Greetings and happy holidays to all my readers. Kinda crazy weather in some parts of the world, heavy snow in Ireland and flash floods in Los Angeles County. So, here's a treat: 1940s Mohawks. Yes, a lot of folks have heard or read about US airborne troops parachuting into Normandy in '44 with shaved heads and Mohawks. But you never SEE images of these guys... well here goes:

Here are some photos of "Pathfinders", guys from the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions who parachuted in first. These pictures are screen caps I took from an Army Air Force film made on D Day minus one.

These images are great because they are the real deal - the image of the all American citizen soldier that was portrayed in the media was very different to what these warriors looked like.

I'm pretty sure the guy above on the right has had his hair shaved with a straight razor. I mean, even an Oster machine with a 00005 attachment wouldn't be that close. What I find interesting is that this guy's hair actually looks like a modern marine "recon" haircut AKA a horseshoe. Recently I was in contact with another barber enthusiast who sports this cut called Musclebuzz and he told me about a Los Angeles barbershop run by recon-wearing Mohawk Matt. Keep up the good work Matt.

Courtesy of fellow barber blogger Frank Reiland I came across this new clip of Donny Hawley talking at his shop. It's beautifully shot - kudos to whoever put this video together. I find it very interesting that Donny talks about the hardships of barbers from the 60s to the 80s. This is exactly what Liam Finnegan, veteran barber and owner of the Waldorf talks about. Damn hippies ruined it for all of us!!! Anyway, a new Golden Age of traditional barbering seems to be back. Incidentally, in Donny's shop there's a b&w photo of his grandad motocross bikeracing in Dublin back in the 50s in "Shelbourne Park." This is only a couple of miles from me - I messaged Donny about this but I'm not sure he got it.

Ok. Here's some 'vintage' footage of yours truly shot on location at
the Waldorf barbershop in Dublin. Spot prize for having the most
interesting guess about what I was talking about.

I wanted to share this neat image I came across on the net of a Victorian gentleman shaving himself. It struck a cord because it reminded me of the video below of me shaving with a straight razor. What strikes me as unusual in the picture (or is it a painting) is that the subject is shaving - a mundane gentleman's task. Normally pictures from the period were more staged.

Hello friends. I've been meaning to put together a shave video for a while and have finally done it. Shaving yourself at home with a straight razor is a different experience than shaving or getting shaved in a barbershop. You need to learn the basics, then figure out what works for you. Traditionally at a barbershop, one would start from the jawline and do the neckline later. I've found that doing the neck first works best for me. To keep this video as easy and practical as possible, I'm using a shavette (which we looked at in an earlier post) and I'm using  a cheap shaving brush and palmolive soap - yes, that's right, just a bar of plain old soap. That's why it drys in a little faster than palmolive shave paste would do. 

Horstator Piccolo 55

Here is a picture I took of a new clippers that Liam at the Waldorf barbershop recently acquired. It's a Made in Germany clippers. I was debating with Liam about the age of this machine. Judging by the warranty and the instructions leaflet, and the illustration on the box, I'd guess late 40s to mid-50s. Liam thinks it's more modern, maybe 60s. In any case it does work and do a really good job. It's got a slower motor just like the Oster. There is a blade that is a 00005 which did give a tighter result than the Oster. There is a large chrome beak that juts out so it takes longer for the metal blade to heat up. That's one thing that I love about the Oster.

Below is a great clip about a barbershop in the late 50s. You can see that the barber is using a barrel type clippers.

