yep, gettin older...

[Nic Bledsoe]

so, I am on this DE jag... thinking about the pleasure of the DE experince... and laughing at the expense, and the depths to which some of our members go in pursuit of that 'perfect' shave..

anyway, because I am sooo old, not sure if this actually happened to me or not, so I am checkin in with you guys...

when I was just a kid, my dad would take me to his barber 'Bosco'.

Bosco was funny, and he had Playboy's in his magazine rack (not that I'd look!) and I'd always get the 'regular boys' cut, per my dad's instructions (hated it!)

anyway, at the end of the haircut, I 'seeeem' to recall that he would go to his lather machine, get a dollop, and very carefully apply the correct amount of quite warm lather, but just to my wispy thin sideburns, and then he would strop his str8, and oh so carefully, straighten my 'burns' with his razor...

OK, stop laughing... I 'd like to know if that really happened or not, and the only way to be sure is if someone else pipes in and an says, 'yeah, happened all the time...'

so, what is it? phantom memory, or reality??

 

[njpaddy]

My barbershop now does that at the end of my cut. Warm lather around sideburns, ear and back of neck, then trims these areas with a str8. Only difference between now and when I was a kid is that the barber now is usually a woman who speaks very little English. But I have no complaints, especially when a woman is holding a str8. And it's the old standby Clubman when she's done.

 

[bythbook]

yeah, it happened all the time.

'cept it happened in the barbershop in the old Union Hotel, Plattsburgh, NY in the late 50s and early 60s.

the barbershop was below street level, under the bar.

hot lather & a cold blade.

then a splash of stuff that smelled a lot like the stuff I use now, 50 years later.


Thanks for triggering the memories, sir.


.

 

[garyg]

so, I am on this DE jag... thinking about the pleasure of the DE experince... and laughing at the expense, and the depths to which some of our members go in pursuit of that 'perfect' shave..

anyway, because I am sooo old, not sure if this actually happened to me or not, so I am checkin in with you guys...

when I was just a kid, my dad would take me to his barber 'Bosco'.

Bosco was funny, and he had Playboy's in his magazine rack (not that I'd look!) and I'd always get the 'regular boys' cut, per my dad's instructions (hated it!)

anyway, at the end of the haircut, I 'seeeem' to recall that he would go to his lather machine, get a dollop, and very carefully apply the correct amount of quite warm lather, but just to my wispy thin sideburns, and then he would strop his str8, and oh so carefully, straighten my 'burns' with his razor...

OK, stop laughing... I 'd like to know if that really happened or not, and the only way to be sure is if someone else pipes in and an says, 'yeah, happened all the time...'

so, what is it? phantom memory, or reality??

You want old? When I was a lad Johnny the Barber would actually use a brush to make lather, strop, then trim the sideburns. My guy Orie today still does the same trim, but he's using the lather machine & a shavette

 

[BBrad]

Haven't experienced the hot lather straight razor finish to neck and sideburns for over 20 years at my local barbershops . . . oh, for the good old days!!

There was always something special about the razor finish . . . made you feel clean and well-groomed . . . and the clubman after shave . . . what a memory!

 

[Malacoda]

Roger that - and not just the side burns but the back of the neck as well... and this was still something every barber I went to did until just recently. Seems in the past four or five years many of the barbers here in Northern VA (I used to live in PA) now just use the electric clippers to clean the back of the neck - and I hate it. It just doesn't feel right or as 'complete/fulfilling' as that sensation of the straight edge gliding against the back of my neck and leaves me feeling kind of cheated...

Fortunately, those few barbers around here who DO still clean sideburns and collar line with a straight (even if it they are the no-sharpen/replacable-blade types) have started to reimplement the old habit of a hot towel wipe down and massage on the neck after the shave to clean of any remaining cream and relax the patron. I imagine it's nothing like a shave at Trumpers or Truefitt but sure beats nothing more than a few passes with the clippers.

 

[brianw]

Yup, Same thing only in Minneapolis....God am I old

 

[Hreafn]

You guys arent getting that old my old barber used his lather machine for the hot lather and a real srt8, if you took your brush and stuff into him he would whip up lather that way.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

The barber I went to as a kid, I'm 53, used a straight razor on the back of the neck, around the ears and evened the sideburns. As a finishing touch he put one of those electric massagers on the back of his hand and gave every customer a 5 minute scalp masage. Those were great!

 

[Antique Hoosier]

I still seek out these types of traditional establishments. BEST haircut I ever got was from an 80 yr old Italian Barber near my house in St Pete when I was in my late 20's (1989). Occassionally I wander into a barber shop... I'm currently going without a haircut for as long as I can hold out. I may even pull a Sir Ray on you guys.

 

[soapbox]

Still happens in the Alberta City barber shop, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (they use Shavettes though). Hot lather machine and all. Well, the last time I visited the shop in 1998 they were.

 

[VR6ofpain]

My barber growing up used to do the back of my neck with a straight and the warm lather machine. His name was Butch and he had a lot of good stories about the Merchant Marines. The best part was he was in his 50's and never learned to drive. He was a cool guy.

 

[davecmu]

Still happens in the Alberta City barber shop, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (they use Shavettes though). Hot lather machine and all. Well, the last time I visited the shop in 1998 they were.

Good tip, now I'll have to head over there. I wonder if I can talk the guy in the little one on University to try this, or maybe the one in downtown Northport.

When they close that Northport Barbershop, I'm going to try to buy one of the chairs. Soooooo comfy.

 

[TinFish]

The barber I went to as a kid, I'm 53, used a straight razor on the back of the neck, around the ears and evened the sideburns. As a finishing touch he put one of those electric massagers on the back of his hand and gave every customer a 5 minute scalp masage. Those were great!

Same here. They also finished off by wetting my hair with Jeris tonic and Jeris talcum powder brushed on with a big neck duster. I hated the short haircuts I had to get, but I always left smelling nice and clean.

 

[sedo]

my mom is a barber and she finishes my cuts by applying the best lather ever from the WARM LATHERING MACHINE in her store to my hair lines. She then carves the finishing touches with the straight.

She is amazing...

 

[bigfoot83]

Not a phantom memory at all! I've shared these types of memories with my wife and she's amazed how vivid they still are for me. My earliest barber shop memories are for this little place on a side street, three chairs, guys sitting in there talking all the time, joking with "the kid", and the entire back wall of the place was lined with shave mug holders / cubicles for all the regulars! It wasn't unusual for me to be getting my haircut and be able to peek over and see two guys getting st8 shaves.

My current barber uses a shavette to finish up, AV or Lilac Vegetal, and then the quick towel massage with a brush and powder finish. Ahhhh! Makes you right for the rest of the evening!

Dave

 

[Bertilak]

You guys think you're old? My barber would go out back and chip off a fresh piece of flint for my trim!

Seriously -- I think most barbers up through '50s and into the '60s would do that -- especially to young boys to give them a thrill. Happened to me.

 

[thunderball]

You guys think you're old? My barber would go out back and chip off a fresh piece of flint for my trim!

I'm lucky enough to get dealt to with a straight every time I get my hair cut...I do live in Japan though!

 

[soapbox]

Good tip, now I'll have to head over there. I wonder if I can talk the guy in the little one on University to try this, or maybe the one in downtown Northport.

When they close that Northport Barbershop, I'm going to try to buy one of the chairs. Soooooo comfy.

Again, the last time I was in there, Manley's barber shop on Loop Road was able to shave my neck with a Shavette, but I think he finally closed up shop. Maybe he's still got the chairs?

 

[Go West Young Man]

I got that kind of treatment in the mid/late 80's in Montreal.