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 January 20th, 2026.
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Today on the Show:
Happy New Year!
Episode #200!!!
Schick USA Manufacturing Plant Closing
New Razor form Parker: The Aero Shave
Collector Series: Schick Injector
The Holy Black is Moving to Texas
Barrister and Mann to be made by Stirling
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Schick is Closing USA Manufacturing Plant
Schick (Edgewell) is closing its Connecticut manufacturing plant. Around 300 people are being laid off. Most manufacturing is currently done overseas, and should not affect demand. (Schick Injector Blades are made in China)
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New razor From Parker: The Aero Shave
The Parker AeroShave (introduced in 2026) is a CNC-machined, 6061-aluminum, 3-piece safety razor designed for a mild, close, and comfortable shave. Featuring a lightweight, maneuverable design, it is tailored for beginners and those with sensitive skin. It offers a 45-degree angle to minimize irritation.
Reviews have been mostly positive. Price is $65
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Collectors Series: Schick Injector
The Schick Injector razor was pioneered by Lt. Col. Jacob Schick, who drew inspiration from the semi-automatic repeating rifles he used during his military service. In 1926, he launched the Magazine Repeating Razor (Type A) through his newly formed Magazine Repeating Razor Company. This innovative system allowed users to change blades hands-free by sliding a new blade from a metal “magazine” into the razor head, simultaneously ejecting the old one. Although successful, Schick sold the company in 1928 to fund his development of the electric dry shaver, leading to the razor brand’s acquisition by the American Chain and Cable Company (AC&C) and later Eversharp in 1946.
Under AC&C, the first official “Schick Injector Razor” (Type D) debuted in 1935, featuring the iconic external “key” loading mechanism that became the industry standard. Over the next several decades, the razor evolved through various models (Types E through O), introducing significant innovations such as Teflon-coated stainless steel blades in 1963 and adjustable dial settings in 1965. While Schick eventually ceased manufacturing injector razor handles in the late 1990s or early 2000s, the system’s legacy continues in 2026; genuine Schick blades remain in production, and modern manufacturers like Supply and Parker continue to produce new razor handles compatible with this classic single-edge design.
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Holy Black is Moving to Texas
Yes, The Holy Black Trading Co. is moving from New York to Texas in early 2026.
Key details regarding the move include:
Announcement: On January 21, 2026, the company announced they have “boots on the ground” in Texas and expressed that the state already “feels like home”.
Origin: The brand is relocating from its previous base in Lindenhurst, New York.
Strategy: This move follows a 2025 planning period where the owners decided to stop “playing it safe” and scale the business significantly.
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Barrister and Mann to be Made by Stirling
In a recent email from Will at Barrister and Mann, it looks like Stirling will be the new contracted vendor for all their products. What does this mean for Barrister and Mann? I’ll tell you my thoughts.
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Transcript (Generated using 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 January 20th, 2026. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast on the first show of 2026, the 200th show in the history of the podcast.
So that’s a big milestone. And I got to tell you, I really did not plan it out very well. I wish though the anniversary edition, which was the last show in the December was the actual, 200th episode, but it kind of worked out to be the 199th just by chance. At that point in time, I never really, I guess you could say, tracked the amount of shows until I was just saying one day, you know what, I was wondering how many shows we did.
So it was 199. Turns out this is going to be number 200. So first one of 2026, show number 200. And of course, Happy New Year to you all.
I hope you guys had a great New Year’s. Great New Year, great holiday season. I know we talked a little bit about that on the last one, but I’m always wishing the best for you guys out there. So hopefully the New Year started well.
You’re still doing your New Year’s, your wet shaving resolutions, okay? I know a lot of people kind of quit after the second week of January, but for us wet shavers, no, we’re more committed to our wet shaving, really our wet shaving… Resolution so I’m keeping a mind. I’m gonna try to do it and mine is Make it make sure I keep shaving with all my stuff use my stuff have fun with my stuff That’s one of mine, so been using some vintage Gillette’s lately.
