How to Cut Hair in a Crew Cut

1. Wrap a clothing belt around the sidies of your head at the height that you desire the cut to be. The belt guarantees that you will have very neat hair cut. If you are doing what is called a high crew cut then cut a line around the top of the belt verses the bottom. A high cut means you are bald all the way to the top of your temple. A low crew cut is bald to any point below or in the middle of your temple.
2. Adjust the clippers all the way forward without a guard on. This is the balding position. If you don't want the sides of your head bald, then pull the adjustment lever back completely and this will leave a higher shadow of hair. For even thicker sides you will apply the 1 guard with the lever completely back.
3. Cut from the bottom to the top, stopping at the edge of the belt or at the line you created using the belt. Cut with the clippers being open faced, meaning the screws will be faced away. Be sure to cut over the sides twice to ensure a clean cut.
4. Remove the belt from the side of your head. Proceed to cutting the top by placing the biggest guard on with the lever completely back. Depending on how much hair you have will determine what guard you will need. Start with the biggest one to see if it cuts and work your way down until you find the right size. This is the safest way because you cannot mess up when you have a guard on.
5. Begin cutting evenly across the top with the chosen guard on. Go over the top 3 or 4 times to get the most even results.I you are using a 4 guard then remove it and put on a 3 guard. Now you are going to put the finishing touch, by cutting a shallow in the middle of the top. Begin your cut approximately 2 inches from the front and the back and simply cut in between those barriers. The guard will do the precision work so you can cut with no reservations.
   

A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair at the front hairline to the shortest at the back of the crown. The hair on the sides and back of the head is usually tapered short, semi-short or medium. A very short crew cut is sometimes referred to as a butch cut or buzz cut. A long crew cut is referred to in the US as an ivy league crew cut or ivy league. A typical ivy league might be graduated in length on the top of the head from one and a half inches at the front hairline to one half inch at the back of the crown. A typical short crew cut might have a similar proportional graduated difference in the length of the hair on the top of the head. If a short crew cut is three quarters of an inch at the front hairline, the length of the hair at the back of the crown might be one quarter of an inch. A crew cut where the hair on the top of the head is graduated in length from the front hairline to a chosen point on the mid to back part of the crown as a flat plane, of level, upward sloping or downward sloping inclination is known as a flat top crew cut or flattop. Crew cuts, flattop crew cuts, and butch cuts are all traditionally groomed with hair control wax, commonly referred to as butch wax.

The term was most likely coined to describe the

haircut worn by members of the Yale rowing crew in the 1890s. The name drew a contrast with football players of the time, who wore long hair to compensate for the flimsy leather helmets. According to a history by helmet manufacturer Riddell, the championship Yale football team switched to crew cuts in 1895, which became the style for football as well as crew and "remained in fashion for nearly 70 years".

The crew cut was adopted by the United States armed forces during World War II, and became a civilian fashion for men throughout the 1950s.

By the mid-1960s, the crew cut was generally seen as a mark of conservative political opinions, as opposed to the longer hair styles favored by those with more liberal views.