Overheard an old barber at a shop in Austin say something that made me rethink my whole fade approach

I was waiting for supplies at the barber supply store last Tuesday and this older guy was telling his apprentice that he never uses the lever on his clippers. He said if you learn to cut with the blade zero gapped and use your comb and shear work, you get a way cleaner blend. I always thought the lever was the whole point of fading but I tried it on my next two cuts and honestly the blend came out smoother. Anyone else ever ditch the lever and just work with a fixed blade?

3 comments

3 Comments

juliawalker1mo ago

Three months back I tried the same thing on a buddy and had to grab my lever halfway through to fix the mess I made on his temple area. @nathan_barnes I hear you on keeping the lever around for rough blocking, some things just work better with a little help.

laurabennett1mo ago

Burned my buddy's neck with a hot clipper once trying to do that flick trick, never again.

nathan_barnes1mo agoTop Commenter

Heard a similar thing from this old school barber in Houston once, except it was about not using the T-outliner at all. Swore by just taking his zero gapped Masters and doing all the heavy lifting with a flick of the wrist. Tried it on a buddy with a high skin fade and man, I messed his hairline up good the first time. Took me like three more cuts before I got the hang of just rocking the comb and shears for that clean line. Still keep my lever handy for the rough blocking though, old habits die hard.