Visited a salon in Boise that only uses shears for men's cuts

I was in Boise for a family thing and popped into a high-end barbershop to check out the vibe. The head stylist told me point blank, 'Clippers are for amateurs, we only use shears here.' I watched them do a classic taper fade entirely with thinning shears and a comb, which took about 45 minutes. In my experience, that's an inefficient hill to die on when modern clippers with guards exist for a reason. Has anyone else seen a shop take a hardline stance like this against clippers?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana_lewis1618d agoOG Member

My cousin's a woodworker and he's the same way about hand planes versus power sanders. He'll spend a whole day on a finish I could do in an hour with an orbital sander. I get the pride in the craft, but sometimes it feels like people make the hard way part of their brand. That barber probably charges a premium for that 45 minute shear fade, framing it as artisanal.

elizabethhart18d ago

You said people make the hard way part of their brand. That really hits home. But where do you draw the line between a real skill and just putting on a show? Is a hand planed finish actually better, or is it just for the story you can tell about it? I wonder if some customers pay for the time spent, not the final result.