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 March 24th, 2025.
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Today on the Show:
10 Years Since Big Shave West!
Is EBAY no Longer Relevant?
What Happened To Clubman and Why Does No One Talk About them Anymore?
Horse Hair Brushes: Why are they Good?
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10 Years Since The Big Shave West
The Big Shave West: Connecting the Wet Shaving Community
Has it been 10 years since the First Big Shave West? It has…. The Big Shave West, once one of the largest wet shaving events, was founded 10 years ago. Bringing wet shavers together for several years, The Big Shave West was held at the Old Town Shaving Company in Pasadena California.
It was a huge event and a lot of fun. I’ll tell you my experience with it.
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Is Ebay No Longer Relevant
Ebay was the only place in two if you were looking for shave gear, but with Amazon’s vast power and Etsy more affordable fees, is Ebay still relevant to the modern wet shaver?
I’ll tell you my thoughts.
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What Happened to Clubman & Why doesn’t Anyone talk about them Anymore
Still readily available, I hardly hear of Clubman anymore. Why is that? Is it due to concerns about health and talc powder? I’ll tell you my thoughts
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Horse Hair Brushes and Why They’re Good
Horse hair brushes are nothing new, but you rarely hear about them. As a sustainable way to get natural hair ( they just comb the horse’s tail) these brushes offer similar performance to a higher end boar knot or a lower end mixed badger. A perfect way to get a natural hair brush, with no fear of harming the animal.
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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!!!!
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Next Show: 4/7/25
Transcript (Machine-Generated)
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 March 24th, 2025. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast today. I do apologize, I am a day late on the podcast. I am just a little bit behind. And well, I was gonna actually see if I can get this done actually last night, but I just was unable to do it. My main, I guess you could say is my main obstacle getting the podcast on or you have to say that to say the least is, well, lately my son has been waking up with me.
I usually do most of my writing, my wet shaving content and stuff very early in the morning since my son has been getting older. So I usually set my alarm for about either in between three and four in the morning and I’ll do the podcast then. Usually I record in my laundry room or in the garage just so I don’t wake anybody else up. But lately, my son has been waking up with me. I wake up and he’s right behind me and he loves to watch whatever dad’s doing. Okay, so whatever I’m doing, he wants part of it, he wants to be part of it.
And unfortunately, he’s not too quiet when I do the podcast. So I have been finding odd ways of doing this different times. Just an example, today I actually left work a little bit early. So I hope nobody from my work’s listening. And just to come home and record this in some quiet before everybody gets home. We’re here, we’re going to do this podcast no matter what, even no matter what gets thrown at us. But I am pretty happy that my son does have a lot of interest. He likes to watch. He watches me shave every morning with a straight razor or safety razor.
It doesn’t matter. He likes to watch. He doesn’t, of course, we’re very safe with him. I make sure I don’t, I don’t leave the razor out and I make sure that I put it away as soon as I’m done. And lately I’ve been using like in a rubber band around my straight razor just so it doesn’t open up. He hasn’t really figured that out yet or to do it, but I’ll be using, I’m actually considering thinking of like a device to make the locket. So then I can lock it just in case I forget it somewhere and I could put like a lock on it and then he wouldn’t be able to open it up.
So I’m actually looking into something like that. Hopefully I can figure that out in the near future. But it’s great. I think him just wanting to follow me around and stuff, it’s very flattering and I do enjoy it. But it is a little hard to get stuff done, hence why I haven’t been doing any real videos lately. I’ve been wanting to get back into YouTube. I haven’t been able to do it and any article writing. It’s just because it’s just like from when I wake up to when I go to sleep, it is just work and play and all that good stuff.
But we’re getting there. So the podcast will still go on no matter what. I promise you that. I enjoy it. And I hope you guys enjoy it as well. So enough of the small talk, I guess we could say. Let’s get into the show for this week. So today on the show, we’re going to talk about some stuff I haven’t really talked about really ever, I could tell you some new subjects. It’s been 10 years since the Big Shave West. I cannot believe 10 years ago since the first Big Shave West. I’ll tell you a little bit about that event if you haven’t been around that long and to tell you what came from that event.
That was one of the first big wet shaving events that’s happened. It brought a lot of the modern wet shavers together and a lot of the vendors that we have today are actually still going after that and really that’s where I got to meet a lot of people when I got to go several years back. Is eBay no longer relevant for wet shavers? Now that’s a question that I’ve been asking myself for some time because I actually recently just bought something on eBay and I realized I haven’t purchased anything on eBay for well over one year prior.
And I was a little shocked at myself because I used to buy stuff on eBay very often, especially for wet shaving, but lately I haven’t been. So is this still relevant? I’ll tell you my thoughts. And what happened to Clubman and why does no one talk about that company anymore? Clubman is, I’ve been around for years and years and years. It’s a staple scent, but we don’t really talk about it as much anymore, not since, at least for the last five years or so. I’ll tell you my thoughts on that as well. And horsehair brushes, do we use horsehair brushes?