On Saturday I called in early to the folks at the Waldorf. I had left my vintage pre-war straight razor in to Liam for honing and was looking forward to collecting it. One of the best parts of calling to the shop is the atmosphere and the people who come in - you just never know who you are likely to meet - especially on a Saturday. Linda from the shop had a photographer coming in called Rosco. I have seen Rosco's work before through mutual friends - he does a lot of work for the Burlesque and vintage scene. Rosco was kind enough to take these photos of me getting a shave and haircut from Linda:

If you would like to contact Rosco for photography work, you can message him in Facebook - where he goes by Oyster Zepplin

Well it has been some time since my last post.... time goes by very quickly. I have been practicing my straight razor shaving at home with a shavette recently. A shavette (or disposable straight razor) is a for all intents like a straight razor, except that you can change the blade when you shave.... so no honing or stropping. Here's an image of a shavette - and below it is the type of blade you use to put in it. These blades come in a paper wrap, and when you unwrap a blade, you snap it in half to get two parts, each with a sharp edge.

This shavette has done a nice job but Saturday I collected my freshly honed straight razor from the barbershop so I will no doubt being using that again soon.

Another very relaxing Saturday afternoon spent at the Waldorf catching up with friends. In this shot you can see another happy customer perusing the straight razor catalog then in the chair getting styled up for Saturday night:

My sincere thanks to Ger at the Waldorf for starting this shave and for Liam in perfecting it. Got it on Saturday, and don't need to shave till Tuesday. Nice!

This is what I looked like when I came into the shop earlier (about 3 days growth):

Sweeney Todds Barbershop in L.A. | Lucky 13 pomades and shampoo | D.A.s at the Waldorf
A really nice message I got in today from our friends over at Sweeney Todds Barbershop in L.A. Todd the owner contacted me to say:

"My hats off to you!"
"The Waldorf and it's barbers are a rule by which all barber shops and barbers should be measured. I just happened to be browsing around on the internet when I stumbled across your blog. I too own an old shop dating back to 1927. It's last remodel was back in the early 50's. I've tried to maintain this asthetic but your crew takes it a couple notches higher. I've already sent your blog link to some friends and posted a bulletin on myspace. More people need to see what real barbering is all about. cheers! Todd."
 Here's Todd:

Well this was a great message to get! Los Angeles is my favorite US city. There are so many Golden Era buildings around, and Sweeney Todds has been in operation since 1927 (wow - two years older than the Waldorf). I can see the shop has been restored recently, and I think it looks great.

.../..
I got a nice pompadour from Linda Finnegan on Saturday. Basically, I am trying to grow out the top again and keep the top nice n' tite. You'll see that Linda has styled in a Duck's Ass (D.A.) at the back. Here's a video I shot while in the chair:

In the chair before me was Dave, who get a great haircut from Linda. Amazingly, Linda did this with no scissors, using just the machine. Here's his finished haircut (you can see the beginnings of a D.A.): 

Here is another customer from the Waldorf who in my opinion has the best D.A. in town:

Pretty cool talking to this guy today, whose father and grandfather were barbers before him. Adrian worked in different fields but has been drawn back into barbering, and is now studying under the expert tutelage of Linda Finnegan. In this picture, Adrian shows Linda his straight razor (Sheffield Steel) that he is now using (and was earlier that day honed and stropped at the Waldorf). It was passed down from his grandfather Thomas's collection.

I noticed we have some new blog followers and that's great. One of them is a barber called Frankie, and I found a link on his blog to a great Donnie Hawley video. Donny is the owner of Hawleywoods barbershops in California. Next time I go to L.A. I am definitelty booking an appointment and going down to Long Beach to the shop.

Donny calls the style I'd know as a "flat top boogie" a "flat top with fenders". Pretty damn cool.

Some pictures from earlier today at the Waldorf:

I was working at the Waldorf today on Christmas eve and we had a visit from artist David McDermott (dressed in the manner of Ebenezer Scrooge):

This little boy got his hair done in time for Santa:

Merry Christmas to everyone.

I'm going to be going to see Imelda May in Dublin Tuesday. So yesterday I paid a visit to to Linda Finnegan at the Waldorf to get a special cut. In fact, it's something I've had on my mind to get done for a long time. I usually get a zero, that's a machine or manual clippers around the edges. Well today I got a straight razor (cut-throat!) on my head all the way around. So Linda blended in from a nothing - skin - to hair, and did a great job!

