Tommy Gun's

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02-26-2012, 03:16 PM
Firefighter2

Tommy Gun's

Hi guys! I recently went to a newly opened Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop for a haircut & shave. It wasn't as original as I expected, as for hygenic reasons (I assume), they used Shavettes instead of a straight & strop. Their advertising shows a picture of a strop, so I was kind of expecting a shave like you would get in an old barbershop. The preperation & use of the hot towels was good, but although it was a very comfortable shave, the results weren't as good as if I had done it. (This may be due to my OCD!) I guess it depends greatly on the barber, (these were all young women, easy to look at but lacking the experience of an old traditional barber!) I also noticed that they used Baxter products, which I have never used before, but were very smooth on my skin. All in all it was a very comfortable shave, but not the results or nostalgia that I was expecting. I've never heard of this place before, but apparently they're all over the place! Anyone else been to Tommy Gun's?
02-26-2012, 03:31 PM
Ryan82

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firefighter2

Hi guys! I recently went to a newly opened Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop for a haircut & shave. It wasn't as original as I expected, as for hygenic reasons (I assume), they used Shavettes instead of a straight & strop. Their advertising shows a picture of a strop, so I was kind of expecting a shave like you would get in an old barbershop. The preperation & use of the hot towels was good, but although it was a very comfortable shave, the results weren't as good as if I had done it. (This may be due to my OCD!) I guess it depends greatly on the barber, (these were all young women, easy to look at but lacking the experience of an old traditional barber!) I also noticed that they used Baxter products, which I have never used before, but were very smooth on my skin. All in all it was a very comfortable shave, but not the results or nostalgia that I was expecting.

Yeah, Tommy Gun's is about 5 minutes from my house. Last I checked the price for a shave was pretty steep - $35 or $40 - so I gave up on that and decided I could do it myself for far less :). I did notice on their website that they have a picture of a Feather AC, is that what they used?

PS - I have been tempted to walk in and pretend to know absolutely nothing about straight shaving, and see what the 20 year old hairdresser would try to "teach" me, but then there's that good old price tag thing again...
02-27-2012, 05:34 PM
timj219

Come on guys. It's not about the shave. It's about an attractive young woman pressing herself against you as she leans over to shave your face. You can't do that for yourself!
02-27-2012, 06:50 PM
Firefighter2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Yeah, Tommy Gun's is about 5 minutes from my house. Last I checked the price for a shave was pretty steep - $35 or $40 - so I gave up on that and decided I could do it myself for far less :). I did notice on their website that they have a picture of a Feather AC, is that what they used?

PS - I have been tempted to walk in and pretend to know absolutely nothing about straight shaving, and see what the 20 year old hairdresser would try to "teach" me, but then there's that good old price tag thing again...

Yes, I believe it was a feather. The handle was a translucent green. I told her I'd been using a straight for a few years now, so we had a friendly bet to see if her shave would be smoother, (she said she was a perfectionist.) When the shave was done, not only could I feel stubble, but I could see it as well! This doesn't really suprise me, as I know my face better than her, but like you say, my shaves are free, not $40.00. The haircut was good though! The whole process is timed, and it took exactly 64 minutes from when I sat down until I walked out.
02-27-2012, 06:53 PM
Firefighter2

Quote:

Originally Posted by timj219

Come on guys. It's not about the shave. It's about an attractive young woman pressing herself against you as she leans over to shave your face. You can't do that for yourself!

This is very true!
02-27-2012, 10:33 PM
thebigspendur

What is it they used to say a few years ago "all show and no go".
02-28-2012, 04:09 PM
bondpunk

$35-$40 for a shave ouch
02-28-2012, 05:21 PM
Zolon

Was a place in Bellevue, WA called Flints. Went twice, and both times were worth the $50. As I am taller than most people, they actually went out of thei way to have a bigger chair the next time I came in.

Sadly, they did use a shavette as the laws require. Health and safety issues they were told.

Even more sadly, they ended up closing for lack of clients.

-Z
02-28-2012, 11:45 PM
Ryan82

Quote:

Originally Posted by bondpunk

$35-$40 for a shave ouch

Yeah - tack on a haircut and you're out $70. It's a high end "male boutique"...
03-01-2012, 02:01 AM
bondpunk

around here I can get shave,haircut, and nice tip for 30.
03-01-2012, 03:47 AM
Grizzley1

What if you brought your own razor? could they use it then??
03-04-2012, 03:16 PM
Firefighter2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grizzley1

What if you brought your own razor? could they use it then??

