Shaving for me can quite an ordeal. If I go more than two days without shaving, I end up dulling a brand new razor fairly quickly. The straight razor shave is something that has always intrigued me, however I have yet to find a barber that does them.
I first thought the lack of straight razor shaves was related to people fearing the accidental slice of the jugular. However after some research and talking to a barber, I have found that is not always the case.
I was cruising up the escalator in building on 4th ave, making my way up to the new library. I passed a place called Capellis *A Gentlemen’s Barbershop*. I popped in and decided to ask them about the Straight Razor Shave.
The woman I spoke to informed me that she knew of only one barber shop in Seattle that still practices this lost art: 5th ave Barber Shop. Even then it is by appt. only, and she could not say for certain that just anyone could schedule one. I also learned a little bit about its extinction:
Straight Razor Shaves take a long time, and there for usually cost as much as a good haircut
It is generally not taught anymore, where as back in the day barbers would practice on balloons
With the possibility of bloodletting comes the potential to spread disease
Keeping your straight razors sanitary is a pain, some that still do it use disposable straight razors
So one of these days when my Gillette Mach 3 has frustrated me to no end, I will go and search out this mystic barber at the 5th ave Barber Shop, and see if I can weasel myself in for appointment with his cool steel. Until then I leave you with some interesting facts on shaving:
Some of the first known shavers used clamshells and flints over a 1000 years ago to shave
The Greeks and Romans around 330 BC started considering it a battle necessity to shave, and those that did not shave were referred to as “barbarians”, because they were unbarbered.