Imperium Shaving
Photo Credit: Matthew Sprague
Photo Credit: Matthew Sprague
“I like to say that I make the world's finest razors pure and simple. I hand-turn wooden razor handles that fit modern cartridges like Gillette, Schick, and double edge blades. I'm still trying to get in Dollar Shave Club in Harry's but I'm so small, they don't know I exist yet. But one day, that's a good goal to have. I've always been a woodworker. More as a hobby. I was a social worker for 10 years in Maryland and I would come home every night stressed out from doing paperwork and meetings all day. The only way I could decompress was to go into my workshop in the basement, a very small basement and I started off doing the typical tables, shelves, things like that. Then I found woodturning and I absolutely loved it. I started making bowls, pins, various spindle things. I made some Harry Potter ones for my nieces. It's just relaxing. It's kind of an intuitive tool. I made a razor because I was looking for a double edge razor and I couldn't find one except in an antique store and they were usually pitted and in bad shape. I just couldn't find one. So I said you know what, I'm going to turn a wooden handle on a lathe and I'm going to somehow attach a double edge blade to it and I figured it out. I made one a friend saw it said “Will you make me one?” and my hobby turned into a very, very part-time business,” says Dan Janssen, Owner, and Founder of Imperium Shaving.
Who knew the finest razors would be handmade in a historic mill in Baltimore by a gentleman who turned a hobby into his full-time passion. His razor collection is made of various types of wood that he locally sources.
Photo Credit: Matthew Sprague
“When I first started I was just using traditional woods. So Bird's Eye Maple has a good grain, Walnut things like that. I would go to my local lumber yard we have a lumber yard here called Free State Lumber and I would just buy exotic woods by the board foot. Now I have a relationship with a few lumber yards in Pennsylvania and I order so much from them. It comes pre-cut, milled the way that I like it. It's hardwood, I specifically use hardwood. One thing that's important to us is we're committed to not making the world a worse place. We want to make the world a better place or at least not impacted. So all of our wood is fair trade and FSC certified Forest Stewardship Council certified so we're not chopping down rain forests. It doesn't come from any nefarious sources it is certified that it comes from either tree farms, which help local economies, or someplace where deforestation is an issue,” says Dan.
Dan also offers a unisex product made out of powder-coated metal and has been a fairly popular item.
Photo Credit: Matthew Sprague
Photo Credit: Matthew Sprague
“We wanted something that was sort of an entry point because our razors I don't think they're expensive for the time and materials that we use, and they're guaranteed for life. So you buy one and you're set. But I also understand that not everyone can spend $50 on a razor or is comfortable doing that if they aren't sure how much they shave or if they're buying it as a gift. So I wanted an entryway and I also wanted something a little bright. What is great, but what doesn't go with everything. So I found this guy in Annapolis, Maryland who owns a factory and his name is Norman he runs a factory with his family and I was just talking with him not even expecting to have a business relationship just more talking with someone I didn't know and he said, Who manufactures your razors?” I said, “I manufacture them but I'm looking for a cheaper metal alternative.” He said, “My family can do it, we own a factory we can do whatever you want.” So I gave him the specs on a simple double edge razor and he made them. He and his brother in their factory took them about two months and took them a really long time and now I have a great relationship with them. These are something that I don't hand make myself but you can get them for 24 bucks on our website and I view them as a stepping stone to a more refined razor in the future,” says Dan.
Photo Credit: Matthew Sprague
Dan also talks about how he moved to Baltimore, how his business is doing in the midst of the pandemic, how he crafted a razor out of a meteorite a customer provided to him, and much more. Tune in to Dan’s episode of the podcast to learn more about his craft of razors.
To learn more about Dan’s business click here, https://www.imperiumshaving.com/.