Making the cut: Pittsburgh Dave opens barbershop in Ross
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Barber school students learn to use a straight razor by cutting a balloon covered in shaving cream.
“You learn quickly how to shave someone’s face after the balloon breaks just one time,” said Dave Peters, known as Pittsburgh Dave, who recently opened Steel City Barber Lounge in the My Salon Suite in Ross. “You hear a loud pop and then you have shaving cream all over you. Learning to use a straight razor is about the feel of the tool in your hand and learning the proper technique. It takes time.”
Peters was using a straight razor to trim the beard of client Andrew Lipnicky of West View. Only barbers can provide a straight-razor shave.
“He is the best barber in Pittsburgh,” Lipnicky said.
Steel City Barber Lounge opened on Sept. 1. It is one of 26 businesses in the My Salon Suite and the only barber. My Salon Suite offers individual suites for people to run a business from hairstylists to manicurists to barbers. It has a secure entry and they can do laundry on site.
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Peters, of Monroeville, who grew up in Swissvale, continuously takes online barber courses.
“It’s important to keep learning,” said Peters. “It’s about staying educated and getting to know what your clients want. A higher price doesn’t always mean a better haircut. It’s all about the details in this profession.”
He said his favorite cut is a skin fade, which is a haircut that blends to skin on the sides. A fresh haircut gives a client a confidence boost, Peters said.
“I always say a barber is an important person in a guy’s life because his barber sees him before the biggest moments in his life from weddings to graduations to the births of their children,” Peters said.
He recalled cutting a young man’s hair the day of his first high school dance. Peters said clients become friends and they tell other guys about his work. He likes the one-on-one experience in a private setting.
Peters charges $30 for a haircut, $40 for a haircut and beard trim, and $20 for a child’s haircut.
Clients include Pittsburgh Penguins Jason Zucker, Dominik Simon and John Petrishen, a University of Pittsburgh football player. Petrishen has been donating the cost of a meal to the Knead Community Café in New Kensington for every tackle he makes this season. Peters and his wife have donated to the café after meeting Petrishen.
Peters said the athletes whose hair he cuts are caring people.
Social media has also helped get the word out about his haircutting skills. That’s where Piatt Sotheby’s International Realty agent Blake Chaussinand, who comes in once a week to get his hair cut, found Peters.
“I have to look professional for my job,” said Chaussinand, of Downtown Pittsburgh. “It’s important to look good and Dave helps me look good.”
Instagram is where Sarah Gearhart, a stylist at Simply Stated Hair Studio in Baldwin who lives in Bethel Park, heard about Peters.
“I’m learning a lot,” said Gearhart, who was shadowing him on a recent Sunday. “I am hoping my female customers will refer me to their husbands and boyfriends and male friends.”
Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.