Why are they good? And why are they the most sustainable of all natural brushes? Without further ado, guys, let’s get on with the show. So it’s been 10 years since the Big Shave West out in Pasadena, California, and I cannot believe it’s been 10 years. It is unbelievably, it’s unbelievable that it’s been 10 years already. So 10 years ago, I guess, is when I think the resurrection of wet shaving really started. That’s when the Facebook group started coming in. It was 2015, that’s when I joined my first Facebook group and actually met people in person for wet shaving for the first time since I started wet shaving.
That was incredible. So there’s a lot around that for me. So 2015 was a year like I remember I joined a couple groups I was looking at. I was into wet shaving for several years, about four or five years at that point. But I never really talked to anybody. I think I had one person that I met on Badger and Blade that lived locally to me. And I met him a couple times. His name is Murray. I think he’s still active in Badger and Blade. He lives in the same town I live in right now, but I haven’t seen him in some time.
And we met a few times at Straight Razors and talked and we honed razors and stuff like that. And it’s been some time since I’ve, in fact, I think I should probably hit him up and probably contact him and see how he’s doing. But, I mean, that was about it and then in 2015 I joined a Facebook group of local to where I live and I did a meet up with them over the summer which was really a lot of fun because we had a special soap for it and everything like that. It was just a great time and it was the first time I really hung out with like-minded wet shavers.
And it was a really, I could tell you, it was a very enjoyable experience. But 10 years ago, that was when that all started. This is when, I guess you could say, like Douglas Smythe was really big and starting to bring everybody together. He was really big with meetups. His company was just starting to pick up a little bit. I know he’s been around for a while, but he was really starting to get Phoenix artists and accoutrements going and he was the one bringing everybody together. He was like sponsoring meetups He was doing special edition soaps all that good stuff So I guess that was when it really started and I cannot believe it’s been 10 years since the first one so I did go to Big Shave West 3 the last one in Pasadena and the old town shaving company and in their old place right there in downtown Pasadena, which is amazing.
It was my, only my second time being in California, but it was really nice. I met a lot of great people. A lot of you guys out there still listen to the show and it was so much fun and it was probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had involving really anything in my entire life. So I really enjoyed it. I left a link to the first video of the Big Shave West. It’s a video that just kind of like it was made, I guess, just to show like a recap of the whole event.
I left it in the show notes so you guys can watch it. If you were there, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It was just a really great experience to meet all these like-minded wet shavers and get a lot of cool gear too, so. Hopefully, they’ll come up with something big like this again. I know Maggard’s does the big one, and I know Razor Emporium did one just last month, which went really well, and I just wish I could go to some of these. It’s just hard for me to get out for a weekend for wet shaving.
It’s easier for me to go with my whole family and stuff like that, but for me just to leave, it would be like a one-day thing for me. I’d have to go and maybe spend one night and come back. just because of my schedule and because of my family and stuff like that. So hopefully I will get to go one of these days. I don’t think I’ll be going to Maggers meetup this year, even though I really wanted to. If I do, you guys will be the first to know about it. But it was a huge event, Big Shave West.
It was really fun and I think it was probably one of the better ones out there. I haven’t really experienced anything like that since. and I do miss it, so if you guys are planning a meetup or anything like that, let me know. If it’s close to Florida or if it’s during a time of the year when I’m not so busy at work, usually the summertime, I’ll definitely consider hitting you up, especially if it’s at pastures in New York, because I do go to New York quite often, so that would be a great one to go to if there’s anything going on there.
So this is a question I asked myself just recently when I purchased something on eBay. And I remember why I don’t like purchasing stuff on eBay that much. It’s because of the shipping time. I know a lot of people for a long time when I was start wet shaving, everything I purchased was from eBay. And I was thinking, is eBay still relevant? Because I looked at my purchase history and I haven’t bought anything up until like last week in over a year on eBay. And I was very shocked that I used to buy so much wet shaving stuff on there.
And I guess it is still the one place to go to for vintage stuff or something like that. And I don’t really buy vintage anymore. or as much as I used to at least. I’m not really looking for anything at the moment. I have pretty much everything I want, the exception of a few pieces which someday I will get, but I’m not gonna grossly overpay anymore. I think those days are over for me, at least for the time being. Now that once I have my family and stuff, I’m a little bit more budget conscious, if you know what I mean.
