Thread: Straight razors and a funeral parlor.

A recent ebay auction featured a razor from an undertakers supply company. Once upon a time, straights were the standard for a clean shaven dear departed. I for one am glad to hear that somewhere, someone has returned this feature to a most undervalued profession.
Thank you, in advance, for taking care of me! ( I wont be here to thank you later!)

Wow, thank you guys for your kind words and messages of support, there are too many to personaly respond to but I will do my best to answer one or two:

In my parlour I pride myself on a job well done, I trained in a firm that once belonged to my Grandfathers cousins and my mentor was my Great Uncles last apprentice, he had joined the firm at 16 and is now the owner of it at 55, so I am over the moon to be have been taught by a great master, he hates Funeral homes/parlours that rip people off and is proud to be independant of the corporate funeral movement, this proudness he instilled in ME as well as being able to hold your head up high knowing that your doing the best you can for a grieving family.

I like my mentor put the work above profit, helping a family is the primary concern and profit is secondary, with this in mind we produce high end funerals for a good price and if you cant afford it then tell me and we can work somthing out, I like my mentor am a tradationalist and sadly we are a dying breed within the trade as the trade creeks towards becoming more profit focused and more modern to keep up with the coporate funeral companies such as Dignity and Coop.

I have worked for the corporation and didnt like what I saw, Profit was put before a job well done, put before the familys well being and I turned my back on it, in my little place we pride ourselves on our so called old fashioned or backwards ways, the familys always come first and my clients that I take into care are looked after as though each and everyone of them is a member of my own family........if you cant set the bar high then why bother? treat everyone as though it was one of my own.

Ok a straight saves money but it does produce a better shave and with a face thats not quite so pliable as one would wish for I find the straight gets the job done with ease and comfort without any damage, I would never cut corners nor save a buck by pulling a fast one, in the long run I may never become a rich man through my work and yes I may struggle from time to time financialy but at leats I can hold my head up high and say "Ive done the best I can and become the best that I could be".

I just wish that others would follow and stop chasing the pound or the dollar, we would all be a lot happier if we all focused on the job well done or be content from the pleasure we get from knowing we have made a difference without putting costs and profit before all else.

Anyway, I find im rambling and though im no saint I can safely say that I do a good job and id be happy to shave any one of you guys when the time comes.

;-)

You got it right about the ripoffs that occur with people that are grieving and not mentally able to make sound decisions at the time.When my last brother died (age 36) I went to the funeral home with my mother,They tried to sell her a 5K casket.
B.S, we want a simple wood box,got one for 400 bux,Next scam,than sir we will proceed with the embalming process,that will be an additional 400 Bux,B.S, we do not want him embalmed,The guy was flabbergasted,but sir,it is the middle of summer and we must proceed with the process ASAP,B.S, you have him refridgerated,put his head back together (bad car accident) is no law in my state that says a person has to be embalmed (read Jessica Mitfords, the american way of death)
As you wish sir,simple ceremony,simple box,simple plot,all for under a grand.

Hi Pixelfixed,
I hear you for sure, the corporation funeral parlor i once worked for were just the same here in the UK, they were selling cheap coffins for extortiionate prices and insisted on embalming! I can get for a family a oak veneered quailty coffin for £300 whilst the corporation were charging £1000 for a foil (paper looking wood pasted over chip board)!!!!!!!!!!!! and dont get me started on embalming....its not neccessary and certainly not a legal requirement, I for one do not recommend it unless in extreme circumstances, after all part of my job is to dothe basic body prep which is included in my price.

I know we have strayed a bit off topic but I can tell you now Sir, that I can produce a funeral £1.600 and make a little but of profit, when the corporation I use to work for after my training was charging £4,000 for the cheapest no frills funeral that looked awefull.......with mine you get good quality service with no short cuts.

Yes, it is sad to see the degree at which people who work in "service based" professions have become distant, or altogether lost to the main purpose. That being the service you provide to the client. It is difficult to go to a barber now without feeling like it is a get in, get out, cut as many heads of hair a day as you can business, and from what you describe the same direction has even been gone in at funeral parlors. Im not familiar with what the restaurant trend is over in the UK, but the lack of detail most waitresses give to providing you with an enjoyable dinning experience is sick...and then they go and get mad if you dont tip them the "standard amount"
So i commend you for your work, and hope someday more people start to take the pride in their work that your do.

I applaud you Sherborne. I have the same angst that you do over the end 'goals' that many have in our world. It doesn't make me angry, just more anxious and nervous. So I applaud you for all that you do across the pond. I enjoy the old fashioned, backwards ways. They are more fulfilling, and make me at least, a happier person.

Now I just need to find a way to free myself from it all and start being more backwards!!!!

I too applaud your ethics and class and quality of what you do. The straight certainly requires more effort/time than another method, but it bespeaks a caring approach. Kudos to you.

Planning on being 'ashed' and put in a relatives closet somewhere. Sorry.

Wish I could patch my cuts and nicks with a little putty or bondo!

"The American Way of Death" by Jessica Mitsford is MUST READING!!! Read it before something happens. You will not be in the mood to research or negotiate when the time comes for you to do so. We lost a daughter a few years back, that is one deep and ungodly hole to climb out of. Funeral homes are a major rip off waiting to prey on the bereaved.