Today is the final post of my five-part series on wet shaving. I hope those who nudged me to post about what I learned over the past two years are satisfied and that readers picked up a tip or two to make their shaves or the shaves of loved ones much more enjoyable. In today's post, I want to introduce you to another one of my favorite vendors—Matt Pisarcik. He runs Razor Emporium, which sells the company's own Rex Razors, vintage razors by Gillette and other makers, straight razors, and loads of other products, including shaving soaps and more. [Photo above of Matt Pisarcik, courtesy of Matt Pisarcik]
The vintage Gillette razors sold by Razor Emporium often are restored and replated with nickel, gold or rhodium, so they are as good as new. The company's service is top notch and his products are uniformly excellent. Razor Emporium also will fix and restore a razor you own that isn't in the best of shape and you can have it replated. Best of all, my experience with Matt is that he wants you to be happy. He knows his stuff when it comes to razors and shaving, and his many videos can be viewed at YouTube. Almost any shaving subject and razor has been covered by Matt on these engaging videos, so they're a great resource if you want information on a specific razor. For this interview, Matt happily made time for me and provided answers to questions I emailed along to him.
Again, as with my other interviews and posts on this topic, I have received nothing from Razor Emporium for free nor do I want anything for free. The purpose of this series and this interview is simply to give JazzWax readers sources they can trust as well as my own experience shopping and ferreting out the very best of everything, along with tips I've developed along the way. Sort of the same as with music, except this is for your face, not your ears.
Here's my interview with Matt Pisarcik of Razor Emporium:
JW: Matt, where did you grow up?
Matt Pisarcik: I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm a native rather than a transplant. I've always been fascinated with shaving. Funny enough, even as a kid, I used to admire men’s different facial hair—sideburns, goatees and beards. I thought, "Man, one day I really want to be able to grow facial hair and have cool styles." But I got into shaving because of shaving problems—an inability to get a good clean result without irritation. That issue led me down the path. My dad wasn’t a wet shaver. He used to walk around the house at night, locking up the house and turning off the lights with his electric razor in hand. So I guess that's what I saw growing up.
JW: Do you remember your first shave?
MP: Yes, it was before a homecoming dance or some high school event. I had started to grow some peach fuzz and shaved with a Gillette Mach 3 and a can of shave gel. It was my older brother's stuff in the bathroom. I needed to look good that night.
JW: What did you study in college?
MP: I was a business major with a focus in marketing and consumer behavior. At college, I started to get into wet shaving because my beard came in heavy and I kept having irritation issues with standard cartridge razors. So I tried double-edge shaving in 2003 or 2004.
JW: When did you launch Razor Emporium?
MP: I incorporated the company on September 9, 2009. But I was buying and selling razors before that.
JW: What was the impetus for starting the company?
MP: Buying and selling razors and me trying to find a better way to shave rather than constantly buying new models or something pedestrian and being disappointed. Remember, it was hard to find double-edge razors back then. There was no Amazon and there weren’t 30 different places online to buy wet-shave products. You literally had to buy from one place called ClassicShaving.com.
JW: Expensive?
MP: Back then, I looked at the price of a Merkur 34 (above) and double-edge blades and the price tag was $60 or $70. Buying was pricey and a big gamble untested. Then I read an article that said I could find vintage razors for less at antique stores. So that's what I did.
JW: What happened next?
MP: I got into the collecting side and fixed up the razors I bought. I started having duplicates and I needed somewhere to sell my duplicates. I’d sell them on chat rooms, in forums and on eBay. But I quickly grew tired of sites’ rules about how many I could sell as well as paying eBay fees and chat rooms wanting vendor dues. I thought, "You know what, I'm just going to build my own website." That was in 2009.
JW: Do you remember your first sale?
MP: It was in 2010. An email came in with order No. 000001. I was really excited. Business grew fairly fast, and we’ve never had a down year. We've grown 30% annually for years and years now. The business just keeps growing.
JW: When did the business pay your bills?
MP: I became self-employed in 2013, so I guess between 2010 and 2013. I was doing it at home and shipping out stuff. I had a day job. I used to work as a marketing director for a hospital and I was building the business at night. I remember going to the post office on my lunch breaks to ship off packages. Then the hospital was purchased and it merged with another. They didn't need me anymore and let me go.
JW: What did you think?
MP: I was at a crossroads. I asked myself if I wanted to update my resume, go out on interviews and work for another company. Or did I want to try to make my new business work. Obviously I chose the latter and I’m glad I did.
JW: When did double-edge shaving start?
MP: In 1903, Gillette put out its first patented double-edge razor with two rings on the handle (above). Double-edge razors date back earlier than 1903 but Gillette's big invention was the disposable blade that fit its razor. These double-ring razors are still bought and sold today but they’re harder to come by. The double ring does deliver a good shave, though it’s more aggressive than Gillette's later double-edge razors. Other companies back then quickly entered the market with different types of models.
