The barber shop scene in the Netherlands has taken the lead in Europe. In metropolitan areas like Rotterdam and Amsterdam, men sometimes wait for up to five hours for a haircut or a shave. On the other hand, these shops offer cool beer, good coffee, good company, and at the end a professional, old-school haircut in an earthy ambience. Almost all of the trendy shops have one thing in common – between all the posters of old pomade brands and autographed pictures of Clark Gable and Johnny Cash, somewhere there is an unassuming picture they took themselves. It always features the same down to earth older gentleman with a humorous look on his face and a short gray beard, together with the owner or the team of the respective barber shop.
This man is Paul Kox, the “secret pope” of men's barbers in the Netherlands. “The Godfather of the shave”, as he was referred to in a historic magazine. Cutting and shaving truly are in his blood - if he didn't inherit it in his genes, then probably from hair tonic and aftershave. His father, Paul Kox Sr., had taken over a barber shop in Utrecht in 1934, and Paul began helping him run the shop at the age of 14. An unheard laugh reverberates in almost every one of his words, and punctuates each of his sentences. When you meet him, you can feel that this is someone who loves his craft, and interacting with customers. In the end, Paul and his brother John took over the shop from their father, with whom they moved from Utrecht to Breukelen in the 1970’s.
The old shop in Breukelen's Winkelcentrum Noord had closed its doors in the meantime, but Paul could not quit the business. He simply opened his doors to customers again just 200 meters away, in his own apartment. His website, "The Dutch Shaving Shop," has made this shop into a small tourist attraction, visited by Dutch, Germans, and even some from further away (e.g. Australians). You get the impression that you can find everything here that has ever been associated with men's haircuts and beards that is no longer on the market - including both tools and hair products. His decades of experience as a lover and restorer of antique straight razors have given Paul Kox very specific ideas for the creation of his very own special model. The only blade he would consider was a 7/8" version with negative blade etching on a partially polished blade, which harmonizes perfectly with the hand selected horn scales.