Survey time!!! Do you want to help me improve men's barbering standards? Tell me what you think here: it will only take a moment. Click H E R E

I had the pleasure of showing a friend around Dublin recently and bringing him to the Waldorf for the works. Paddy, in true journalist style recounts the tale: 

A Grand time in Dublin City... 

I HAD a wonderful time staying with Brian and his family and getting the VIP treatment of being met at the airport. How often does a towering BIG FELLA in a hat throw out his shovel like hand like an Irish No.7 and welcome you to his city like a long-lost-brother? From there on in I felt like a king and my feet hardly touched the ground on this 'flying visit' to Dublin.


We had a lovely walk down Fleet Street where we made a mental note to visit and old Dublin public bar later on the day, by the name of 'The Palace Bar' with photos of old members such as the writer Samuel Beckett.



Through the windswept Georgian alleyways we wandered and onto the hallowed ground of Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), where Brian guided me in to visit the old library and see the famous 'Book of Kells.'




As you'll see from Brian's earlier photo opportunities, we ventured into an old Gentleman's clothes shop which stocked a healthy range of hats.

Then, the bearded man was led comfortably to slaughter as we paced our way towards Westmoreland Street to the exhaulted Gentlemen's 'hairdressing & shaving saloon' that is 'The Waldorf.' Celebrating 80-years of battling 'tardiness' in men and transforming them into dapper blades fit to stride with confidence up the street with their perfectly groomed head held high, I felt it was a true honour to offer my throat into the capable hands of the proprieter, Liam.



When it came to feeling the cold German steel glide ably against my cheek, I was very much a virgin in the hands of a master barber. Jokes about an award winning pie-shop nearby, did little to settle my intrepidation of what was coming next.

BEFORE...


A paper towel was wrapped around my throat and then an apron draped and secured across my front, as I eased myself into the vintage leather chair.

The beard which had been allowed to grow for several weeks (for this very moment, like a young lamb), was initially taken off with some shears (just to reduce the mess of hairs). Then a hot towel was reverently brought from the chrome altar heating the towels in timeless fashion on the far wall.

The hot towel was wrapped around my face, encasing it in a shroud of white, frightingly similar to a pre-cooked pastry casing a meat pie! But NO!! I wasn't going to let my imagination get the better of this once-in-a-lifetime experience!

With just my nose left bare like a pink perescope drinking in the scents of the saloon, I found the hot towel extremely relaxing, absorbing all the nervous energy I had allowed to build up. Then on taking it off, Liam applied a brush (like a sable brush) to my face, and swiftly with a few flicks of the hand lathered me up.

The first touch of steel came from a very sharp blade that glided effortlessly across my skin, nimbly weaving in and out of corners and hugging across ridges like a bird rides the mountain thermals, as Liam's other hand unconsciously kept the skin drum-taught against the razor edge. I could hear the scraping sound of hairs being harvested that reminded me of butter being spread across dried toast.

DURING...


The second blade unsheathed, was from my old town of Belfast in the North (a long departed barber shop in Ann Street), a softer blade than the first that had been a gift from a barber, now long gone. But like many of Liam's vintage instruments, he honours their former custodian's by giving continued life to the very tools that they used to make a living in their lifetimes. So I dare say that although Liam was the man at my throat that day, he had many Guardian Angels of former barbers watching over him (and the wonderful photo gallery on the wall shows just some of the former barbers of the Waldorf through the 30's, 40's and 50's).

At times I had to pinch myself, as I sat in the shadow of greats like Frank Sinatra and George Formby who were patrons of this grand place as they passed through the Fair City.

Following the shave, Liam draped my face in a cold towel to close the pores and then finally ran his hand over where a beard once was to finally take away any stray hairs.

The most soothing balm was then massaged into my face, but no-one was overly ready to give me the ingredients! other than a whispered, "It's a special Waldorf...yackety-yack!"
AFTER...






