Thread: Don't forget your local retired barber.

Sadly, the barber who graciously volunteered his time to teach me the art of straight shaving and honing passed on several years ago. He was the last of the old school barbers in the area and i truly wish that I would have been able to pay him back, even the slightest amount, for all of the knowledge he freely gave.

Oh yeah, doesn't hurt that Mr. Young was the last barber who ever cut my hair. Started clipping it at home 'bout seven years ago. was easier when _she_ did it, but i manage now.

i've had SR finish-ups by 4 barbers, all men several if not dozens of years older than i....but then i used to go to the stylists! holy crap to have that money back.

i remember wondering what all that stropping was about, of course i get it now.

I'd love to have a full straight shave by a master barber, but know of nothing of the sort here. I'll start hunting those down when i visit big-cities (about once per year). Our state stop testing for it, so they quit teaching it, but some old-timers still use 'em.



yeah, the barber was stubbly today, but then he's semi-retired working from home now.

Barbers I knew in the 1980s, in North NJ , were 60 to 70 ..... and older, still cutting hair. They had been cutting hair/shaving through the heyday years when straight razors and honing them was the rule rather than the exception.

I imagine there are still some of the guys who broke in with those guys still capable but health dept issues and public opinion have largely made it a thing of the past. Cool that we're doin' it though.

Best of luck with that old barber ..... hope he comes up with a suitcase full of stuff for you !

Thanks for the reminder, i really need to stop by and see that old barber Carmen who helped me get started. He honed up my first nasty old Boker i happened to pick up at a antique fleamarket. He really put a wicked edge on it. Makes me wonder what he used?
He still uses the Str8s for the back of the neck and around the ears etc. I really dont think he cares what the goverment man would say about the risk of blood transfer.

I guess I'm rather fortunate. My barber retired this past December, and gave awesome shaves. I'm lucky in the sense that we've been friends for years and, although he plans on spending his winters in a southern clime, I still see him at least once per week when we go fishing together. Maybe I should offer to buy some hones and strops off of him...