Printable View
Hey! Wondering if there is a purpose in the "barber's notch" or if it's really just for looks. I don't mind if it is just for looks; I think it looks super cool. Really just a curiosity thing.
I'm still looking around on ebay, mostly just watching auctions to see what I can get a decent wade and butcher for, as this seems to be the favored brand.
By the way, I just saw a "Puma Gold 6/8" go for over $400 on ebay. Who has that kind of scratch for a razor?!
Anyone who buys one of Mastro Livi or Bill Ellis customs.
Danno,
Theories on the barbers notch.
1 - A guide for moles and blemishes
2- Easy one handed opening.
I definately don't believe the second theory
at all.
My guess is simply looks. Or at one time it
could have been some sort of marketing
gimmick.
Regardless, I also think they look cool.
Terry
I don't have a clue either but I find that when I do my chin area I usually use my off hand to stablize the razor during the S-N pass and that notch just seems to be made to order for that. Hmm...
Barber's notch is used for easier management of tricky places, like under the nose, because larger sizes barber razors can be difficult to guide there...
Nenad
When you're doing the coup-d-maitre, if you put your off-hand thumb in the notch it's really easy to pull off the pivoting-sliding motion, even with a big razor. The razor pivots around the shank and the notch very cleanly, and you've got two hands to control the razor as you slide down. That's the only use I've ever found for it.
Hmmm... if we only had an old-time barber as a member to tell us. Maybe one of the guys who get a barber shave occasionally can ask their tonsorial guru?:thinking:
Ok, ok ..., I'll tell you guys what it's for.Quote:
Originally Posted by azjoe
It's a sight. You use it to line up on the area you want to shave in the mirror. Then you just swoop the razor right into the 10-ring and whack the targeted whisker.
:w
Howard,Quote:
Originally Posted by Howard Wallace
I was thinking of saying the same thing.
I guess great minds think alike....... :)
Terry
It's for trimming the hair inside the nostril with the tip of the razor. Without it, there would be no way to get the nose hairs with the razor. Before you ask.. .no, I'm not joking and yes, it does work.
410.00 for the Puma Gold was a very fair price. :)
I gotta try that
I know some barbers use burning tapers for that. Has anyone here tried that method?
Just use caution, ice cow. I've done it and it works fine but it's easier for a barber than a self-shaver, I'd think. It just requires a bit of a gentle touch and it is nervewracking the first time to get that blade inside the nostril but that's why these razors are rounded at the tip. You sure wouldn't want to do it with a spike point, I'd think.
In addition for the other uses mentioned here, I ran across some info somewhere (don't remember where) that said the notch was used to lift the ends of a mustache so as not to cut any of it off while shaving around it.
Sounds plausable...
Most of these ideas about the notch sound reasonable. But you guys are crazy for putting something that sharp in your :rant: nose!!
I have an old Sears add that calls it a moustache notch,think maybe Robert and Bill got it right,its also handy for opening the razor Regards Gary
Does any one have a photo of this notch? This is a first for me, I have not heard of it before. Is this notch located on the blade?
When I trim mustache with my Dovo 5/8 around under my nose I twik my the razor on the spine and counter balance with the tang. When under my right nostril I used my left hand using a back hand stroke, and the right for the left side. The angle is about 80 degrees so it's easy going! I was thinking this notch is loacted at the angle between the spine and the handle. But I know it's not. Thanks for any help..Nick
The last example in the pic has a barber's notch at the tip of the blade... some are more pronounced than others.
http://home.comcast.net/~cherylellis...restore.02.jpg
Thanks for the photos..wow that's some edge. Is the spine that wide or is the angle of the photo. Anyway, this may be some creative thinking, but here it is. It may be there to make room for the nose parts. Like the flare of the nostrils? Ya know when that "sword" needs room just under the nose, that may prevent damage. Thanks for the photos..Nick
The spine is not that thick... it's an eliptical conclusion.
That section is a bevel.
Bill, I'm glad you posted those pictures. I've been collecting straights for many years and had always referred to that feature as a "Sheffield" notch. My friend and mentor who spread that dreaded disease on to me called it that, so I just carried on with the same name. I guess since I had only seen the notch on the older blades made in Sheffield, I never questioned the characterization. This more functional description offered in this thread makes more sense to me. I wonder if this is a regional term, or was my friend just "off base", as I have accused him of being about many things over the years.
Hey I was even worse. I thought it was characteristic only to W&Bs until I got a Walker with a barber's notch. Alas, the poor thing has gone missing in transit from Canada to Macedonia, together with a nice Von Cliffe and some other stuff. :cry: Still praying that it's been delayed and that it will arrive over the next month or so.
Your friend could be right. That makes sense, also. Or, maybe the first razors with the notch originated in England to give it the name. Torrey has the notch on some of their razors... they are based in the U.S. so it can't be just Sheffield. Maybe both terms are acceptable. Heck, the guys here at SRP made up the term toe to refer to the tip/point of a razor, so I guess anything is possible... and in this day and age... fair and equitable. :wQuote:
...and had always referred to that feature as a "Sheffield" notch.
... :roflmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by urleebird