JW: If someone now wanted to buy a vintage double-edge razor from that period, what would you recommend?
MP: Get a Gillette. You don't have to get the first model with the double rings. Those are really expensive. You can get the single rings or the ones with a ball on the end of the handle or an Old Type khaki kit. They all have pretty much all the same shaving head. But get an old Gillette.
JW: Did wet shaving become more popular during the recent pandemic?
MP: Yeah. A lot of people who were locked down got into hobbies. And because they weren’t traveling, buying clothes or commuting and buying a sandwich for lunch, they had more disposable income. We saw a big increase in interest for both double-edge and straight-razor shaving.
JW: What vintage double-edge razor is now in most demand on your site?
MP: The Gillette Fatboy, by far.
JW: How often do you shop for vintage razors?
MP: I don't shop for them at all now. If I go out to an antique store, it's probably with my family or just for fun. If I find something, that's great. But I'm not on the hunt. Razors find me now. When I started out, I was out on road trips hunting all over the state in small towns and antique stores. But now I get so many people who walk in to our store lobby or contact us asking me to buy their collection. Sometimes it's three or five or 10 razors, and sometimes it's 200 razors. But the razors find me.
JW: Where would you go now if you were looking?
MP: Small towns that are forgotten and aren’t on some well-traveled route or highway. They usually have the best razor antiquing. If you drive and see signs for little antique stores, the odds are good you'll find a few double-edge razors in there. Then it gets down to the price they're asking and the condition of the razor.
JW: Still don't have the bug?
MP: I have the bug, but I don't do a lot of hunting. As for my collecting, I had a goal of collecting every American Gillette razor made and I've pretty much done that. Maybe there are three or four or five really, really rare birds that if I came across them I'd be happy. But I'm very content with my collection. It's something that I did passionately for many years. Now that I’m a husband and father, I'm more interested in spending time with my family and growing my business. I’m also a guitar player. I just got a new Fender Jazzmaster and really like playing and messing around with amps. That's more interesting to me at this point.
JW: What's your best-selling Rex razor?
MP: We have three Rex razors. We have the adjustable Ambassador (above), the Envoy and the Konsul. They're all selling very well and sell in equal volume. Maybe a hair ahead is the original one—the Ambassador
JW: What is a good starter double-edge razor?
MP: I advise people to start with a razor that's got a lot of pedigree, like the Merkur 34, Edwin Jagger DE90 or Gillette Super Speed. Something that isn't too aggressive or too mild, something that everyone has a lot of experience with. Then, if you use it, you can find others who have had similar experiences using it. This will give you a community of people online who can weigh in if you have an issue. Don't get some super-aggressive razor or a super-mild one. Get the Goldilocks—the one in the middle.
JW: What are your general rules for nick-free shaves for those starting out?
MP: Use cold water. No really. I know it sounds counterintuitive. A lot of people always hear hot water. They think they want hot water in their face, but cold water is way better for nick-free or irritation-free shaving. Hair has an opportunity to stand up. The skin gets more taught and firm, you get a closer shave with less passes. You just need to move slowly with the shave. And in general, stop trying to do two or three passes. If you're starting off, just do one pass with the grain and finish up by applying a balm or some kind of lotion that adds back moisture to your skin. Don't try to chase a baby-butt smooth shave right off the bat. Just go for par at first. The goal is to get a nice irritation-free shave.
JW: What about blades?
MP: Try out different blades to find brands and types that suit your skin. They're not all the same, as much as that might seem to be the case. They all have subtle personality differences.
MW: Do women buy double-edge razors for themselves?
MP: Not many, in my experience. Women just want to get it done, and they don't have the coarse hair that men have. They also don't have serious shaving issues. If they're getting irritations, it’s because they're going too fast or not using top-quality products. But for those women who want to try out a double edge razor, they can use whatever you’re using. Or they can find models with a longer, thinner handle. Vintage Lady Gillette razors have a super long handle. The same is true with some new Parker razors or the Leaf brand. The Leaf makes a good razor for women. I guess it's more like a cartridge. The razor is flexible.
JW: What did you shave with this morning?
MP: I was traveling. I brought along the Rex Ambassador, a little Opal travel badger brush from the 1950s and a Razor Emporium soap.
JW: What's the best way to clean a razor and to sterilize a new one?
