Head over to Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh, PA). I went a few times, and my father-in-law tells me the guy’s been there for years. Old fashioned barbering at its finest.
We still have a few old fashioned barber shops in my neck of the woods, Erie PA, complete with rotating barber poles!
some have gone high tech - sorta…
http://www.smittysbarbershop.com/
(KVS - boy, I miss Murray Ave - best bagels ever!)
There is one I go to that is fairly modern in the furniture, but the barbers are old school. I am convinced that it is either a front for the mafia or it is just being run by two “retired” mobsters, but I get the best haircut and conversation there. The only thing they will not do is give a shave. I asked them why and they somewhat sadly said that it was too much hassle with health inspections, etc these days. Apparently you can cut a guys hair in an alley, but to offer a shave, you have to have the cleanliness and equipment of an O.R.
Another one that is very modern does have a cool concept though. Watch ESPN in leather chairs, drink complimentary beer and get your hair cut in a private cubicle thing, and every bit of your haircut goes into a computer so when you go back, they pull up your last cut on the screen and you get the exact cut as you did before. The price is pretty high though. Not enough to make me go there very often. I like to stick with the mobsters. They are just way too cool.
I was shocked to discover this weekend that the old-time barbershop in my hometown where I got my hair cut as a child is still open!! Not only that, the three barbers who worked there when I was a kid are still there!!! The elderly proprietor works only occasionally, I was told, but he must be over a hundred years old now!