I thought of that also, but I'm guessing not, as they are probably specifically trained with the shavette.
03-05-2012, 12:46 AM
fifty

I too

I too recently went to a tommy guns in AB. cant say anything bad about it. the lady replaced the blades 3 time so I got a good shave. she really took her time to ensure a smooth cut. I also took my son there for his first shave. they treated him like a young man and he left feeling good about himself. all and all a good exp.
03-05-2012, 06:22 PM
Firefighter2

Quote:

Originally Posted by fifty

I too recently went to a tommy guns in AB. cant say anything bad about it. the lady replaced the blades 3 time so I got a good shave. she really took her time to ensure a smooth cut. I also took my son there for his first shave. they treated him like a young man and he left feeling good about himself. all and all a good exp.

It sounds like you got a good barber, glad to hear that you had a good experience.
03-13-2012, 10:58 PM
ryanjewell

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Yeah - tack on a haircut and you're out $70. It's a high end "male boutique"...

man, so much for the days of "shave and a haircut, two bits"

now it's shave and a haircut or a tub of AdP...
03-14-2012, 02:56 PM
Str8RazorSerg

Quote:

Originally Posted by bondpunk

around here I can get shave,haircut, and nice tip for 30.

I can get a decent shave & haircut at an old-school barber shop for about the same...and I'm out here in 'pricey' California. I also know of a place that gives shaves using real straight razors. Sign up & pay for an annual membership, and they keep & maintain your own personal razor, mug, and brush; your equipment is not used on anyone else.
03-14-2012, 05:19 PM
RNMike

What's the name of the place? Sounds cool!
03-14-2012, 07:05 PM
Double0757

Well, I have a horror story not so much the shave but what the barber ended doing to my blade.

So, I do this TNT test on both of my blades to see how the edge felt. One was the control, the other, the daily shaver. Inadvertently I ended up ruining the edge on both. Later I read the TNT would ruin the edge. I send one out immediately, the other, I try to hone myself. Being first time I thought of looking for an old barber that would still shave with str8. Stop in about 5 barber shops that looked like they would have an old barber, and found one.

I explain to the barber and he tell me he can help me by teaching me how to hone them. So a few days later I'm at the barbershop and he can't find his only stone to hone it (I'm assuming at this time is a barber's hone). Show him the blade, he gets exited, ask me where I bought it and else. Tell him since he could not help me with the hone (I offered to pay him for his time since it was during business hours) that I would get a haircut ($16.00). It was a shevette straight. He preps, lather, first pass, then ask if he could use my dovo. I eagerly agree and tell him it is on the dull side. He proceeds to strop my blade on an old strop that looked its has been trough hell and back. As he is starting to strop he slices a good long cut on the already beat up strop. He starts again and after a while he gets his rhythm and to my horror, he starts slapping the blade on the leather.

He tries to shave and it is now really dull. From frustration (my guess), he throws the open blade on his counter and I hear the clinging of metal bouncing from one another, my heart skip a beat. He finish the shave (not bad except for a bit of razor burn from the cartridge he used at the end), I pay and go home.

On the loupe, the edge reveals its damage. Numerous micro chips and several dings. Took me hours of honing (been my first time) to get an edge back, and an edge I got , see the post http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...dovo-inox.html

And that is my horror story. Double O
08-21-2014, 06:56 PM
chinook

I'm actually starting formal, full-time, "Old Style" barber training myself Sep 15 at registered and accredited Hair Art Academy here in Surrey, BC. In addition to all the cuts I will be learning, I will also receive at least one month's training on "Old Style" straight-razor shaves.

Speaking of Tommy Guns though, I actually walked into the first one I'd ever seen last fall at Guildford Town Centre here in Surrey, BC to get some "competitor research." The woman I spoke to told me staff at Tommy Guns only get 2 or 3 days' training on straight razor shaving in good ol' Calgary (yes - all the way in Calgary because it's still fairly limited here in the Lower Mainland of BC as far as straight razor shaving and "Old Style" Barbering goes; London School of Hairdressing in Vancouver teaches it, but does not spend nearly as much time on straight razor shaves training as Hair Art Academy will.)

I've already heard numerous reports of Tommy Guns customers receiving incomplete shaves and they feel they could "do a better job themselves..."

So with only 2 or 3 days' training on straight razor shaving (when it should actually be more like a month at a registered and accredited school such as Hair Art Academy), is it really any wonder why the shaves fall short at Tommy Guns and other barber shops that didn't receive sufficient training?
08-21-2014, 07:08 PM
Siguy

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

What is it they used to say a few years ago "all show and no go".

Whoops. I was thinking "riden hard and put away wet". I guess out trains of thought diverged somewhere along the line.

Haircuts are $11 here. I never went to shave route as I talked to one of the male barbers that did the shaves and he was obviously not SR knowledgable in the least. He also didn't strike me as the stable type either. He's gone now anyhow :shrug: