That old timer at Buck's Barbershop who told me to stop using clippers for fades

I was at Buck's over on Main Street last Tuesday watching this guy in his 70s do a skin fade with nothing but shears and a comb. He told me I was making things harder with all the clipper attachments and showed me how he gets cleaner lines just by hand. Has anyone else tried ditching clippers for certain parts? What's your go-to method?

2 comments

2 Comments

hill.troy15d ago

Man, that reminds me of something that happened to my buddy Mike last year. He was working on this fade for a client at his home setup and his clipper battery died halfway through. He panicked for a second, then just grabbed his shears and finished the whole thing by hand. Said the line came out cleaner than any clipper could do, especially around the hairline where it gets tricky. He still uses clippers for the bulk of the work but now he finishes every fade with scissors and a comb. Swears it gives the customer a more natural blend that grows out better too.

julia_jones7215d ago

Has anyone else had a clipper die on them in the middle of a cut? I was doing a taper once and my trimmer just quit, so I had to switch to my thinning shears for the whole transition. Honestly, I think the finished fade looked smoother than my regular clipper work, and the client even asked if I changed my technique.