The Copper Hat Archives - The Copper Hat

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Bradj

Mental Health is Men’s Health

Here at The Copper Hat we talk a lot about shaving, but we like to talk about a lot of other things, too.

This month, we’re talking about mental health, and we’d love for you to join us. Both of us (Kate & Brad) are proponents of the de-stigmatization of mental health issues. Right now we’re giving away a complete shave set to raise awareness about mental health issues, especially among men, through both the Movember Foundation and Partners for Mental Health Canada.

Each November, the Movember Foundation changes the face of men’s health by encouraging men to grow out their moustaches and wear them loud and proud, prompting conversations about men’s health. Participants also raise funds for men’s health initiatives including those fighting prostate and testicular cancer. Last year, Movember added mental health to their list of supporting causes and we were very happy to see it there. Mental illness is a HUGE concern among men, and while we support increased mental health services for everyone, we recognize that it is especially difficult for guys to discuss mental illness.

Partners for Mental Health is a national charity aimed at improving mental health in Canada by mobilizing and engaging Canadians to drive fundamental changes. Their current campaign is called “Right By You” and is focused on raising awareness about the lack of mental health services available to young people in Canada. Through this campaign you can learn more about mental health issues, tell your own story, generate important conversations and pledge your support for increased mental health services, including a National Suicide Prevention Fund.

Where do I come in?

Do you agree that mental health, including men’s mental health, is an important issue and cause? If you do, connect with one of these awesome organizations and put your name in our draw for a complete wet shaving set. For the month of November, ahem, Movember, show us your support for either the Movember Foundation and/or Partners for Mental Health and we’ll put your name in a draw for this awesome wet shaving set to be drawn on November 30, 2014.

How does it work?

There are 3 ways to enter in to this giveaway:

1.) If you’re growing out your ‘stache and are raising funds through the Movember Foundation, email us the link to your Movember Fundraising profile page.

2.) If you’re not growing out your own Mo, but have donated to another person’s Movember fundraising efforts, email us a confirmation of your donation (or send us a screen shot of your donation confirmation)

3.) If you’d like to help make positive change to mental health services in Canada, you can use the Partners for
Mental Health online tool to send a letter to your MP and help convince the government to create a National Suicide Prevention Fund. You can either forward your confirmation email to us or send us a screen shot of your form.

Over the month of November we’ll compile a list of everyone who shows us their support for these important mental health initiatives. On November 30, 2014, we’ll put all of the names in a hat and randomly select someone to win the shave set. If you have any questions about entering this draw, please feel free to drop us a line.

Thank you for joining us in supporting Movember and Partners for Mental Health, and in turn promoting increased mental health services for everyone!

-Brad & Kate

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Bradj

Your Custom Brush

One of a Kind & Hand Crafted

You’re going to keep your shaving brush for a very, very long time; it should be perfect for you.

Working with The Copper Hat’s owner and artist, Brad, to create your own custom shaving brush is easy and probably a lot less expensive than you would think. The process of creating your own custom brush involves selecting a handle material type, brush hair type, and a general size and shape of the overall brush. Brad crafts shaving brushes from a wide variety of materials both new and reclaimed and is constantly striving to develop new crafting techniques.

How cool would it be to give your Dad a shaving brush turned from a branch of the tree he built your treehouse in? What about framing timbers from a 100 year old hotel or antique acrylic insulating rod? Please contact us if you are interested in a beautifully unique, custom shaving brush.

Engraving

Engraving design for brush turned from Douglas Fir framing timber saved from the Boulder Hotel in Vancouver

Engraving your brush with a custom logo or design is a great way to personalize it even further. We are happy to design custom graphics for you, or you may submit your own and the graphic will be laser engraved into the bottom of the brush handle. Engraving is an additional cost.

Brush Restoration Services

Restored Antique Shaving Brush

Brad also restores antique shaving brushes, removing the worn out bristles, setting new bristles, and cleaning and polishing the handles. We often have vintage restores for sale and also offer restoration services for your own shaving brush. Since all brushes are in different conditions, before providing restoration services, Brad will take a look at your brush and and give you a quote based on the work you’d like done. Please contact us for more details.

