Thread: Beat-up

Has anyone ever experienced some form of bias against straight shaving? I went to a local barber shop here in my mid-sized Arizona town an hour ago, and while getting my hair cut I asked if there was a local professional who could hone razors and teach me to hone razors. Well, that question led to "why", so I explained.

You would have thought I pistol-whipped a puppy in front of those guys. "Just because you have a straight razor does not mean you know how to shave." "Why would you want to do that?" "Good luck [sarcastically]."

This situation reminded me of a similar situation in another local barber shop years ago when I became engaged to my wife. All I heard was, "There goes your life," "Might as well give-up your decision making", "Get ready to be wrong about everything", "Say good-bye to your sex life", ect. By the way, my wife is awesome and we have a wonderful marrigage. We have never fought; the most we have done is scoff at one another and roll our eyes.

I did not understand it. Are there many men out there with bad experiences with straight shaving who knock those who are trying it, or did I just get mixed-up with a small group of nay-sayers?

You just got mixed up with a bunch of idiots. It is very easy to put down what you have never tried. You should have asked them if any of them had ever done it. I will bet dollars to donuts that not one would have said yes. I told my wife when we got married that 80% of the people in the world are stupid, she said I was crazy. We have been married 28 years and now she thinks the figure is 90%....

I suggest you go back there and stab them all in the face. Twice.

I expect that since straight shaving has been a dying art until SRP came along many people didn't know how to dare for a straight razor and maybe tried shaving with one that wasn't honed properly. I had five I picked up at an auction 20 years ago and wan't able to find any info from people or books that would show me the ways. Several years ago I asked my barber the same question, He told me I had sensitive skin and should forget about it. It wasn't until my son started shaving that I broke out the straights and renewed my interest. Then I found SRP and shaving has never been the same.

Also, I'm sure we all know some people that should never have a straight razor near them. Busy Barbers properly know of a lot of them.

Gotta say it again, SRP and the people here are GREAT!! They were able to teach me how to hone and use a straight razor w/o ever meeting any of them. Having SRP meets improved my leanings and helped me pass then along to others. Thanks to all of you for you help!

A man who shaves himself with a straight has a fool for a customer. Ever hear something remotely like that before? Har har.

Originally Posted by RichZ

You just got mixed up with a bunch of idiots. It is very easy to put down what you have never tried. You should have asked them if any of them had ever done it. I will bet dollars to donuts that not one would have said yes. I told my wife when we got married that 80% of the people in the world are stupid, she said I was crazy. We have been married 28 years and now she thinks the figure is 90%....

90% is about right. That cracked me up. I have a saying that goes with your wife's percentage: "Common sense is not common."

Originally Posted by Proraso Man

The barber's response about straight shaving could be simply job security. Even though they may not offer straight shaves, I bet barbers can't be "living off the fat of the land" right now for a few reasons:

1) the current recession
2) Great clips
3) the resurgence of DE and Str8 users
4) DIY'ers and people who cut their own hair.

Maybe I'm looking too into it but I could see them getting mad about someone wanting to do a traditional barber shop shave at home....

Well, to be honest, the two barbers in the shop gave me honing advice. It was the three customers, all in their late 50's to mid-60's, who scoffed.

I am not daunted in the least about this pursuit. Heck, if a life-long stutterer can get his private pilot's license--talking to the tower was alway fun--then I can get this eventually.

Human nature is always neat to observe. It is funny how some people believe that just because they cannot accomplish something, then no one can. Oh well.

Originally Posted by Proraso Man

what town would that be? I'm in north-west Phoenix

Sir, I currently live in Kingman, Arizona. I know, I know, but the housing was affordable. We had enough from the sale of our home in Flagstaff to put solar pannels on the new home in Kingman. I have to take the good with the bad.

I am reminiscent of a line from Point Break with Patrick Swazy and Kenau Reeves. Patrick's character said to Kenau's character about him [Kenau] being a lawyer, "Well, at least your surfing." Now, even though I am in Kingman, I can say, "Well, at least I am straight shaving."

Sound like a bunch of idiots, but you should go in there and give a shave demo to em.

Show them how it's done, and how cool it really is!

You might make some new friends, and you may even bring some converts into the fold.

When I first started straight shaving and would mention it to people I think they could sense my wide eyed excitement and I did frequently hear that sort of thing. Now when I mention it people hear my confidence and experience. Maybe it helps that I've learned to give them an "I know something you don't" look and they don't tend to scoff as much now. At least that's my perception.

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