my new best friend

My hair has pretty much been every different length hair could be. I have had hair down to my back, a bobbish cut, a bit of pompadour, and now a buzz cut. Getting a buzz cut doesn't entail much. The barber goes over your head with an electric clipper and trims the edges a little and you are done. Consequently my haircut costs have gone down over the years to the point where I pay $13 bucks at Astor Place Hair. But even this began to niggle at me because when you have a buzzcut the damn thing is shot by the end of 2 weeks.

So last weekend I made the plunge and popped for a clipper. I did a little research and found Wahl was a brand that most professionals used. It was tough to locate but the clipper itself was surprisingly cheap - $50. At that rate I cover my costs in about 3 months or so. Seems like a pretty good investment.

The first thing I noticed about the clipper when I got it home was how old school it was. I almost guarantee these guys haven't changed the fundamental design in 30 years or so. I bet barbers would throw a hissy fit if they did. It is a total throw back to the 50's. Classic styling coupled with an industrial weight and construction. It is a solid piece of engineering which is something you don't find all that often nowadays.

I must admit a certain amount of trepidation upon first placing the clippers on my noggin' with a number 2 guard on. A number 2 guard isn't all that much. Maybe 3/16 of an inch? I'm not sure. Either way there's not a lot of error between having hair and having a freshly mowed patch down the middle of your head. I started tentatively on the sides and worked my way to more vital areas. Pretty simple. Took about 5 minutes and to be honest the overall job is even better than a barber because I spend the time to get every single little hair that might stick out cropped off. I'm not quite as good at tapering to a 1 guard on the sides and back but maybe I can employ my wife for that task in the future. There's something warm and fuzzy about being able to give yourself a haircut for no money.