Just not going crazy on buying crazy razors anymore like I used to. It’s not relevant because, I’m thinking it’s no longer relevant because of Amazon. I think Amazon is just, and I’ll tell you the reason why. I would rather pay a little bit more for something on Amazon, knowing that I’ll get it the next day or two day shipping, rather than buy on eBay and have to wait five to 10 days. This is an experience I’m in right now. I just bought something on Amazon, excuse me, on eBay recently. and I bought it last Tuesday and they still haven’t shipped it and it is currently Monday of the week after.
So I mean, okay, it’s been seven days almost, six days, ship it out and I would’ve gotten it. If it was Amazon, chances are I would’ve bought it on Monday and I would’ve gotten it on Wednesday at the latest, right? So I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m not the biggest fan or why I feel that eBay may not be relevant for most wet shaving stuff anymore because For a while there, you couldn’t buy wet shaving stuff on Amazon, and then recently, a lot of vendors have been using Amazon as a selling account, and I had one myself.
I was selling on Amazon for a while there, and realizing that, well, you can get it much faster, even if you pay a little bit more, and then for certain things, that might be worth it. For example, if I wanted to buy a soap on eBay, the seller might take three or four days to ship it, might use USPS, it might take a while. When I buy the same soap, maybe for three or four dollars more on Amazon, I’ll get it in a day, right? So it’s like, okay, well, I’m basically paying for the next day’s shipping with that extra buck, a few dollars, but I know I’m gonna get it and I know I’ll have it in my hand while I’m still excited about it.
Now, there’s also some of those that say, hey, I like to wait. The wait is part of the fun, right? And I’ll say, yes it is. I can tell you quite a few items I’ve purchased, the wait was part of the fun, but I’m getting older now and when I want it, I want it now, I guess. If you could say it like that. And for certain items, yeah, I don’t want to wait if I don’t have to and I at least know that I’m getting it. For this one item I just bought, I had to go back and forth with the seller, I had to send him two messages and finally he came back to me and said, yeah, I just shipped it.
Okay, great, thanks. It’s gonna get here like 12 days after I purchased it. I’m already, already the fun is already kind of done. I’m like, I kind of forgot about it. So that’s my thoughts. Let me know your thoughts. You can send me an email and let me know what you think, but I think that, you know, eBay, guys, if you’re selling on eBay and you’re hearing me right now, be faster with it. You’re gonna lose a lot of business to Amazon because Amazon’s very convenient, very fast, and most of us already have Amazon Prime and can get it, you know, get that free shipping, so.
Just take that word of advice if you are selling on eBay and understand that, hey, I’m sure there’s more guys like me doing the same thing. So what happened to Clubman, and why doesn’t anybody talk about it anymore? On all the forums that I’m in, I look at it, nobody talks about Clubman anymore, except for like a few guys and a few groups, right? It’s still readily available, especially the talc powder, but I hardly hear of it anymore. Is it because recently they had some health concerns about it, some people saying that talc powder causes cancer?
Or is it because, or could be linked to it or linked to health problems? Or is it because it’s just that smell is just not, you know, relative anymore. I mean, it’s still classic smell. Whenever you smell Clubman, you know what it is. Like if you smell that aftershave, you know exactly what brand that is if you’ve been around for some time. So I think that I honestly, I just think that Clubman’s going the way of like, maybe the way of William Soap, maybe the way of Vander Hagen Soaps, the original one, that they’re just kind of going away with the dodo here.
I think that for these companies that have been around, this has been around, I think, well over 100 years. I think we’re going on 200 years, actually. Yeah, it was 1810, so they’re 200 years, 215 years old, this company, right? and they’re still making stuff. But, and it’s funny is, up until the resurrection of, I call it the resurrection of wet shaving is when, really when wet shaving became popular again, was probably in the, you know, the mid-90s is when Linda Abrams came out with the first group. But really, 2005 to 2015 was probably when it started getting really big.
I’d say it peaked out at 2015, right? That’s when, like, what I was just talking to you about when, regarding the meetups and stuff, that was when it was really popular. A lot of artisans coming in, a lot of people talking about it. I think more people wet shave now than ever. But I think they’re just more conservative about it. They don’t really go out about it. There’s no real meetups anymore. So I think maybe we might be on a slight decline. And that’s why companies like Williams will go out of business. Because if you think about it, how did Williams make it through the 1980s and 90s?
Like if they made it through that, and now they can’t make it through now when there’s more wet shavers than ever, right? More people buying it than ever. Well, that’s got to tell you something. That’s cost, that’s a lot of other stuff going on. And it’s just, you know, it’s very sad to see that. So I hope Clubman’s not going that way just because it’s not as popular anymore. I know that smell. I still have the talc powder and I still think it’s, you know, it’s pretty good stuff. It does work. But do I use it all the time?