I’ve been using I actually used a double ring the other day That was really nice, and you know Talking a little bit about the double ring or or the old type if you have a single ring or something along Those lines the three piece of razors the first Gillette’s that came out. They are really good for Edging a beard just letting you know because I have I have a little partial beard that I’ve been growing I grow on and off here and there my wife likes it and I and it’s I guess it’s more socially acceptable these days because a lot of people do do it and I guess it would be considered to be in style and It’s kind of like, if you’re in the office lately, you see probably a lot of people wearing hybrid style dress shoes that are sneakers.
They feel like a sneaker, kind of look like a dress shoe that’s really in style 10, 15 years ago that wouldn’t have been. I think it’s the same thing with the facial hair, especially with the partial beard, a low cut beard. So I have a little bit of a beard and I use my my Gillette double ring to edge it and it really works really nicely. Thin, very thin head, easy to get there, just a little aggressive razor, so be careful, but it worked really well and I’ve been using that and a couple of my other vintage pieces as well.
So really I’m having fun with that, it works very well. So I guess you could say it’s time for me to use my stuff. So I’m using all my vintage stuff, all my modern stuff. I’m gonna try and use everything I can quite frequently and use different shades of the day and then see what I need and maybe if I’m gonna get some new stuff or sell some stuff or give some stuff away, that would be the time to do it.
So episode number 200, guys, thank you very much for all of you that have been listening throughout the years. I think it’s been a really good run, really good, amount of content that we’ve got there. Still have a lot of wet shaving content, as you’ll see with today, which keeps it fresh, in my opinion. I know sometimes it gets a little stagnant with the wet shaving world, but it’s still pretty active, so good to go and we’ll keep going.
As long as we’re wet shaving, we’re going to be podcasting, so good to hear. A couple of things going on in the wet shaving world. Schick is closing its USA manufacturing plant. That was announced last week, I believe, or a couple of weeks ago, that they will be closing their US manufacturing.
I’ll tell you a little bit about that when we get to that part of the show. A new razor from Parker, the Arrow Shaves, really good, well-priced, well-built, and a lot of good reviews on that. That was just announced a few weeks ago, so we’ll talk a little bit about that, and the reviews are coming in. And then out of respect for Gillette, excuse me, for Schick losing their plant, we’re gonna talk, the collector series segment this week will be the Schick Injector.
I’ve got some good information on that. I personally love Schick Injectors. Again, another really good razor if you have a beard and you wanna line it. It’s a good razor to use.
So we’ll talk about that. We’ll salute the Schick Injector. The holy black is moving from New York to Texas this caught me by surprise Talk a little bit about that not much information online yet, but you know the holy black they like to do things big I’m a little shocked that they’re leaving their New York plant or at least leaving part of it because they just built that huge like Many like warehouse where they put a lot of vintage stuff in there, and they you know I remember watching it online They do a lot they put a lot of work into it and They don’t
hire guys to design for them, it’s all them. And they just keep buying stuff and filling it up. And it was a really cool, really vintage type of shop that they had. And it looks like they’re moving.
I’m not sure what they’re doing, but I’ll tell you a little bit about that when we get to that segment. And again, Barrister & Mann, another move. Barrister & Mann is moving their production to Sterling Soaps. More.
on that when we get to that part of the show. So without further ado guys, let’s get on with it. So recently I looked up and I found that Schick or Edgewell, the parent company, is closing its Connecticut manufacturing plant for blades. About 300 people are going to be laid off and also they’ve been making blades there for about 50 years.
And it’s apparently not going to affect any demand. I guess they’re just moving more production overseas. Also, this will not affect the Schick injector razor, I guess you could say inserts or cartridges or blades themselves. Those are actually still made in China, so those aren’t even made here anymore.
But this just goes to show you how the world is changing. And even with tariffs and stuff, still manufacturers are moving overseas. And what this does, is we’ve seen a lot of vendors do this in the last few years. I mean up until 2001 Gillette was making a lot of stuff here in the United States.
They’re still making like Mach 3 razors. They were still making a lot of stuff in the United States. They were making double edge razors till 1988. You have, you know, a lot of other companies have been closing up shop.