MP: If you want to clean your razor, get some dish detergent from your sink. Not hand soap or dishwasher soap, but liquid soap like Palmolive or Dawn. The detergent soap will break down the soap scum that's on your metal razor and make it look shiny and sparkly. It will also sterilize the razor to a nominal level, meaning the detergent soap will kill off most of the things on the surface of the metal. But remember, bacteria can't live on a surface for more than a few hours. So if you find a razor from the 1960s, there's nothing on it that's alive. The only thing you need to be worried about is rust.
JW: How so?
MP: If there's rust, it can infect you if you already have an open cut or wind up one. So make sure there's no rust on your metal razor. To limit that from happening, remove your blade from a double edge razor after using, wash it off and let it dry. Also, loosen your razor handle, open the butterfly doors or take apart the razor pieces, if that's how it's constructed. You want all parts to be clean and dry.
JW: How often should you clean a razor?
MP: One or two times a month to keep it looking nice and clean. I went over to my brother's house recently and he had a Gillette Fatboy that looked like it hadn't ever been cleaned. So I took it to the kitchen sink and used some dish detergent and cleaned it up with a toothbrush. It was great. That's all you need.
JW: What do you tell people who want to try straight-razor shaving?
MP: I tell them to try a double-edge razor first. If they like double-edge shaving and they like the idea of the angle being fixed and the pressure being reduced, then they can handle a straight razor. But if you currently use a cartridge razor, don’t jump to a straight razor. You're going to have a miserable experience. If you have the experience of using a double-edge razor, you'll probably be fine. You'll probably nick yourself once or twice. But it's a lot easier if you come to straight razor shaving from the double-edge razor experience. We have videos up on YouTube about your first straight-razor shave. But start easy.
JW: How can you do that?
MP: Don't start out trying to do your entire face with the straight razor. Go with easy, flat parts, like your cheeks, to gain competency and confidence. Lay the blade flat against your cheek and just slowly work the angle down until you feel it start cutting the hair.
JW: Most people don’t realize you have to send a straight razor in to have it professionally sharpened fairly routinely, yes?
MP: That's correct, you have to have it honed. Straight razors are like a manual transmission vehicle. They require a lot more work and maintenance. A shaving strap only keeps the fine blade aligned because the edge gets knocked back and forth when you shave. That's what the strap does. It aligns it, but it doesn't actually sharpen the blade. Once a razor starts blunting and gets dull, it doesn't sharpen unless you put a compound on it. You can put a sharpening compound on your strap and it will actually remove metal and sharpen it.
JW: So does that replace sending it in?
MP: It will delay the frequency. But ultimately, people wind up sending out their straight razors for the sharpest honing. If you want to get adventurous and spend a couple hundred dollars and a lot of time and effort, you can get your own stones and learn how to do it. It will take a lot of practice. It's not anything like sharpening a knife. You cannot use oil stones. You need four or five or six different stones to really do it correctly. So you're going to spend a couple hundred dollars and a couple weeks learning how to do it correctly. Then you don't have to send it out.
JW: What razor services does Razor Emporium provide?
MP: We do double-edge razor tune-ups, which means revitalizing the razor while keeping it completely original; we do double-edge razor revamps, which means resurfacing, plating and tuning; and we clean, polish, hone and custom handcraft handles for straight razors. All of these can be found under "services" at our site.
You can visit Razor Emporium by going here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Matt on the Gillette Fatboy...
And here's Matt on the 1903 Gillette Old Type double ring...
JazzWax tips: More posts this week meant more readers and more questions. Here are my double-edge razor tips...
What model, what year? You've found a Gillette razor at an antique shop or at a relative's house but you don't know what the model is or when it was made. Not a problem. You just need to know the numbers under the razor's head or on the inner sleeve. Gillette was fairly meticulous about using letters and numbers to tell you what year and quarter they came out. Razor Emporium has a terrific chart. It's a great resource, as are the links provided (go here).
How to sterilize a razor? Matt's advice above is spot on. But some people buy razors on eBay or at funky stores and really want to be sure what they purchased is sterilized prior to using. Personally, I soak new razors in Barbicide. That's the blue liquid in the tall glass containers at barber shops where you see combs floating around. You can buy a bottle of Barbicide, fill a coffee cup until it covers the razor head and let the razor soak in there for about 15 minutes. Then turn and let the handle soak. Lots of Barbicide size choices here.
Keeping a razor clean? I shave in the shower. Afterward, I open the razor and rinse all parts and the blade—holding it safely by the "snout" on either end, never the side. Then I towel touch dry all elements, rest the razor disassembled or on its side on a towel and rest the blade against the handle, so everything air dries over the course of the day.
Soap scum? You can use detergent or spray Scrubbing Bubbles Disinfectant on the underside or inside the razor and use a tooth brush dedicated for razor cleaning to gently scrub the razor clean. Then rinse thoroughly with luke-warm water and let all razor parts dry.
JazzWax shave album: Here's today's album to shave by...
