TheShaveDen
Aug
08
-Barbers-
(Part 1)
(Not my great grandfathers shop)
Barbers, we all know at least one, but do we know what they really do? Just what does it mean to be a barber? Is it really just cutting and styling hair? And best of all, giving us average Joe’s an awesome straight razor shave leaving us baby butt smooth? Or is there something more to being a barber than meets the eye?
I’ve been wondering and asking myself these questions a lot lately. Maybe out of curiosity, perhaps more so since I just started barber college myself. Now, as far as my family goes, I will not be the first barber. That honor went to my great grandfather who owned a shop up in Youngstown, Ohio. He had passed before I was born, but I have seen photos of him at his shop from my aunt. In most of them, you can tell they are posed, he is standing stiff beside a customer with a cape on, shears or razor in his hand. The wall behind him covered with customers shave mugs. What really stands out is his pressed white jacket in the black and white photos. You can almost smell the soaps and tonics sitting on the shelves. After him, several of my cousins have picked up the trade and kept it alive in our family, all being able to make a fairly good living at it.
And now, here I stand where they once were, separated by time, but connected by tradition. You all know that feeling you get when you pick up that vintage razor and you wonder just where it‘s been, and who has used it? That little bit of awe feeling you get, knowing someone else in time once shared this little piece of history? Yeah, I got that feeling….
Now, enough of me, lets take a quick look at the history of barbers. I promise to keep it brief and only hit some of the high lights for you.
Like prostitution, and law enforcement, a barber is one of the worlds oldest professions. The root word of barber is “braba“, which comes from Latin, meaning beard. Another word closely associated with barbers is “tonsorial”. Tonsorial, also comes from Latin meaning simply to be cutting, trimming or clipping the hair with shears or a razor. Here is a little known fact, at one time, barbers were know as “Tonsorial Artists”.
In history, archeology shows us that hair cutting and styling has been around as long as the glacial age in some form or another. For the rest of us, this means there has been some form of barber around for about 2.5 million years.
Many of mans earliest tools were common items found in his environment. This holds true for early barbers as well. For cutting and shaving they would use sharpened bone or antler, flint, or oyster shells. Animal sinew and hide were used to tie or adorn the hair. In some cultures the use of braiding the hair was used to meet this need.
Some primitive cultures believed that both good and evil spirits could enter the body through a persons hair. And if a person was believed to be possessed by an evil spirit their remedy was quite simple. They would put the persons hair loose around them, then on to some ritual dancing (fox trot anyone?), and then the shaman/witch doctor/barber/ high priest would cut the persons hair short. Tying it close to the head and with this done, the evil spirits were driven out and kept out, and the good spirits were trapped inside the body (and you thought your barber had some lines to up sell his services, wait till he tells you, that you have EVIL spirits trapped in you!).
Given archaeological evidence, all cultures used or practiced some form of beautification or adornment. Wither it was from pure religious purposes to social class status, barbers were there. The Egyptian culture can be credited for being the first to cultivate beauty to such extravagant fashion. Egyptian tombs have reveled such artifacts as mirrors, scissors, and razors (made out of tempered bronze and copper) combs, brushes and even cosmetics.
Egyptians also had coloring agents made out of bark, minerals, berries, and other items found in nature. These dyes were not only used on hair, but also the skin and nails as well. Of all the make up used then, eye make up seemed to be the most popular. Use of these cosmetics were first recorded in 1500 BC.
Barbers were used by Egyptian priests and noblemen, this being documented in Egyptian public records, sculpture, and even in their art. The Egyptian barber Merma’at even had a image sculpted of him because of the high regard he was held at (Talk about tipping your barber!).
Now, lets jump ahead a little bit. Now we will reference a book almost all have seen if not read. The Holy Bible, makes reference to barbers in Leviticus. Moses was told by GOD to...
Jul
28
Like a lot of you here, I am still pretty new to The Shave Den. I stumbled across it on a web search after a friend had forwarded me an article from The Art of Manliness: "How to Shave Like Your Grandfather".
Like you read from so many here, I too was tired of paying high prices for cartridges that provided at best mediocre shaves, razor burn and those annoying little bumps that went with it.
I ordered my first razor off of Amazon, and within the hour was reading with wide eyed wonderment all of the different benefits I could expect from DE shaving. I must admit, at this point I was wondering if all of the claims I had read could be true. Less razor burn, reducing/eliminating the bumps, a cleaner shave, and just the feeling of “wonder” one gets from shaving with a vintage piece of shaving history. Could all of this really happen with just changing a razor? Indeed it can.
After trying out several other sites, I found myself coming back here to The Shave Den more and more often. What drew me at first, I couldn’t say. Perhaps it’s the easy to the eyes colors. Or the “homey” feeling one gets as they read one thread after another. The way the members seem like old friends instead of distant strangers. All willing to share their experience in the hopes to help you with whatever problem you may face, and bring you into the fold. It seemed no matter how much I read, or how many newbie’s would ask the same question (I am guilty of this) everyone was polite, and would walk you threw it, spoon feeding you when necessary until you are able to grasp the concept.
With all of this going threw my mind, I wondered just who started this place? How had it developed into what it was? What type of person could create a place so many felt so welcome, and yet not find any type of commercial ad selling you the latest car tire or some other type of service.
Well my new found friends, allow me to share what I have learned.
Our most gracious host goes by sparky5693. You’ll see him post here every once in a while as he finds the time. He is, for all purposes the "Great Oz" of TSD, the man behind the scenes. One we don’t often hear from, but one busy in keeping the day to day operations running smooth so we can enjoy this great site.
