Rant: Kids these days don't know how to use a straight razor

I was training this new kid last week, maybe 22 years old. He's got all the fancy clippers and knows every fade on Instagram. But I handed him my straight razor to do a neck cleanup and he looked at me like I handed him a sword. Three years ago I started at a shop in St. Louis where the old timer there made me practice on a balloon for two months before I touched a real blade. This guy couldn't even hold the angle right on the first try. Has anyone else noticed younger barbers skipping the old school stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

willow73221d ago

That straight razor thing is a lost art for sure. But what nobody’s talking about is how the whole culture around barbering has changed. When I was coming up, the old school guys treated that blade like a rite of passage. Now it’s all about the flashy clippers and making videos for social media. A straight razor ain’t gonna get you likes on Instagram, so the young guys just skip it.

riverp3721d ago

I mean, I get what you're saying @willow732 about the rite of passage thing, but is it really that deep? It's a neck shave, not brain surgery. The kid will still get the hair off with a shavette or even a regular razor if he has to. Not every barber needs to be a straight razor wizard if their clients are happy with the clipper work. I learned on a balloon too and honestly, I spent more time popping balloons than actually learning to shave someone without cutting them.