We had Mitchell’s Wool Fat closed up last year. You have William’s Shave Soap closed up. Vander Hagen’s been very slow on their production. They might, I don’t know how much longer they’re gonna be around, hopefully for a while.
But it just goes to show you, like, hey, you know, times are changing, demand is changing, and people are going just to cheaper alternatives, or if not, you know, really just you know, going more to the artisan products, I guess. So to see companies close after 100 years, 50 years, it does, it is a little bit, it is a little bit troublesome. It is a little worried, but I could tell you right now, I don’t think many blades are made out of this plant. If only 300 people work there.
You know, my heart goes out to the people losing their jobs because I know how it feels to get laid off. It’s happened to me. The company I worked for shut down. I lost a job for almost 10 years working there.
It was very well vested in their 401k and everything else. So it was very disappointing to see them go. on the wayside like that. So I know the feeling.
It really does, you know, it doesn’t feel too good, but you know what? There’s always better things on the horizon. Just keep your head up and everything will be okay. So Schick Injector, Schick Razors, you know, we salute you for closing down your last manufacturing plant in the United States and hope for the best for that company and for the people affected.
So a new razor from Parker, the AeroShave, just came out. It was announced, actually, I think this year, I think it was in the first week of January, because I’m just now starting to see some reviews coming out for it. Now, the Parker AeroShave, it’s actually a CNC machined, 6061 aluminum three-piece razor and it’s more of a mild shave so it’s more of a it’s more really it’s engineered for the masses it’s not really an aggressive razor like some of the razors are it’s more of a milder shave and features Lightweight design.
It’s really it’s good for those with sensitive skin and beginners and offers a 45 degree angle to minimize irritation Most of the reviews have been put very positive and the price is only $65. So $65 for CNC machined Aluminum safety razor is very good. I believe these are still made in India, but they have They definitely have some good quality control. I’ve had Parker razors in the past be a little bit off, but it seems like they’ve got the secret sauce now with it, if you want to, I guess to say, because a lot of the razors coming out have been really good, especially the CNC machined razors, which
I agree. I think CNC is the way to go if you want maximum tolerance and quality level because the computer seems to cut those pieces of metal out better than if you forge it. Because I guess forging you can have sometimes a little bit missed too much steel pulled in or whatever aluminum product whatever you’re using could have been not accurate or the buffing process is not accurate. With CNC machining it’s a little bit easier I think to keep it tighter tolerances.
So $65 for this razor, definitely worth a shot. Several vendors in the United States have it. I did not see it on Amazon yet, but there are a few vendors that do have it, watch shaving vendors that have it in stock. For the collector series, gotta talk about the Schick Injector.
And I know I’ve talked about them before, but with all the news of Schick closing down that American plant, what better way than to salute them than just to talk about their most popular razor amongst sweat shavers of all time. So the Schick Injector razor, with Schick, I gotta tell you, they got this right. Because a lot of people tried to copy it, and a lot of people didn’t do very well when it came out. you know, 70, 80 years ago, right?
It did not work too well with Gillette. Remember Gillette tried the Tec-Matic. They had the insert. I mean, it’s a very collectible eraser.
It’s probably one of the most valuable erasers because it really didn’t go out anywhere, right? It wasn’t sold. They tried it. The American Safety Razor tried their bit on a few injector style razors, but Schick always had the market on this.
I think they did the best with it. I think the design has been copied again. One of the most replicated designs for a razor. Many new razor companies now do copy it, similar design to it, or utilize it.
It’s been many clones for this razor, and it’s still popular to this day amongst wet shavers and shavers alike. Schick still sells the, as mentioned before, they still sell the cartridge blades. You can still buy them. They are made overseas.
And again, as I always say, guys, I never recommend buying vintage blades for some reason. I think after time, oxidation, time, blades are not as sharp as they are. So I’ve tried vintage double-edged blades and stuff, and I’ve gotten nothing but bad results, personally. I know there’s ways of sharpening them and stuff, but hey, it’s a disposal blade.
