Thread: At The Barbershop

I am just shy of six months of experience shaving with a straight razor and my local barber has been very encouraging and helpful during this time. He has been cutting my hair for almost twenty years. He constantly instructed me to use the lightest of pressure when using a straight razor. I thought I had progressed really well with more and more consistent shaves but today when I got my haircut, he shaved my sideburns and the back of my neck with a straight. His touch was so light that it was like a piece of silk had run across my neck. I never had the sensation of a razor touching my skin. I just felt a light tickle but the result was a smooth and close shave. It made me realize just how barbarian my shaving technique is in comparison to his.

Now I won't be happy until I can get that same light touch in my shaves. He has given me a new goal. Wow! What an eye opener.

His establishment is an old time downtown barber shop in the lower floor of an eight-story lawyer's building complete with a revolving barber's pole out front. He started working there just after he got back from serving in WWII and recently quasi-retired and sold the shop but still comes in three days a week. It has the old time cash register and the old time shoe shine stand. A lot of the university professors, lawyers, judges, and professional people frequent his shop for a haircut and/or shave. I told him, "You cannot retire until I pass away." At age 68, I am too old to adjust to a new barber. In retrospect, going to his shop every two weeks is one of the great pleasures in my routine. My first haircut was really great and I am now glad that I started a tradition of tipping him 30% at every visit. It was a wise investment.

I always try to be light with the straight when shaving because there is always some skin irritation at the end of every shave. But one click lighter to what I routinely use, and I will not cut the hair.
My impression is that full hollows and especially 5/8ths are too light and need hand pressure to do the work. While, wedge, or near wedge blades, especially 6/8ths and larger, are heavier and can cut the hair with extremely light hand pressure (not pressure, guidance).

So, my opinion is that blade type and especially blade weight matters.
For me, full hollows are less smooth razors than non-full hollows.

I wrote a long thread about this important idea a few months ago. What the barber is doing goes beyond the idea of using a light touch. Think in terms of applying a stroke without laying the weight of the bade on the skin.

I was a straight shaving hack until I received some professional instruction from a barber instructor. Those guys built up some wicked skills.

AFDavis11 can you link us to that thread mate. It would be interesting to read it.


Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

AFDavis11 can you link us to that thread mate. It would be interesting to read it.


Mick

I think that this may be the one, Mick:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...tml?highlight=

Glad to hear that you have a great barber. My experiences with barber shaves have been less than stellar - extreme close shaves, but massive irritation and cuts. Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who has endured a bad barber shave or two. Good to hear a success story!

Originally Posted by Slur

My impression is that full hollows and especially 5/8ths are too light and need hand pressure to do the work. While, wedge, or near wedge blades, especially 6/8ths and larger, are heavier and can cut the hair with extremely light hand pressure (not pressure, guidance).

So, my opinion is that blade type and especially blade weight matters.
For me, full hollows are less smooth razors than non-full hollows.

Sorry, but I disagree. This thread is about barbers, and the weapon of choice for professional barbers around the world? You guessed it, full hollowed razors. If full hollows were less smooth and far too light compared to heavy grind razors, they never would have replaced the wedge as the tool of the pros.

Keep practicing with the hollows, mate. Perhaps one day you'll come to prefer them over heavy grind razors

Thanks, that was a great read. You are fortunate to have a good barber/shaver so close. Here is an article that was in
last weeks San Francisco Chronicle. This barber actually teaches a class for his interested customers. I hope the link works.

Straight razor shave - S.F. barber shows how

Having an experienced old time barber who still gives shaves like that gives folks an idea what a really good shave is all about. You probably don't know how lucky you are. Just think, many years ago anyone could go into a local shop and get a shave like that.

Originally Posted by lz6

Thanks, that was a great read. You are fortunate to have a good barber/shaver so close. Here is an article that was in
last weeks San Francisco Chronicle. This barber actually teaches a class for his interested customers. I hope the link works.

Straight razor shave - S.F. barber shows how

Reading that article, in one place it says 'genuine straight razor', but then towards the end it alludes to a Shavette with the use of the words 'includes razor, blade...' , I ill just assume that a Shavette was used throughout the entire proceedure, as that seems to be the way of things these days.
Good that someone in a position like that is taking the intiative though. Needs to be more of it.


Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

Reading that article, in one place it says 'genuine straight razor', but then towards the end it alludes to a Shavette with the use of the words 'includes razor, blade...' , I ill just assume that a Shavette was used throughout the entire proceedure, as that seems to be the way of things these days.
Good that someone in a position like that is taking the intiative though. Needs to be more of it.
Mick

My barber still uses a regular straight razor for me. I don't know whether he always does that for everyone else or if he does it for me because he knows I use a straight at home.