Thread: Barbers notch??????

This may be a silly question to ask but as a newb to straights what is the barbers notch?Whats the purpose or desirability of these blades?

Originally Posted by coolmaltbeverage

This may be a silly question to ask but as a newb to straights what is the barbers notch?Whats the purpose or desirability of these blades?

From the WIKI

What is the point of a barber's notch?
The most commonly given answer is: The notch assists in opening the straight razor.[11] These and many more reasons are quoted, but none as of this point have been proven.
Other answers include:
The notch is a proof mark for superior steel.
The notch is a proof mark that the razor is for barbers
The notch is used to shave around obstacles on the customer's face.
The notch allows one hand opening, for example, by catching the notch on a breast pocket.
The notch is just a cosmetic flair

Cheers

sorry,never thought about the wiki.

Originally Posted by coolmaltbeverage

sorry,never thought about the wiki.

No problem. The Wiki here is incredibly thorough and worth spending significant time in. What a great resource!

An old, retired, barber told me today the notch was for access to the openings of the nose to trim away unruly nose hair. The notch would ride on one edge while the barber gently cut away long nose hairs. He said he never used it that way but his mentors did. I don't think he was pulling my leg, because he was passionate about straights, his favorite hones, and how important great stropping was to the proper use of a straight. He claims none of the current crop of barbers has any idea of how to cut hair, much less use a straight. I claim no ability to judge veracity. I'm just relaying what I heard from someone who was a medic with long range recon in Viet Nam, and then became a barber. He is tough as nails, has a hand grip like a vise, and came across as a straight shooter. It was clear we both loved straight razors. Just reporting, I thought I would add that to the list of reasons for a "barber's notch" on a straight razor.

Originally Posted by boshave

An old, retired, barber told me today the notch was for access to the openings of the nose to trim away unruly nose hair. The notch would ride on one edge while the barber gently cut away long nose hairs. He said he never used it that way but his mentors did. I don't think he was pulling my leg, because he was passionate about straights, his favorite hones, and how important great stropping was to the proper use of a straight. He claims none of the current crop of barbers has any idea of how to cut hair, much less use a straight. I claim no ability to judge veracity. I'm just relaying what I heard from someone who was a medic with long range recon in Viet Nam, and then became a barber. He is tough as nails, has a hand grip like a vise, and came across as a straight shooter. It was clear we both loved straight razors. Just reporting, I thought I would add that to the list of reasons for a "barber's notch" on a straight razor.

No barber shall dig my nostrils with that!
I sincerely hope it´s just a cosmetic thing! I just have one nose, so I prefer the barber playing with one of my two ears, unlike the drunken-by-absinth van Gogh, who thought to have two noses and four ears!.

He seemed to mean just the hairs that stick out, not the ones inside. It seems the older I get, the more hair I see growing out my ears and nose and the less on top... Even so I'll stick to the rotating blade manual nose hair trimmer and save the straights for my face!!

Originally Posted by boshave

He seemed to mean just the hairs that stick out, not the ones inside. It seems the older I get, the more hair I see growing out my ears and nose and the less on top... Even so I'll stick to the rotating blade manual nose hair trimmer and save the straights for my face!!

https://www.amazon.com/Dovo-Klippett.../dp/B000IB0G1Y

This is not really an answer, but I like just about anything that makes a razor unique, and although plentiful the notches are rarer than round points or squares, so it's a nice touch.

I had heard that is was suspected that the notch was or could be sharpened and used to cut around a mole????? I really don't know.