I don’t know if many of us have time for that or the desire to do so when you can just buy a brand new blade and it’s just as good. So the Injector Razor, a few things about facts, a few facts on the Injector Razor, sorry. So the Injector Razor was pioneered by Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Schick, who drew inspiration from the semi-automatic repeating rifles he used in the military service. 1926, he launched a magazine repeating razor, the Type A, and through this razor, he created a system to where you can actually take the blades in and then poke them out without touching them and inject it like, kind of like, I guess, you would load ammunition in a
rifle. He also developed a dry shaver, electric shaver, back a few years later after that, in the 20s as well, 1928. And the injector razor that came out was under his new company, the American Chain and Cable Company, and later was called Evershart in 1946. But the actual injector came out in 1935, featuring an iconic with the key loading mechanism, which was able to load up without even touching the blade with the mechanism.
Now, the previous way he was doing it, you were able to load it up, but you had to touch the blade. Now, you don’t have to touch it. He has that special cartridge or a special injector style holder for the blades. You can put them in and do all that.
Several types came out, type D, type E, type O, all the way until the early 2000s when they were discontinued permanently from being manufactured by Schick. So another thing to let you guys know also, I did all summarize this and put it in the show notes as well. So if you guys want to read through it, as of today, yes, Schick injectors are still very well used. They’re still, the blades are still manufactured by Schick and other companies, just letting you know.
And then other brands such as Supply and Parker, if you guys know, we talked about Supply a lot and that’s on this podcast, they were on Shark Tank. I still use the same style or same, style blades and same kind of injector style build on their razor. So Schick Injector, I gotta say, great razor if you haven’t tried one. They’re readily available online, mostly for a good price.
Just be careful with some of those Bakelite handle ones, the older ones, some of them break, but there’s also, I believe Aaron from Frugal Shave makes replica or replacement handles from 3D printing. So if you break one, you’re good, right? You’ll be able to get a new handle for it. These are not the most collectible razors.
They’re not going to bring you a million dollars. Even a cased one, like the one you see in the show notes, will probably run about a hundred bucks. But I do recommend using them. They are fun to use, collect.
And there are a lot of people out there that swear by these razors and collect them. And there are some groups out there as well. So Schick Injector, we salute you. And we hope for many, many more years of use and keep making those blades, please.
So as mentioned before, the Holy Black is moving to Texas. They have, well, they haven’t posted too much on it. They posted a little bit online about it, and as usual in Holy Black matter, they are gonna give some tease here, like some, I guess, a tease here and there, and then obviously they’re gonna come out with the whole thing, but it does look like they’re moving from New York to Texas, and they say it’s for the better of their company, for their, I guess, for intentions.
And this comes with a lot of, manufacturing going to different states. I know in different, like in Texas is a good manufacturing state. Florida is another great state to do stuff like that. Some areas up north, it’s a little bit more expensive with taxes and stuff, I guess.
But also, like example, I live in South Florida. A lot of people from the north come down and they come down in groves. So in 2000, 1995 was a big run. 2008 was a big run.
2020 to now is a big run. And a lot of people come down here, what it does is it actually increases the prices and everything and hurts that area. So it’s not as cheap as it used to be. I mean, you used to be able to buy a house in Florida for nothing.
But now it’s pretty much up there with everything else. I mean, most of the houses are very unobtainable for locals. because a lot of people are from the northern influence. So it’s tough and it gives an area.
But it’s a lot better because we don’t pay state tax. It’s easier to build a business down here. And that’s why a lot of companies are moving to Texas, Florida, Arizona. So I’m sure that’s probably the reason if it’s better for the better of their business.
I know those guys are true New Yorkers down to their whole family. You know, watching Stefan talk about his family and stuff and all the influence they’ve had from growing up with their actual production of their products and the scents and all that stuff has a lot to do with it. So it’s a big move for them. We wish them the best of luck and we’ll see when it happens.
So it looks like it’ll happen probably at the end of some point of this year. The biggest news of wet shaving world this year, guys, is Barrister and Mann. I couldn’t believe this email I got, because I’m on their email list, as most of you probably are. They’re going to be made by Sterling.