No, I don’t. I use more of my artisan stuff, to be honest, and I use a lot of artisan products. I’d say right now I’m at almost about 100% artisan. I had a puck of tabac a few months back, and I gave it away to a friend, just like, hey, you want to try it? Take it. Just because I didn’t really like the scent. So I use a lot of artisan stuff. I love Crabtree and Evelyn. I think they’re great. I think the soaps are great, the newer scents. I’m not even sure if they’re still in business anymore.
I mean, I haven’t seen any of the boutiques I bought. The last puck I bought was probably five years ago, maybe eight. So that’s kind of what my thoughts on that are. I think with Clubman, I think it’s just, it’s a great scent. I think it’s something we need to remember. I think if you are gonna stock up on it, I don’t think you have anything to worry about right now like Williams, because like I said, I saw Williams going out of business and I thought that was really bad. It wasn’t really something I wanted to see happen because I really did like having that nostalgia.
And then the regular Vander Hagen soaps are gone, and then you had Mitchell’s Wool Fat. All these old vintage products that have been around for 100 years plus or 80 years plus, whatever, are no longer here. I think Clubman’s gonna be around for a little while. I think they have a lot of accounts with barbershops, and we’ll see that for a while. But is it gonna go the way of the Dodo? Not sure yet, but you’ll know that I’ll always have one package of talc powder just in case it does happen, so I’ll have one saved.
Let me know your thoughts, too. Again, feel free to email me on yours if you feel the same way, if you’ve seen that Clubman’s no longer available in certain areas. And finally, guys, today on the show, horsehair brushes and why they’re good. So I have a couple of horsehair brushes, and I haven’t really discussed them over the years. And I was shocked when I did a little search in some of my notes, and I really haven’t spoken about it. Horsehair is a product that’s actually makes a decent brush. It’s kind of in between of like a mixed badger like the more stiffer darker badger hair and Kind of like a boar brush.
So it’s got like I say the backbone of a boar brush with the kind of like the ability to retain water sort of like a mixed badger. It’s definitely not like a finer badger, right? It’s not like a pure badger brush or anything like that, but it’s definitely good. And what’s great about this is you can get a natural brush that is sustainably sourced, right? The way they get the hair for these brushes is they basically comb the maim and the tail of a horse, right? They just comb it out and all that extra hair They eventually get enough to make a brush.
They make it nice and dense. They cut it and they make it into a shave brush. Of course, they wash it as well. So you don’t hurt the horse in any way, shape, or form. Anything doesn’t have to happen. Nothing has to happen to hurt the horse. And I think that’s really very important if you’re looking for something sustainable. The performance is actually really good. They do have pretty stiff backbones and retention of water is nice. I still like if I’m going to use a natural brush, I still love silver tip or high mountain white badger brushes, right?
I love those. I think those are still the best out there for water retention. And they also have those gel tips on the end, which you don’t really get with a horsehair brush, but you get the density of like a really scritchy, like very lower end, like a mixed badger or basic badger brush, right? With like a really stiff brush. Backbone like kind of like a boar brush, but it’s not as hard. So I guess it’s kind of the blend of both and Again, they’re affordable. I mean you can get a nice one from via long.
This is a Spanish brush I think 30 bucks you can get a really good one And I think they’re they’re good to have at least one or two in your collection Even if you’re not a fan of it Just to hold on to it and to use it, you know, here and there, I think it’s definitely something good. Now, if you are not into synthetic brushes, but you don’t want to go the badger route or the boar brush route, this is great if you’re like, hey, sustainability is something that’s very important to you. This is something that you would want to do.
Again, the animal is not harmed. And it’s just combing it out really. They just comb and brush the horse and that’s it. And then you get the hair. So I think that’s something to consider as well. Great alternative for those looking for a vegan brush or something like that or don’t want to harm any animals and still get the performance of a natural hairbrush. My thoughts are I give these brushes definitely a two thumbs up. I’m a huge fan of Horsehair and I also like the price and everything like that and the availability. The only con I’d say with this is not many producers have them.
There’s only a few out there and quality is definitely stick with a reputable brand because if you get somebody that’s just hand tying themselves, Sometimes you get one that’s gonna fall apart. I did have one artisan one fall apart on me pretty quickly, so I wasn’t really too happy with that, but the V-long ones, that ones, they last. I’ve had one for over 10 years that works great. All right guys, so that. And that concludes the show for this week. I really appreciate everybody’s patience with me being late this week, and I hope that it doesn’t happen again, but I can’t guarantee anything, but I will do my best to make sure I am on time every week.
So remember, our show is powered by sharpologist.com, what your father didn’t teach you about shaving. Special thanks to MarkMantic59 for everything that he does for the wet shaving community, and most of all, you guys, the listeners. Don’t forget to check out my blog at ShaveStraightAndSafe.com and always feel free to email me at Joe.WetShavingNews at gmail.com. The next show will be on April 7th, 2025 and until then guys, shave straight and shave safe. Bye bye now.
