Thread: I went to the Barber yesterday

The weather was really nice here yesterday, I drove myself to work and a full schedule for the seekend so I tiik a half day vacation. Stopped at Wood Craft for some supplies to use on the next restore and stopped at my Barber's for a hair cut. I've been going to the same place for a while now and have been bring in some straights to show and for Angie to use when he cuts my hair. Most of the guys work there part time and are semi retired. They always enjoy seeing the blades I bring in, giving them a spin on my sideburns and neck and telling stories. It's a great time, thanks guys!

Well yester when I got to the shop it was around 1 in the afternoon and the last customer was just leaving so it was three barbers and me. Chats were about the shaving assembly lines in the shops of old, how to tell when the blade needed attention, hot towels, lathering the customer w/ a brush and cream (Angie hadent seen hard shave soap until he come to this country) and such. Angie mentioned that after working up a lather on his customers he would use his index and middle finger together to work the lather in even deeper, which of course was after the hot towel. When I mentioned C-Mons or Dubl Ducks you should see their eyes widen and light up. Bring one in and he puts it right into service. Man, when I brought in the Hess 8/8+ his chin hit his chest and he was just aglow. He likes round points alnd large blades and the Hess had both.

Well now it was time to use the straight. This time I brought in a Robeson 5/8 round point that went through my honing sequence. I stropped it just before work but had not shaved with it or tested it in any way after honing. Angie was in his glory. He kept saying "Can you feel that?" and I would jsut say "No, but I can hear it." His face was aglow again. The other two barbers came over and watched. Angie keep saying "Look! See how the hair is just coming off w/o any pressure!"

Well the owner of the shop ( a younger guy that probably never used a real straight on a customer) never joined in on our conversations but this time he was showing me his late father in law's barber hones and asked if I would sharpen up one of his straights a customer gave him. It's a really nice Puma! I cleaned it up a bit last night as I was cleaning some other recent finds. It will probably hit the hones soon. He can't use it in the shop but will be trying it out on himself.

I had a really great time at the barber yesterday. It looked like the guys in the shop did also. I hope they did. I'll have to find ways to get to the barber during the week, mid day, more often.

If you guys know of a barber that has used straights, bring one or two of your along the next time you get a cut. Maybe it will enhance the experiance a bit and bring on some interesting stories.

p.s. Angie said that the silk strop heated up the razor preparing it for the leather.

That's a great tale, Joed. Thanks for sharing your passion with us and the gents at the barber shop.

X

Really cool story. Experiences like that are hard to come by. I bet you'll be remembering that day for a long time.

My state has barber brown coats. Feathers only. They can yank your license for anything other. I'd have to really know the barber and get there after hours.

Originally Posted by singlewedge

My state has barber brown coats. Feathers only. They can yank your license for anything other. I'd have to really know the barber and get there after hours.

It might be the same here also. My barber just uses my own razor on me, no one else. Next time you go just bring one along to show, ya never know, they might agree to use it for your clean up. I doubt they will give you a shave though, who knows. The guys that used straight years ago might be more willing to use it if it meets their standards. I'm sure they would like to see nice straights in any event.

Thanks for the great story. I would have loved to have seen their faces as you brought in those razors. Lots of history and good memories for those guys.
Thanks
Take care
Dannyr

Great story! There are a few barbers in my area that are totally cool doing a full shave as long as it's your own razor.

Sounds like a real nice day Joed. Back in the early 1980s I got the RAD. I had a friend who owned and operated a barber shop in Kearny,NJ and he was also a razor nut. I went to antique stores in North Jersey but then when the bug really caught me I started going to barber shops.

If a heavily tattooed stranger walks into a barber shop and asks these guys in their 60s and 70s if they have any straight razors for sale chances are they will dummy up and just shake their heads no.

I would walk in with a small razor roll with half a dozen oldies but goodies in it. I would announce that I collect straight razors and show the examples I had brought. What young people don't know today is how bad business was for barbers in the '60s and '70s. The long hair fad decimated their business.

In the fifties a haircut was 0.25 cents and a shave not much more. By the '80s the haircut was maybe $5.00 to $8.00. By the '80s things were slightly better but barbers had mostly stopped doing shaves.In '83 when the AIDs became known that really changed everything.

So to make a long story short walk into a barber shop with some old blades and show them around. Then ask if anyone has any straights they would be willing to sell. I bought a lot of good razors that way back then.

Thanks for a great story. The old-timers are harder to find. Most around me have retired in the past few years.

Jordan

Originally Posted by Joed

It might be the same here also. My barber just uses my own razor on me, no one else.

That's how I got my first barber's shave, my own equipment. Right down to the soap.