Thread: A shave back in time

(Wasn't sure where to post this -- here or SOTD?)

On valentine's day I opened the card my wife gave me and inside was a gift voucher for a gentleman's shave at Truefitt & Hill in London. What can I say, she's an angel! So today I had my appointment there. And what a experience it was!

Got off the tube at Green Park on what felt like a beautiful sunny spring morning. The daffodils were coming through in the park and Buckingham Palace was glinting on the other side of the park. T&H was 5 minutes away on foot, so I took my time strolling there. What a blast, it was like stepping back in time (if you could mentally block out the cars).

First place of note along the way was walking past The Ritz hotel.

Watching the guests going in and out of the lobby, it struck me that's a world I'll never know! At the end of the columns you see above (left side of picture) was the corner of the building which was Caviar House where you can spend hundreds of dollars on a small tin of fish eggs.

Turned the corner onto St James Street, walked past D.R. Harris Chemist and Perfumier straight out of the 19th century,and James Fox Cigar Merchant.


Suddenly, there in front of me was T&H with the royal blue signage.


In terms of the shave, it was everything I expected. Relaxing, luxurious, friendly. The old Italian guy who shaved me (Jimmy) was such a pro. The hot perfumed towels nearly sent me to sleep at one stage! Inside it was all old oak panelling, old style barber chairs etc. An oasis of calm.

What I wasn't prepared for was how much I learned! Now I know the sort of consistency of lather to aim for, how sharp my blade should be (without a doubt it's not sharp enough, but the Norton's are coming soon!), even how to stretch my skin better. The strokes to use, how to do the top lip. Not only was it a treat, it was a hell of a lesson.

After the finishing (more hot towels, massaging balm into my face) I gave Jimmy a respectable tip. Boy am I glad I did! As I turned to leave, Jimmy asks if I got those scars from trying to shave myself (they're barely perceptible and very superficial darker markings on my skin which disappear a week after I nick myself... until I do it again!). I said yes and there began a 20-minute tutorial from Jimmy. We discussed everything from how to hone (he showed me with a Dovo Inox -- I have a Dovo Bismarck), to stropping, to shaving technique, and my own big problem: how to shave the top lip.

Regarding the top lip, Jimmy's advice was never to go against the grain. He used the Coup de Maitre whilst shaving me, and then showed me afterwards how to do it myself. He showed me a different way of stretching the skin there, and his own preference was to go WTG first pass and XTG second, but never ATG "because you can cut your nose off easy!" (with a thick Italian accent).

We chatted some more and he told me he would like to know how I get on. Nice guy. When I asked him how long he had been doing this (I put Jimmy in his early 60s), he looked at me and smiled, saying "This is the first time I have shaved YOU." I laughed and the lady behind the counter shot me a glance and said "you have just been shaved by probably one of the most experienced in London!".

Well, the cost prevents me from going regularly, but I reckon I'm going back again some time to learn more. There's also Trumper's to try. I highly recommend all newbies to spend the money and try this out, because you will learn more from the touch and feel of the experience than you can imagine.

Afterwards I went for a stroll int he park nearby and found myself in front of Buckingham Palace just like a tourist. Not sure why, but a huge procession of the Queen's guard (with the big fluffy 'hats') was doing the marching brass band thing.

It really was quite surreal. How it must have been in the 19th century!

What a wonderful experience! Thanks for sharing with such a great writeup!! Makes me want to hop on the next flight over, lol

What razor did he use to shave you?

Pleasure to share!

That was the only slightly disappointing part of the experience -- the razor. He used a feather razor with a new blade. I told him about the Dovo and so he used a Dovo for the 'tutorial'. He had an interesting tip for me as a newb: buy a feather razor and practice without a blade in it. Just so I can get used to using my off hand, the angle and feel, the fine movement etc. without danger of cutting myself. An interesting concept.

Those are neat experiences. What did he say about honing and stropping?

Great writeup.

Nobody here would object to even more details than you've already given. Be verbose!

He asked me to show him how I hone, the action, speed, etc. asking me how much weight I used etc. and he was happy to tell me that I had it right in theory and wasn't doing anything wrong but I needed to practice for many years! When I asked him how to tell when to stop honing, he told me a test which I have yet to read on this forum. (Totally forgot to mention this in my report.)

He asked how I currently tested, and I said ultimately by shaving, but I also favoured the thumbnail test as I could feel the edge so well through it. He looked shocked and said that will dull the blade (which surprised me to be honest). So I asked if he used the HHT or thumbpad and he said neither and proceeded to show me his way.

He took his off hand and held it out flat, palm facing up. He then brought his fingers of that hand (all four) down onto the meaty pad of skin beneath his thumb (the ball? of the hand) and proceeded to stretch the skin taut, his thumb sticking out straight. Holding the razor in his other (dominant) hand, he then VERY GENTLY took the razor edge at about 20 degrees to the skin of the meaty pad, spine of razor towards his body (i.e. edge away from body on the meaty pad). And then VERY gently (almost imperceptibly) ran the edge along the stretched skin in very short strokes until he had worked his way along the entire length. He couldn't stress enough that NO PRESSURE should be used.

I was pretty horrified and asked why this technique. He said he swore he could feel the state of the edge much better than through a thumbnail and it wouldn't dull the edge at all.

I have to say that I'm not confident about trying this, and I feel kind of worried about describing it on this board in case anyone tries it out with bad results (you know what I mean!) so I'm saying right now I'm not recommending this at all!

Not sure if my description is clumsy. If so, I'll try and take a photo of how he stretched the skin on his pad beneath the thumb to illustrate.

Has anyone heard of this technique?

I think we all have the stretched skin part.

It's the "ran the edge along the stretched skn in very short strokes" part that has me unsure.

Never heard of it. It sounds like another variation of the great thumbpad test, only at a different location. Pictures would be great!

I enjoyed reading that; thank you for sharing it!

Wow, I may have to look into that. There is a chance that I will be in London next year around this time. I will hopefully be stopping over for a day or two on my way to Israel. If there is time then I will have to do this. I am sure there are similar place here in the states or even Barbers here in Tucson AZ that will shave you like this. But what you described seemed very special. If I get the chance then I most certainly will do this. I am guessing appointments must be made, but how far in advance? This will probably take some careful timing.

Matt