I can't say enough nice things about this place. I don't know how long it has been here but, I…read morejust found it a few months ago and I am so glad that I did.
First and foremost, THIS IS NOT A SALON, it is a proper mens barber shop. The barber pole outside the door isn't some neo-classic decorative atrocity being improperly displayed simply because the establishment has something to do with hair. Walk past the large window, through the front door and you will find 2 barber's chairs, Paidar circa 1963, proudly perched on the linoleum tile floor. Tuesday through Saturday, you can find Billy standing behind that first chair, with an arsenal of sharp objects, both mechanical and manual, to masterfully tame your mane. You can find Tammy at chair 2, Tuesday through Friday. There are a row of simple brown chairs facing the 'cutting floor' with the day's newspaper available for reading and a full bookshelf of magazines at the end of the row.
If you have never been to a real barbershop, or haven't been in a while, this next item of note may take you by surprise. The men in the chairs around the room are actually talking to each other. Yes, that's right, actual communal conversation amongst the whole crowd. No, you won't find a tobacco-chewing, Boss Hogg-type old fart in a white suit completing a horrid backwoods southern cliche. Just a room full of men, many of them strangers to each other, casually discussing any myriad of topics, from the unusually cold winter we've had to muscle cars to the latest political turmoil in (insert country here).
A men's haircut will cost you $11, cash only and includes a true clipper cut. Not just the initial bush-wacking with a set of beauty outlet buzzers and a sopping wet head you've been suffering through and the local hair-dying boutique that you've emasculating yourself with, these folks specialize in cutting MEN'S hair and just men's hair. I had tried damn near every salon, boutique, and chain joint in the Annapolis area over the last 11 years and it wasn't until I curiously stumbled through the doors of this little hidden gem that I finally got a GREAT haircut by someone who understood and focused on working with men's hair specifically, not just as a sidebar between highlights and curl-sets. If you like (I do), they will clean up your neckline with hot lather and a straight razor (sadly you cannot get a full facial straight razor shave,a s the insurance costs are exorbitant) and finished off with a big brush full of talc around your neck and ears to keep your skin cool and itch-free. Billy is now the only person that cuts my hair and recently my 10yr old son's hair as well. He knows what size guard I like on the sides and has it locked and loaded by the time my butt hits the beautifully aged leather chair. I just can't recommend this place highly enough. If you are looking for a slightly old-school place that knows how to make mens and boys hair look it's best, you owe it to yourself to stop by and give the Edgewater Barber Shop a try. Just tell 'em Josh with the new 5.0 Mustang sent ya, Billy will know just who ya mean....