So I’ll read the email off to you, summarize it a little bit, in a sense. But Will from Barrister and Mann sent it out. You probably noticed that we were out of stock on a lot of items. Soaps, aftershave balms, and a lot of things, but there’s a plan, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
After a year of planning, they began packing up production for shipments to a new location, and Barrister Man products will be back online in a few weeks. So, what they’ve done is they announced that they’re gonna collaborate with Sterling Soap, and Sterling’s gonna make all of his products. So Rod and Mandy at Sterling, they’re nice folks. Excuse me, I’m reading a lot, I shouldn’t probably do that.
So Rod and Mandy, they work at Sterling, they’ve been there. Sterling’s been a long-time vendor for well over, I think about 15 years now, maybe a little bit less, a little more. and they make really good stuff. But I guess it looks like with Barrister Man, I guess recent things going on with the company, he’s decided to give them everything.
So they’re gonna make all the stuff, all the product to their, I guess the Barrister Man’s spec, and ship and everything from there, so. I guess we’ll get more information when it comes out, but this came to a shock to me, and I’ll tell you why. Barrister and Mann was one of the better artisans out there. You have a couple that are really innovative, and you would always think would be there because they’re very popular.
So Barrister and Mann, Phoenix Artisan Enrichments, Sterling. You know, Mr. Fine, all those fine accoutrements, all those companies really have been around for many years, and they’ve been solid, and they’ve had a good product line, they do releases, and they stay innovative. For me to see this with Will, with all of the information he puts out, it kind of regrets me not buying Hallows this past year, because I was like, you know what, I’ve got two, three, four previous times he’s released it, I’m gonna skip this year, I’ll wait for the next one, and now I’m probably never gonna get a chance to get one.
You know, this says, and there’s nothing against Sterling because Sterling makes a superior product, but I’m just saying in the industry itself, kind of a little scary to see Barrister Man, probably one of the top vendors kind of shut down and say, hey, we’re going to move on to something else. Now, I’m not sure if he’s still going to be involved in the business, but I can imagine Having somebody else do your stuff, the profit margin is going to come down probably. We’ll be involved in it for a while and then let it go from there.
We’ll see what happens. You also saw they absorbed some products from Witchcraft. When they were Southern Witchcraft, when they closed up shop and then Barrister Man took on some of their products, now they’re doing the same thing. So we salute you, Will and Barister Man.
Good luck to Rod and Mandy from Sterling with taking on another brand. Looking forward to seeing some of the new products out. And remember, you got our support here in the wet shape world. We know Sterling makes some great stuff year in and year out.
And Barister Man as well. So we salute you and good luck on the move. Well, guys, that concludes the podcast for this week. A lot of news for this 200th episode.
Some of it was a little shocking, some of it not so much. Always looking forward to new things going on in the industry. So hopefully the 2026 is a great year for us. I have a feeling it will be.
I think wet shaving is still really fun, and I think we’re still all really into it. So we’ll see some new products coming out. We’ll see some stuff. Who knows what the year is going to bring, right?
So with that being said, guys, just wanted to say our show is powered by sharpologist.com, what your father didn’t teach you about shaving. And remember to thank the closest wet shaver to you, because that’s what keeps us keep going, right, guys? So make sure you say thanks to another fellow wet shaver. I actually have a few that I work kind of close with.
And I let them know that, hey, man, thanks for being a wet shaver sometimes here and there. But also, I want to thank Mark, Mantic59. for everything that he does for the wet shaving community, and of course, you guys, the listeners, and any other fellow wet shaver out there that I haven’t met yet. Don’t forget to check my blog site out at ShaveStraightAndSafe.com, and always feel free to email me at Joe.WetShavingNews at gmail.com.
Again, my book is still on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and other bookshops available online, The Modern Guide to Straight Razor Shaving, available now also at Pastors Pharmacy in New York City. So if you have any questions, guys, or anything, feel free to email me. Looking forward to this new year and starting it off real fast and fresh and having a lot of wet shaving fun. Thanks again, guys.
Have a great week. I’ll see you in a few weeks. Remember to shave straight and shave safe. Bye bye now.