He founded TSD with the help and support of JoAnna our very own Queen of Blades, Mama Bear, and Trader Joe. Our founding members were unhappy with the sites they had belonged to thus far and decided it was time for a change. The new site they decided would need to have a different feel,.. Something more like a favorite pub, more relaxed, and a little less refined of an atmosphere.
And on February 3rd of 2007, TSD had it’s first public post, made by Mama Bear. But wait, I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. Lets go back and see what made the man, who made the Den. Just how did he get started? I was lucky enough to find out with a email interview with him. Let me share that with you now.
Q: How old were you when you tried DE shaving?
Sparky: Wow, I'm not sure I remember exactly, but I'd guess I’d be about 26.
Q: Was there a father, grandfather or some other role model that you had seen DE shave to spark your interest?
Sparky: Probably when I was about 10 or so I remember helping my grandfather look for a new shaving brush when his had started shedding. We had a very difficult time locating one, and I think that made "the search" stick out a bit in my mind. After realizing how important it was to him I became curious. I was never allowed to watch him actually shave, as this was his "personal time". I always felt that seeing that brush and old spice mug was cool, and made much more sense than a spray can.
Q: With you and your 3 other friends starting this forum, what possessed you to step forward to foot the bill for the site?
Sparky: Early on I didn't. Several pitched in to purchase our vbulletin license, and other various bits of software. Our hosting fees were very low due to our small size. If you're asking how I became admin, I guess I originally headed up the idea of creating the forum, and was the only one of the group with experience.
Q: With you always being busy with behind the scenes work, do you get
to participate in the dialog as much as you would like?
Sparky: No, I definitely don't have the time to post that I would like. Aside from my real job, my duties include maintaining the forum, server, and store. I also provide hosting and maintenance for 6 other websites. The proceeds from these go 100% into TSD.
I spend a good deal of time just researching, and staying up on the information I need to keep everything flowing smoothly. Ironically, some of my most useful information comes from webmaster forums. I visit the TSD forums daily, but I depend heavily on our moderators to help keep me advised.
Q: Looking back now, did you foresee TSD becoming what it has become today?
Sparky:...
Like you read from so many here, I too was tired of paying high prices for cartridges that provided at best mediocre shaves, razor burn and those annoying little bumps that went with it.
I ordered my first razor off of Amazon, and within the hour was reading with wide eyed wonderment all of the different benefits I could expect from DE shaving. I must admit, at this point I was wondering if all of the claims I had read could be true. Less razor burn, reducing/eliminating the bumps, a cleaner shave, and just the feeling of “wonder” one gets from shaving with a vintage piece of shaving history. Could all of this really happen with just changing a razor? Indeed it can.
After trying out several other sites, I found myself coming back here to The Shave Den more and more often. What drew me at first, I couldn’t say. Perhaps it’s the easy to the eyes colors. Or the “homey” feeling one gets as they read one thread after another. The way the members seem like old friends instead of distant strangers. All willing to share their experience in the hopes to help you with whatever problem you may face, and bring you into the fold. It seemed no matter how much I read, or how many newbie’s would ask the same question (I am guilty of this) everyone was polite, and would walk you threw it, spoon feeding you when necessary until you are able to grasp the concept.
With all of this going threw my mind, I wondered just who started this place? How had it developed into what it was? What type of person could create a place so many felt so welcome, and yet not find any type of commercial ad selling you the latest car tire or some other type of service.
Well my new found friends, allow me to share what I have learned.
Our most gracious host goes by sparky5693. You’ll see him post here every once in a while as he finds the time. He is, for all purposes the "Great Oz" of TSD, the man behind the scenes. One we don’t often hear from, but one busy in keeping the day to day operations running smooth so we can enjoy this great site.
He founded TSD with the help and support of JoAnna our very own Queen of Blades, Mama Bear, and Trader Joe. Our founding members were unhappy with the sites they had belonged to thus far and decided it was time for a change. The new site they decided would need to have a different feel,.. Something more like a favorite pub, more relaxed, and a little less refined of an atmosphere.
And on February 3rd of 2007, TSD had it’s first public post, made by Mama Bear. But wait, I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. Lets go back and see what made the man, who made the Den. Just how did he get started? I was lucky enough to find out with a email interview with him. Let me share that with you now.
Q: How old were you when you tried DE shaving?
Sparky: Wow, I'm not sure I remember exactly, but I'd guess I’d be about 26.
Q: Was there a father, grandfather or some other role model that you had seen DE shave to spark your interest?
Sparky: Probably when I was about 10 or so I remember helping my grandfather look for a new shaving brush when his had started shedding. We had a very difficult time locating one, and I think that made "the search" stick out a bit in my mind. After realizing how important it was to him I became curious. I was never allowed to watch him actually shave, as this was his "personal time". I always felt that seeing that brush and old spice mug was cool, and made much more sense than a spray can.
Q: With you and your 3 other friends starting this forum, what possessed you to step forward to foot the bill for the site?
Sparky: Early on I didn't. Several pitched in to purchase our vbulletin license, and other various bits of software. Our hosting fees were very low due to our small size. If you're asking how I became admin, I guess I originally headed up the idea of creating the forum, and was the only one of the group with experience.
Q: With you always being busy with behind the scenes work, do you get
to participate in the dialog as much as you would like?
Sparky: No, I definitely don't have the time to post that I would like. Aside from my real job, my duties include maintaining the forum, server, and store. I also provide hosting and maintenance for 6 other websites. The proceeds from these go 100% into TSD.
I spend a good deal of time just researching, and staying up on the information I need to keep everything flowing smoothly. Ironically, some of my most useful information comes from webmaster forums. I visit the TSD forums daily, but I depend heavily on our moderators to help keep me advised.
Q: Looking back now, did you foresee TSD becoming what it has become today?
Sparky:...
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© Jason Axelrod from 8WAYRUN.COM
