Thread: The Truth About The Barber's Notch

How many times has this come up in the last few years ? I have joked and said that I thought a drunken grinder at Wade & Butcher miscued and accidentally notched the end of a wedge. The crew saw it and like the aesthetic and the rest is history.

I've read the supposition that it is for ease of opening the razor but since a square or a round point isn't difficult to open I wasn't convinced of that. I believe I have finally discovered the real deal on the barber's notch but I have to give a little personal background.

I had a mustache for decades. When I first got into 'wet shaving' in '06 I shaved DE and took the mustache off just out of the enthusiasm I had. It was something else to shave. Wasn't long before the call of the straight razor beckoned and I became a straight razor shaver exclusively. I continued to shave my upper lip clean in the ensuing years.

A few weeks ago I began raising a mustache again. Now I am not one of those who favors a bushy and full stache. I shave between the top of the mustache and taper it from the nostril to the end of my upper lip. Back in the early days of straight razors the mustache was probably more the rule rather than the exception.

I have found in the past few weeks that the barber's notch makes tapering the mustache, around the nostrils, so much easier than getting it done with a square or a round point, that I have to believe manicuring the mustache more easily is the motive for the barber's notch. YMMV.

Interesting point, my brain hasn't kicked in yet so may need a diagram or something. Thing is not all notches are set the same, some are higher up the end of the blade than others. I've just taken a pic of three of my razors that have notches to show this. Anyway, the debate is still open lol but it is a possibility (I just find them easier to open)

Originally Posted by Yorkie

Interesting point, my brain hasn't kicked in yet so may need a diagram or something. Thing is not all notches are set the same, some are higher up the end of the blade than others. I've just taken a pic of three of my razors that have notches to show this. Anyway, the debate is still open lol but it is a possibility (I just find them easier to open)

Good point ..... no pun intended .... I experienced this very thing in the past week. I recently bought the latest TI silverwing limited edition with barber's notch. It is perfect for getting around the nostrils to trim the area above the mustache. I mean where they placed the notch. Later that week I shaved with an 8/8 W&B "For Barber's Use" and the notch was higher up and not as easy to maneuver. Still more maneuverable than a point without the notch.

Makes complete sense to me actually, having limited experience with notches.

I was told years ago that the notch was to make it easier for barbers to work around the nose and nostril areas so I'd have to agree with you 100% Jim.

Wouldn't a panish point be even better for that kind of fine shaving work?

Here are three examples a TI, a W&B and a Waterville Cutlery. Mystic chords of memory .... The one with the wooden scales is the TI and I thought, as I posted above, that the notch was placed lower than the W&B. That is the way it seemed when shaving. The camera doesn't lie though and it appears they are equivalent. I guess the difference in ease of use is the 8/8 versus the 6/8. One way or the other, getting around between the schnozolla and the stache is more easily accomplished with the barber's notch IME. YMMV.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Wouldn't a panish point be even better for that kind of fine shaving work?

Panish point?

Just by looking at the older Sheffield styles, it seems like the notch and the spanish points may have separately evolved from points like these



Maybe with the advent of better hollowing technique using smaller wheels, the small wheels were naturally used to accent the razor design by creating smaller and differently sized notches in later years. This is all conjecture of course, just like everything else you've read regarding the supposedly original purpose of the barber's notches. But just like with the rest of the straight razor (no training wheels, you get full control), how you use it and how effective you want it to be is totally up to you

PS something else that is interesting to note is the comparative lives of barbers notches and the threads devoted to them. Just like the notches themselves, the threads have no apparent origin and cannot be definitively answered, yet they remain popular and are sure to keep popping up in the days, months, and years to come. Thank you Jimmy for creating another equally unique* entry in the neverending barber notch discussion book

For an explanation of the REAL real deal on the barber's notch go to this thread (just replace the word scuttle with barbers notch) here. The first person with a dozen threads dedicated to the barbers notch wins!




* the phrase "equally unique" is mine and mine alone. If you want a cool phrase too, you'll have to come up with something equally unique - er... hmm.

Can't we at least agree to call it by it's real name ??? and I think once we do, then we can simply ask the same question of all points..

What is the purpose of the
*Hollow Point aka Barber's Notch
Round point
Square point
Spike point
Spanish point
French/Oblique point
Dreadnought point
Etc: etc:

I tend to agree with the Hoglahoo if you start looking at the points on razors starting at 1800 you can kinda see a pattern there



*As of this point in time no one has ever found a pre-1970's factory or advertising reference to the name "Barber's Notch" in the old references they are called either Hollow Point or Hollow Notch razors...

Dutch point, aka Round point.