Traditional Straight Razor Shaving in the Heart of Champagne

Scapicchio Academy Level 2 with Stijn De Sutter & Daniel Lezama

The capital of the Champagne region has its own kind of quiet. Not empty, not asleep, but a soft hum of history, stone, and slow luxury. Beneath that atmosphere of vineyards and cellars, we spent a day not talking about bubbles, but about steel.

This time, Scapicchio Academy Level 2 travelled to the heart of the Champagne region in France, inside a beautiful traditional barbershop owned by Daniel Lezama. A strong name in the craft, and a barber whose heart is exactly where it should be, in his team and in his trade.

Daniel asked me, Stijn De Sutter, to come and teach his barbers. Not for a social media trick or a quick workshop, but to truly build a foundation. To sharpen minds and razors. To bring the Scapicchio Academy Introduction Course and Level 2 mindset into his shop and prepare his barbers for real traditional straight razor shaving.

Setting up for serious straight razor work

The setup was intentionally simple and professional, exactly how real barber training should be.

Three new 8/8 open straight razors.

One Ardenne Coticule All in One Honing Kit.

Three barbers ready to learn, listen and work.

No distractions. No gimmicks. Just stones, razors and focus.

We started with the core of everything in traditional shaving. Sharpness. Not “sharp enough”, but barber-level sharp. The kind of edge that respects the skin and glides instead of dragging.

With the All in One Honing Kit from Ardenne Coticule we walked through the full process. How to keep the razor flat on the stone. How to control pressure. How to listen to the sound of steel on stone and understand what it tells you. How a good honing stroke feels in your fingers, not just in your head.

All three barbers took the work seriously and it showed in the results.

Every razor passed. Not just acceptable, but excellent.

This is the kind of sharpness a professional straight razor barber needs.

That moment when a blade goes from dull to alive is always special. In a Champagne city, with a Champagne-level barbershop team, it felt even better.

Muscle memory, stropping and razor control

Once the razors were truly sharp, we moved to the next essential skill of a classic barber. How to hold a straight razor correctly and how to strop it with confidence and control.

A traditional open razor is not held like a shavette or a pair of scissors. It is a tool that demands respect and precision. Your grip is not only in your fingers. It lives in your hand, your wrist, your forearm. It is about balance, angle and trust.

We focused on:

How to position the fingers on the scales and shank.

How to keep the wrist relaxed but stable.

How stropping is not about speed but about rhythm and consistency.

Stropping is pure muscle memory. The first attempts always feel awkward and slow, but that is exactly how it should be. Your body needs time to create a new pattern. A new habit. Once that memory settles in, stropping becomes a natural reflex and your razor thanks you every single day.

For a professional barber, these details are everything. A clean edge, a consistent stropping routine and a correct grip are the foundation of safe, luxurious straight razor shaves.

From pizza to the Italian shave demonstration

After sharpening and stropping, we refueled in the most honest way possible, with good pizza. Nothing fancy, nothing staged. Just barbers, food and talk about the craft.

Then came the real showpiece. The Italian shave.

In the Scapicchio Academy style, we broke the shave down step by step. No secrets, no magic. Just structure, logic and an obsessive focus on quality.

We covered:

How to prepare the skin for a traditional straight razor shave.

How to position the barber around the chair for maximum control.

How to stretch the skin properly and safely.

How to plan the direction and pattern of the strokes.

How to move from first pass to second pass with intention.

I shared as many tips and tricks as possible. Not just what to do, but why. Where most barbers waste time. Where they lose control. Where they can gain comfort, efficiency and a better result for the client in the chair.

Two full shaves per student. No hiding.

Theory means nothing without pressure. So each barber had to perform two full Italian-style straight razor shaves.

No filters. No editing. Just real clients, real hair, real skin.

This is where you see who listened with their hands and not just with their ears. This team delivered. Of course there are always details to refine, but the foundation was strong. Very strong.

For a Scapicchio Academy Introduction Course and Level 2 mindset, this is exactly what you want. A solid technical base, open minds and a hunger to improve.

Champagne, straight razors and a golden-hearted host

There is something almost poetic about receiving a traditional open razor shave in the Champagne region, possibly with a glass of Champagne nearby. Both experiences are about patience, craftsmanship and layers of work that the client never fully sees.

A good Champagne takes time, discipline and expertise.

A proper Italian straight razor shave is built on the same principles.

That day I felt incredibly proud. Proud of the barbers. Proud of their progress. Proud to bring the Scapicchio Academy spirit into a French barbershop surrounded by vineyards.

And above all, I felt grateful for Daniel Lamanza.

Daniel is more than a skilled barber. He is a man with a golden heart who truly cares about his team and his clients. He organized everything perfectly. The shop, the students, the timing, the energy. No ego, no noise. Just a barber who wants his team to grow and his barbershop to become a reference for traditional straight razor shaving in the Champagne region.

Conclusion: how it should be

This edition of the Scapicchio Academy Introduction Course, combined with Level 2 thinking, was special for me as a barber, educator and craftsman.

Traditional straight razor shaving.

The sound of steel on Ardenne Coticule stone.

The smell of lather in a classic barbershop.

A strong team hungry to learn.

And outside, the quiet pride of the Champagne region.

This is how our craft should be. Honest. Precise. Rooted in tradition, but always moving forward.

Thank you, Daniel, for opening your doors, trusting me with your team and building something real in the heart of Champagne.