisoriseven day box or something like that, let me know, because I’d like I’d love to see it. I’m going to try it myself because I love to new ideas of like storing stuff and making sure or even if it, you know, protecting it to make it make it last for last longer. And so you don’t damage the blade on it as well. Send it to me, Joe. Wet shaving news at gmail.com and I will definitely try it.
So the fall annual fall box from the Holy Black is here and it will be out tomorrow. Tomorrow night at 8 p.m. it is the Alchemist set. This is a. It’s basically a Cologne set with different vials and different ways of making your own Cologne with. And then it’s got a little touch of it’s got lights on it, it’s got LED lights, it’s got a beautiful box, vintage box with like an inside of it that looks like, like very nice and set. Now, I got to be honest, guys, every time I buy some from the Holy Black, I’d never want to use it because it looks so cool. I bought last year’s soap set and it is so cool. The box is so old looking. I used it in a couple of display pictures for my shave of the day.
I haven’t even cracked the soaps yet, and I feel so bad for not using it because I know it’s such a beautiful. It’s meant to be used, but the set is so awesome and so perfect. Like it just looks great on my mantel where I keep all my wet shaving stuff. So everything they do guys is a great it’s a it’s a huge thing. It’s a big set, it’s a big release and always over the top. They do a lot of advertising. These guys have a lot of fun with it. But yeah, it’s basically it’s a way to make your own fragrance there. It’s like 8 or 9 different ways of doing it, and you can be like your own chemist and create your own scent for yourself. Really interesting guys. Really cool as always. Holy black, always nailing it with the releases, always making something exciting and always keeping it real for us in wet shaving and making it fun. So if you’re interested guys, tomorrow night 8 p.m. will be launching.
All right. So the fall season of special is coming up guys. On the 30th. This is going to be a big show. I am I have already started putting it together for the last month. I will have it ready to go. And it’ll be very very big this year. Looking forward to it. Been doing this every year since 2016. So this is the what the eighth annual I think 2020. Yeah. It’s like the eighth annual. Uh, seventh or eighth annual. I mean, I don’t even remember anymore. It’s been so many years. But for your guys’s listening pleasure, I put in the links to every single show that we’ve done since 2016. So if you want to listen, you’ll hear some great, you know, releases of the past and some vendors that are no longer around.
You know, every year right before this, I like to listen to it in the car when I’m driving. I listen to all the previous shows and I just like, oh man, I remember that vendor. I remember Doctor Johns, I remember all these releases and I miss those guys and I wish they were still around. But you know what? It’s a little bit of nostalgia and it keeps it keeps in perspective on how things change and how nothing is forever, especially in the wet shaving world. But some people like Bastard Man and, you know, holy black and phoenix artists and accoutrements, they’re always consistently there.
So, you know, those guys are going to be around. So enjoy, enjoy the fall season. Enjoy these podcasts here and listen to them up. Let me know how we’ve changed. I have actually changed. I’ve aged a lot during the years, I think. Right, I’m getting to be an old man and I’m not an old man yet, but it’s been fun and it’s I’m going to keep doing this. And I really look forward to this every year because I love the fall season. And I actually we actually got some fall weather here in South Florida. It was in the 50s this morning. So a really nice to get a little bit of a little brisk fall afternoon for us. And moving on to finally guys, the big project I’ve been working on. I will be announcing it on the next podcast. I have been working on this on and off for several years and.
Well, it’s finally time I took the plunge and did it, I think, um. I think you guys will hopefully enjoy it. What I’ve done and what I’ve been working on, and a lot of you guys are inspiration for it. So, I mean, you’re going to see a lot coming up. I’m keeping it quiet right now because I want it to be 100% finished and exact. When I’m ready to launch. I want to be able to do it the right way. So I am giving you guys a little teaser the next show, though, I promise you I will get. I will tell you exactly what it is and hopefully you will enjoy it. So looking forward guys again is always just telling you that stuff and just really having a good time with more wet shaving, the more wet shaving the better, right?
That’s all I could say about this project. I can’t really get into much more detail, but you’ll you’ll know soon enough. And remember, guys, our show is powered by Sharpologist dot com. What your father didn’t teach you about shaving. Special thanks to Mark, aka Mantic59. And most of all, you guys are listeners. Don’t forget to check out my blog site, Straight Shave Straight and Safe for our latest tips coming up. It is active now. I’ve been posting on it and there’s going to be some really good information coming up in the near future, and we’ll see you next time, guys. It’s coming up on the 30th. I’ll see you on the 30th of October for the fall seasonal special. Until then, shave straight and shave safe. Bye bye now.
