Democratic messenger., 1888-09-08
ODD NOTIONS OF BARRIERS.

uteu. ~ We Gut u uItl va 0iUltuuy, the
barhci was sure he would cut seven men
before Sunday. II the first customer In
the morning complimented him, he would
get little but grunblcs and curses for the
rest OF the day. II hc didn't receive at
least one tip above the regular fees on
Monday. the week would bc u had one.
These beliefs are rapidly disappearing.
There are two curious facts about razors,
though. that still give rise to general su.
perstitions. and probably always will. Il
In noticed that after long continuous
use II Is difficult TO give a razor an
edge. The knowing hand will quietly
lay 1t away with the remark that the
razor is "tired" and "needs rest"
After letting il ''slccp" few days-
that Is. simply not using II, tho razcr
Is found TO be in good condition. Few
BARRIERS attempt TO explain this. but the
explanation is simple. Tho cdgc Of q
razor consists Of series Of microscopic
teeth. Long continuous use wears these
down. despite stroppiiigs. and Il needs
tho oxidation which tino only can pro-
vide to bring ont again the microscopic
roughnest Another popularity OF the
razor Is that. though in splendid condi.
ton when Inst used. II sometimes posi-
lively refuses TO take on edge when put
on the hone in the morning. a few
hours later II will take an edge bcauti-
fully. This IL due to the same principle
of oxidation. i,arbcrs will sometime
say n razor is 'lnlky." by which 10y
mean that 1t refuses "a take an edge, al
though not made tired" by long pre-
vious work. Some razors. because OF pc
culiaritics In tho grades Of steel, arc
more apt to be .balky" than others.
"Do barbers allow sulprstitions to af-
feet their method Of sllavingi" was
asked Of BrSsdway veteran.
There Is method OF shaw
ing." said the Il; 'thcre never has
been hMt one ID there never will be
more. The Or rubs the lathcr into
your stub unts.4t clings to the face itself.
ToSsromplish this no has first spongcd
your %Scc with water to remove skin
sccrrtions. When first put on the lnthcr
sticks ON top OF the stub and does not
touch the skin much. Rubbing brings 1t
into the skin. It also softcns the beard,
and barber always lathers you before
he strops his razor. so as TO give tho
lather time to get in its work. Then
when he shavcs you it Is always with the
grain. That is, every distinct portion OF
your face is shaved in the direction the
hair grows. II this rule were not fol-
lowed the toughest skin would, an
hour later. show abrasions, and crup-
tons would come. After the face Is
once shaved. the barber shaves it
again for closcness This second shave
may safely be against the grain. Most
faces can stand the second shave against
the grain. but there are some men with
still bt.lr,ls. too. whose skin is so tender
that they can only be shaved one way.
The barbcr can never know positively
from the appearance or touch Of a skin
whether or not IL can stand tho second
shave. That is something the owner Of
the face must discover by experience.
So when he shaves a stranger, unless he
is sure he has tough skin, the barber
asks, after the first shave, If tho man dc.
sircs it close. The razor is placed nearly
fat with the face. The free hand draws
every bit of skin tight before he shayes
over it. Some BARRIERS pick up IL, lin
between their fingers. others merely press
it tight. Practically. though, every bar
bcr the world over shavcs the same way.
''IIc has no room. therefore, TO bring
in supcrstitions. so bound is he by the
recognized principles of the art, except
i'll such little details as beginning the
shave on the right or left side Of the face,
shaving the upper lip before or after the
chin, and other things Of that kind.
Every barber has some little maxims of
his own about these unimportant items,
and some believe that bad luck attends
the man who doesn't shave every face in
precisely the same manner regarding
these little details.
'liow do men learn TO bc barbcrs!"
was asked Of barber who shavcs law
yers and bankers in Wall street.
you've got TO pay for il. said the
barber ''iierc and there you will find
u barber who keeps art Of school. and
charges q round price 20 give lessons.
They allow the learners 20 practice when
they gain IL little def,ness on the chins Of
unsuspccting chance customers. Gcncr-
ally. though. n boy who wants 10 bc n bar
Der is bound out to regular barber for
two years. Tie barber exacts S2j or more
a year and the boys entire service. In re-
turn hc boards and lodges him. and makes
him good barber. My own experience
is fair sample Case. was only II when /
was bound TO barber not in this city.
I paid SEQ cash down. and got half q
bed and poor board. They put me on
Iathering first. Lathering looks easy. and
Is easy. too; but you've no idea how
awkwardly new man will go about it.
So, whey there were no customess around
my boss would have one of the workmcn
lio down In chair and set mo 70 lathcr-
ing his face. There IL knack in getting
over a soapy face deftly and quickly.
Sometimes you use your fingers. other
times the palm. An even pressure
is required that isn't easy to get.
II you press too hard you make il
uncomfortable for the man you're lather-
ing. The boss stood over mo in these
lessons and taught me the points. one at
a time. Then ! lathcred the face Of a
customer while the boss got ready to
shave him. For several months lad 10
stand behind the boss chair while he
was shaving and watch every motion OF
his hand and wrist-for IA barber only
uses the hand and wrist in shaving.
Then, after shaving an imaginary face OF
two under the eyes Of barber 20 show
me the way razor Is held and moved.
was put TO practice on the faces Of the en-
ployes. My boss stood over me and
watched every motion. Then hc made
mc shave him. trcmbied so that cut
him. Il was long. long time before
they let me touch II customer. and then
only when some good nalured fellow who
caInc often and knew mc invited me to
Try my hand upon his chin. Once In the
traces ] got confidence and was good
barber. Then my boss had a good barber
lound to him for over year yOt at nc
expense but board. and hc was to get $2l
To boot. too. which was what had
agreed to give him for the second year as
~ell Us the first. New York sun.
Aaxsse IN NFoshera