Since I started wet shaving with a straight razor I find myself thinking of the old fashion Barbers, and their equipment, and thinking I would think it would be cool to be a BARBER. My question is, has anyone else ever thought this way??? :hmmm:
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Since I started wet shaving with a straight razor I find myself thinking of the old fashion Barbers, and their equipment, and thinking I would think it would be cool to be a BARBER. My question is, has anyone else ever thought this way??? :hmmm:
It worked the opposite way for me. I am a hobbyist barber and it got me thinking it would be great to shave myself with a traditional straight.
We do have a few professional barbers on SRP.
One or more of them will surely chime in with their experiences, good and bad:)
I definitely have more interest in old barbers and vintage barber photos and the like. I also enjoy talking to my barber, a straight shaver himself, quite a bit more.
But I cut myself far too much to ever be trusted on someone's throat. I could probably take the shears to someone's head but if you want some fancy flat top or executive cut you'd have to go elsewhere. LOL
I was offered an apprenticeship by a barber friend in NJ back when iron work was slow in the '80s. Chose to learn to tattoo instead. A barber is on his feet all day, pretty much without much walking. Not great for circulation. Hairs that they cut actually go through their clothes and sometimes into the skin, causing some problems.
In the old days there were a lot of shops but, from what my barber tells me now, the number of shops has increased to where it is even harder to make a $. I guess it depends on where you are. It ain't the easiest piece of work AFAIK, when you consider the overall scheme of things.
Business is flourishing here in california. Barbering has become a mainstream profession where people are making very good money if they promote themselves. A buddy of mine cuts a few of the dodgers hair at their homes.
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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
My long term barber is a 2nd generation barber taught by his father. He is originally from Cuba, and around 60 years old. Been cutting my hair for a decade now. His shop used to be busy with 4 chairs and everyone making good $. Last couple of years it was just him alone. Biz fell off that much.Quote:
Originally Posted by dexter90723
Closed his shop a few months ago and now rents a chair from another shop across the street. He works a few days a week. I've been paying $8.00 for a haircut + a $2.00 tip , for years now. Senior discount. His haircuts aren't good, but they're cheap. I found years ago that the difference between a good haircut and a bad one is about 2 weeks. :)
Oh see thats a big difference. The good barbers out here are getting 15 per cut and me personally i leave a 5 dollor tip. easier to just give a 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
I used to be a high roller too ......... fixed income and inflation changed that. :shrug:Quote:
Originally Posted by dexter90723
Yup:o) I try to think like an old school barber every day. I feel very fortunate that my profession and my hobby work hand in hand.
I remember as a kid a haircut cost 60 cents and you gave the barber a 10 cent tip and he was happy and that's when the barbers were still old school professionals. And then Nero became Emperor and messed things up and the barbers became stylists and the prices climbed and then he had to go burn down the city. They say he was fiddling then but that's lore he was really honing.
Tattooers and barbers share many many similarities. We tend to be self employed. We both perform an art by request on a daily basis and we both rely on old fashion relationships (word to mouth) in order to survive.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
I'm glad to have found out that you tattoo jimmyhad. I'm a collector of razors and tattoos and am barber by trade. Cheers brother!
If you think like an old school barber ...... you are one ! :tuQuote:
Originally Posted by wyobarbershop
And then I heard he moved to Missouri ....... :wQuote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
It has been my observation that true barbers stay really busy. They know everything about everything as a true barber is like a bartender. A Psychologist or such. Most get the best deals, hookups, and freebies. All by having them a prisoner in the chair!
A smart barber is a rich man! Better than being a cop! HE has the cops in his pocket too! ;)
i cut my own hair as well as my boy's and a friend who's not too picky. I've always wanted a cool old barbers chair but i don't think i would make a good barber. I don't talk much and don't like to meet strangers.
Wyobarbershop is one of the last of the old school barbers I know of. All of the so called barbers coming around now are beauty school barbers. The old school ways are unfortunately getting passed by.
In my area there is a huge influx of barbershop. Mostly run by the huge Hispanic population we have moving to our area from NY and Philly. We have a lot of racial tension and white people get very bad haircuts from the shops. Unfortunately alot of the shops are getting busted for dealing drugs too. They open at 7a.m. and close at 2a.m. It's sad and makes it so I have to driven over an hour for a haircut.
Well. you know where to go! :rofl2: Sorry! click on one of the haircut songs!Quote:
Originally Posted by meleii
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;...homerun_portal
It's a shame that old school barbers are becoming obsolete in the local neighborhoods. Chains and half arsed shops still thrive but will never prevail. On the upside, "old school" never looses its cool and lots of younger people seek vintage cuts and even straight shaves. I think our country is going to revert and start using products that are locally made, of high quality and consistent. We have no choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by meleii
I wish there was an old school barber shop around me,,,I'd go hang out there after breakfast,,,:shrug:
One can only hope. I try my best to support small businesses and buy American.Quote:
Originally Posted by wyobarbershop
And a little known fact I just learned, pa has no law about using a straight razor. No need for disposables.
Atta Boy, Josh! :D
I only thought about being a barber until I remembered that paper collar that they put around my neck before the matador flourish of the blinding white hair catcher (wonder what that thing is called)....at that point I knew I was a prisoner in that chair and I could not wait to get out....I could not do that to anyone. Seems like I stopped going to barber shops around the same time I stopped going to church. Wonder if there is a correlation. More on topic I guess, I think a vintage barber shop would be pretty cool.
hey, how'd you know that. Were you the guy running that tattoo shop on via caligula?Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD