Thread: Surprised by his response

I went to a newly owned shave shop not from where I live..this place had all the fancy bells n whistles in it from strops to shaveguys who give ye a straight shave (so I thought)..they did have TOBS in every flavor ;-)...
Anyways...I was chatting with one of the shaveguys and the owner of the store and educated them a bit from what I have learned from this site and a few others about blades n cremes n such..I was shocked that the shaveguy shaves his customers first down with a straight razor then finishes with a Mach3 (I cringed little)....I asked him he doesnt get a straight and teach himself so he can shave customers completely..he told me didn't have the "huevos" for it nor to get his own...I laughed....he also showed me a feather replaceable blade and he told this would be better than any straight..I simply replied..well...average is a year before someone gets good at a straight razor...his reply was.."have a nice day"...boy o boy...whatta conversation!

pcdad

If this "shave guy" is scared to shave with a straight, well then is he really a "shave guy"?

Scared is kind of irrelevant. A replaceable blade is pretty much the only legal option in most of the country.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Scared is kind of irrelevant. A replaceable blade is pretty much the only legal option in most of the country.

Where are they legal?

The shavette looks like a potential germ magnet compared to a straight.

In Australia its illegal to use a straight commercially. Its supposed to be an OH&S issue.

Honestly, I'm not surprised. There are many barbers out there, including some old timers who were around in the glory days, who think that straights are a fools game. We hear about them here quite often.

Disappointing? For sure, but not really surprising.

I've not yet been able to find a prohibition against straight razors in barber shops in the US - does anyone have anything specific? My curiosity only

Originally Posted by jeffegg2

Where are they legal?

The shavette looks like a potential germ magnet compared to a straight.

Shavette - Disposable blades... Much more hygenic, especially with blood-carried infections taken into account.

And a real straight shave is legal in Ohio if you have a barber's license (I believe that's the stipulation... I know that Ohio allows straight shaves with the right license)

I think part of the problem is the stuff, if think it is called barbasol, that they soak their tools in. I honed a razor for my barber and it shaved pefectly. She has quite a few on her wall that people have given her over the years. I came back about two weeks later and it looked like hell. She only used it for a few days but it sits in that blue stuff all the time. The blade was black and completely dull and the horn handle had swollen and delaminated, actually peeled apart. She said by law it has to be in the barbasol. I don't know how much better a stainless would have fared, this was an old wedge, but that stuff is harsh. I had never seen a handle do that.
Kurt

I always wondered if infected blood was the problem couldn't they use and auto-clave. Although i guess they cost a bit of money. All the tattooists here have them.