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Bradj

Valentine’s Day Shave Sets

February 14th… ugh. We hate to do it, but we’re hopping on the commercial band wagon and embracing Valentine’s Day this year. What could be more sexy and loving than giving your sweetie the gift of smooth, non-irritated, happy skin? Our shave sets are completely customisable and we are more than happy to personally help you create the best shave set for your needs. Just stop by our store or try filling out our custom shave set building form to get started. We also have a wide variety of our most popular pre-built shave sets listed on the website.

And, just so we’re all on the same page, wet shaving and Copper Hat shave sets are awesome for anyone who shaves; men, women, Valentines and non-Valentines. If you or someone you know is sick of the current shaving routine, come check us out; we’re happy to help and will give you 14% off any shave set you build until February 14, 2014!

Also, on Saturday, February 15th, our 3 Fan Tan Alley courtyard will become the studio of Photographer and Tintypist Ken Miner. Ken with be using his 112 year old camera to shoot 1860’s tintype portraits of you (or you and your sweetie) on a first come – first served basis starting at 10:00am. This event will also give you a chance to check out the creations of our lovely friend and neighbour, Radjuli Custom Designs, as well as pursue some fantastic shaving gear. Please check out and share the event listing for more information.

Brad & Kate

Posted on August 6, 2011 by KateM

The Micromatic – This Lady’s Best Shave

I love vintage razors and I have tried almost every style. I love double-edged razors for their versatility, injectors for their speed, and straights for their incomparable closeness… but this week I found my perfect leg-shaving razor.

The Razor

The GEM Micromatic is a slick looking single-edged razor with some weight to it – 64 grams to be exact. It is a twist-to-open style (perfect for me since I tend to lose removable razor heads) that takes standard GEM single-edged blades. The Micromatic was manufactured for a few decades between the 1920’s and 40’s and came in a wide variety of packaging, from hinged Bakelite and leather cases (some lined with velvet) to brightly cololured cardboard boxes. It was never marketed as a women’s razor, but after my test run, I believe it should have been.

The Shave

My brush of choice was my silver-tipped badger hair set in pink acrylic, made by none-other than my husband, Brad. I used a wonderful shaving soap that was hand-made by a Vancouver Island soap-maker, Dragonfly Dreaming. I love this soap because it is all-natural, lathers quickly and with a lot of body, and is extremely gentle on my sensitive skin. The weight and angle of the Micromatic did all of the work for me, gliding smoothly over my skin. As usual, I over-thought my knees, shaving with the blade more perpendicular than parallel to my skin and that caused a bit of irritation around that bony area. As with most single-edged razor, the Micromatic’s head is angled exactly right to guide your shave – you simply move the head of the razor flat against your skin. In future, I will adhere to this rule more strictly when using the Micromatic around my knees. On the rest of my legs the Micromatic was flawless. It was a very quick, 1-pass shave and there was no razor burn or red bumps at all.

The Result

My overall result was amazing! I am thrilled with this razor for many reasons, the main one being that I shaved my legs 3 days ago and they still feel like day 1! For me, that is better longevity than what I get with a straight razor shave (the king of all shaves, ever). I have used more brands and models of razors than most women (and men) out there, and the Micromatic has quickly become my favourite for a smooth, long-lasting shave. I still believe that a double-edged razor is fantastic for its ease of use and versatility, and that injectors are an extremely quick and easy shave, but when I am looking for a slightly more involved, but long-lasting shave, I will definitely turn to my Micromatic.

It should be noted that Brad also tried this razor and his results were not nearly the same as mine. He found that the razor had a hard time manoeuvring around corners and bony areas of his face – similar to that of my knees. For that reason (it’s lack of agility around bumps and bones), I think the Micromatic is perfectly suited for the long, straight area of a woman’s legs.