Barber's Notch?

I've heard various stories about the purpose of barber's notches.
For those of you who have blades with this feature, do you make any use of it and, if so, how?

I like it for honing... I use it to put extra pressure at the tip when needed...

Nobody knows (cue spooky music).

I think the general consensus was that it allowed the barber to open it more easily with one hand, but I can't say I've ever seen any definitive proof of what exactly it was for.

Gets around the nostril more easily.

Really? I think they just thought it looked cool. Did the fins on a 50's caddie make it go faster?

SliceOfLife said:

Nobody knows (cue spooky music).

I think the general consensus was that it allowed the barber to open it more easily with one hand, but I can't say I've ever seen any definitive proof of what exactly it was for.

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Yeah - I find it so weird that this was still being done less than 100 years ago yet nobody has any concrete evidence as to why.

Maybe the barber's craft has some real secrets.
Another example is, how did they hone those full wedges to give a decent shave 200 years ago?

Define "decent" shave. People shave with machetes and axes. 200 years ago the best a wedge that was freehand honed could give you was probably your best option.

SliceOfLife said:

Define "decent" shave. People shave with machetes and axes. 200 years ago the best a wedge that was freehand honed could give you was probably your best option.

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Yes - this has been discussed before.
It would be interesting to look at Victorian photographs to see just how stubbly the well-groomed men really were.
And what about the Romans?
Did Julius Caesar look like George Michael?
And back OT, when and where did the barber's notch originate?
I have a couple of inter-war Erns with it, so it's use persisted well into the 20th century.

Legion said:

Did the fins on a 50's caddie make it go faster?

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Yea, come on like you have to ask.



As far as the barbar's notch, no idea, I like it to hold the blade when going ATG on lower and upper lip, I use two hands on the blade, the notch allows for placement of a finger in there.

I think it was more useful for a barber shaving someone else. I can see where it might offer a little more control in hard to reach areas.

Doc226 said:

Yea, come on like you have to ask.



As far as the barbar's notch, no idea, I like it to hold the blade when going ATG on lower and upper lip, I use two hands on the blade, the notch allows for placement of a finger in there.

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Wow I thought I was the only one who did that! But I only do it on upper lip. And actually these days I find I can get a plenty good enough shave without ATG so none of my recent GD conversions have barber notches. Well, except one I rescued from my junkpile, a 200 that I began a year or two ago that got rusty. It is next to finish after this current batch of 66s, and it has a barbers notch.

Anyway thats my opinion, that the notch is there to facilitate two hands on the razor, when more control is needed.

This W. H. Morley & sons is the one I use when my nostril hair is getting long. It gets right in there and cleans them up.