A Barber's Life

The Columbian has an interesting article about a day in the life of a barber.

The sign outside of his door reads "Baldy's," so most people around here just call him by that name. Baldy's specialty: shaving heads, $7 a scalp.

The barbering business sounds tough. From this, and a previous article, it sounds like a difficult way to scrape out a living.

The plight of the traditional barber

This Associated Press article in the Grand Forks Herald talks a bit about the decline in the number of barbers in the US in recent years, and how they're losing ground to hair stylists, even among male customers.

One question I've been asked numerous times is if I know of a barber that will give straight razor shaves. It's a dying art. For the record, I've never been to a barber, and don't know of any off-hand that shave with a straight razor. However, the article mentions one, in case you're somewhere near Bismarck, North Dakota.

Twenty-three-year-old Travis Zenker is the first new barber in Bismarck in more than 20 years, Schock said. [...] He is one of the few barbers, including old-timers, who still uses a straight razor for shaving and trimming.