What would you do?

[KW Driver]

nope.....not at all.

may not be well received but this is one of the times in life I'd be bluntly honest with him.....for his own good as a barber.

(1) take care of your stuff if you're a wage earning professional Barber.

(2) could potentially lose clients if you half measure this maintenance step.

(3) have some pride and care with your own craft for God's sake.

i wouldnt let this person cut my hair. (and I clipper buzz my own hair).....much less provide a straight shave.

maybe I'm being too critical but that's how I see it.

camo

that covers it perfectly for me.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I don't have prized razors, but they are all solid performers that are well maintained. Most were under $20. My favorite was around $60 and professionally honed. It really doesn't take much. If he can't put the minimum effort to maintain the razors he has, adding another won't help.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Njguy1977]

Matt, here is my view of the whole thing. He is a barber/future barber to him a razor is like a taxi cab. It’s there to make money and be used a lot as it would be with any razor he would have. He’s best to stick with the shavettes and gold dollars, they are cheap and there is plenty to go around. There is no WAY I would sell one of the razors I have restored to a barber UNLESS it’s for personal use and He/She can appreciate the work and craftsmanship that went into restoring that piece.

Larry

 

[RumpleBearskin]

I'm going to take the odd track here (nothing new there). It seems to me the question is more about you than about him. I think the question you should be asking is "Why an I selling razors?"

If your goal is to turn a profit and make some income, then once you sell it it's out of your hands. Literally. The buyer may love and care for it or treat it like dirt and even destroy it. You still have an option to not sell to some potential customers, but the justifications for that tend to stand pretty high on the moral ground.

If, on the other hand, you are selling to promote the hobby and true appreciation of these functional works of art and memories of simpler times, then you can, and should be, much more discerning to whom you sell. (But then don't expect to get rich from it.)

Personally, I would sell him strictly user grade pieces, and plan on repeat business servicing them since he can't seem to take care of his tools.

 

[steveclarkus]

Send him a Trac III.

 

[CCR]

Sorry for the long post, rant alert!


Hi guys, I’m impressed by the feelings and emotions a hobby can elicit from a devoted follower. Also, by those who are really excited to start collecting and who want to throw themselves into a hobby, head first.

Recently, due to a Facebook group I’m in, I met a new convert to wet shaving who needed help learning to strop, hone, and restore his razors. He is also a new barber, right out of barber school, who has started cutting my hair(it’s a pandemic, I work from home, not scared of terrible hair cuts).

After my haircut this week, I showed him 3 razors, he was interested in buying. He had recently dropped his 4/8 Boker while stropping, it shattered. While he was looking at my razors, I asked to take a look at his other blades. I discovered blades covered in hair, oil and rust(edge rust, spots and pivot). Several of these blades I had personally spent time cleaning up and honing for him. He commented that many of them needed to be honed again and that their edges had only lasted a few shaves.... He made me an offer on one of my blades(trading one of his rusted ones and some cash), but I turned him down and was not willing to negotiate. I said maybe I’ll be willing to part with it on my next visit.

In all honesty, I couldn’t bring myself to sell him a blade which I had spent hours cleaning up and honing. In addition to months of patient waiting, while watching for a set of period replacement scales, from a broken version of the same razor. I think my devotion to cleaning up and protecting these relics has pushed me to be somewhat protective. Granted, it would not be my razor anymore, so it’s none of my business what he does with it, but still!

I did chat with him about basic maintenance and care before I left. I also pointed out some condition issues with his razors, in hopes that he would be more diligent in the future.

Gentlemen, what would you do? Would you willingly sell one of your prized razors to someone with limited regard for maintenance and care?


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Sounds like the guy just got into it because he thinks it's cool. Nope i would not sell him a thing. I would have treated him the same way he treats his razors , with zero respect then i would be blunt and ask him if he was lazy as a child too, because he damn sure is as an adult.
And if you don't want to be blunt and call him out, there are other ways to get your point across. Like just say.
" Dude i can't believe your fat *** wife is to lazy to clean and hone your razors" then pause for sec...... then say only teasing ya

 

[Luecke2326]

Sounds like the guy just got into it because he thinks it's cool. Nope i would not sell him a thing. I would have treated him the same way he treats his razors , with zero respect then i would be blunt and ask him if he was lazy as a child too, because he damn sure is as an adult.
And if you don't want to be blunt and call him out, there are other ways to get your point across. Like just say.
" Dude i can't believe your fat *** wife is to lazy to clean and hone your razors" then pause for sec...... then say only teasing ya

There’s definitely something to be said for a good pause after making an insult like that
I will continue mentoring him, but I won’t sell him any and I’ll charge him full for a honing.
thanks