Ooooopppps!!!! Wrong guy!!! this is the right guy vvvvv





To give you an idea of just HOW SPECIAL I was made to feel in this little oasis of dignity that hasn't changed much since the first Great Depression of 29, I arrived at 4.30pm and it was after 7pm when we left!! You don't go to the Waldorf for a haircut and a shave, you go for a way of life. This truely is a magical experience with old-time skills being used daily (such as singeing; razor hair cut; moustache tongs; head massage..etc) that in most 'hair shops' of today have been lost to the history books.

This is Brian folks...(MISTER 'H' to YOU...!)




And boy-oh-boy did I get the Rockefellar/Vanderbilt treatment or what!. He wielded those scissors and blade like a Prussian duelling champion! Working off the inspiration of a vintage 1930's etching hanging on the wall. I even got my hair cut using German steel razored across English bakelite (mmmm, maybe the comb wasn't bakelite..sounds 'good' though!).

It was at this most vulnerable points (for me anyway) that Brian suggests..."Paddy, fancy going to a swing-dance lesson?" Well c'mon fella!! what meat-head is going to argue with a man swinging a cut-throat like he was out cutting the lawn?! duh!! "Sure Brian - I thought you'd never ask!" And anyway, I was going to be the sharpest blade at this little ol' party with cheeks like a Michael Angelo! (best pizza on the Boulevard!).

Then Brian starts sniffing the Brylcreem and that whippet of a man is off, kneading my melon like it's a pound of dough! My gawd, I'd swear he's half Turkish the way he threw that head around the room like a Yankee's pitcher and if truth be told, that skull of mine felt pretty 'hard boiled' by the end of it, in a noirish sense of the word! I was ready to take on the world!!

Some of the special Prohibition WALDORF juice sprinkled from the Godlike hands of Father Brian like my first baptism, and I suppose in a sense it was...a REBIRTH if you will...
And boy...did I feel grand...!!

Gents, the Waldorf isn't just a barbers, ....it's a time machine honed from the finest German steel and steered by the finest Irish craftsmen...

Thanks to Liam, Brian and the crew of this fine ship, THE WALDORF.

Here's a cartoon I came across from a member of www.thefedoralounge.com It comes from a 1932 men’s etiquette book called "Manners for Moderns".

Recently I visited the Waldorf barbershop early on a Saturday morning and observed an unusual occurrence: 3 brother came into the shop looking to get rockabilly/40s/50s haircuts. I mean, it's not usual to see a few guys in the shop at the same time looking for these cuts but it was fun seeing as they are brothers. The haircuts were done by Liam, Ger and Linda so the boys were in the chairs beside each other. I like the way each haircut is different, yet it is noticeably vintage. These guys were actually heading off together to Memphis , Tennessee which they do every year. This was their first time at the Waldorf - they heard about the place when they saw it on TV recently.

Success! Both Danielle and I passed our Waldorf School of Barbering Examinations. We had a short then a long haircut. We were timed at 45 minutes per cut. The atmosphere was very professional and we were very focused. Sinéad M. the external examiner was extremely efficient and made exhaustive notes on her clipboard throughout the process. We got no assistance from Linda our instructor, who was patiently waiting for us in the office and monitoring the performance remotely.




When we received our verbal results, we got a score out of 100. The pass rate rate was set very high (much higher than a university pass rate!) There were 10 categories and we were individually marked in each category for each haircut (we each had a short and a long haircut). Items marked ranged from razor work to familiarity with tools to overall appearance.

I would like to sincerely thank Linda Finnegan of the Waldorf Barbershop. Linda has been a fantastic coach and tutor. She has been patient and has a gift for teaching. I am honored to have trained with her as she has been a World Championship competitor and winner in male barbering and is really a master at her craft.

For people looking to follow the Waldorf Barbershop and Linda please visit the shop's facebook page.