On the Hunt for Scritch?

[old_school]

Been reading for a year and a half, digesting good info. Got another question.

To my surprise my favourite of 3 brushes in my stable, all Semogue, 610 boar, 730HD Silver Tip and 750 Best Badger is... the 750 Best Badger.

For face lathering, all I do, it has backbone and a little tiny bit of prickly scrub I assume is called scritch. I love it.

Close behind is the 610 boar for the lovely backboned scrub, no prickly scritch. The 750 gives up its lather easier and is more willing to make rich lather from my hard well water than the 610.

The luxurious opulence of the 730HD, despite it's superior lathering abilities is a distant 3rd. Don't seem to really care for silky smooth. Weird I know!

No preference for materials, even synthetic would be ok.

Where do I go from here for Nirvana!?

 

[BSAGuy]

If you are happy, then why seek others. Sounds like you are close enough to Nirvana to just hold your current position.

 

[Jut]

Maybe look a the Simpson Eagle line of pure badger brushes...you'll definitely get scritch!

 

[miguel]

A horse hair brush

kinda sits between a boars brush and a pure badger brush
you can get a Cremo/Vie-Long brush at target.

 

[sandstone]

If you are happy, then why seek others. Sounds like you are close enough to Nirvana to just hold your current position.

+1...this sounds like me in that whenever I'm happy with something I immediately start looking for ways to improve it.

 

[BigJ]

You should definitely consider one of the Simpsons. Personally I find their pure is a bit too much. My personal preference is their best badger grade. Perhaps something along the lines of a Classic or Chubby?? Tons of options.

 

[dfoulk]

For the ultimate in brushes with some scritch check out a Shavemac d01 2 band brush. I've read that it's an acquired taste and that this brush is one that you learn to love. These are expensive but I'm told that those that love some scritch absolutely love this brush. I may try one at some point just to see what it's all about but I haven't done so yet as it's not what I usually look for in a brush.

I've always avoided scritch myself as it's not something I look for in a brush. It can be easily found in a lot of the lower priced silvertip brushes as well, though I don't know which ones to recommend to you.

 

[celestino]

Shavemac D-01 2-Band knots are probably the best option for luxurious scritch, but they are expensive.

Vie-Long Epsilon 2-Band brushes 27 x 50mm are also a good candidate.

Zenith boar brushes offer a 28 x 50mm brush that has the strongest backbone of any boar brush that I have ever tried. Also, the handle is very heavy. I have one, but I don't get along with it.

Any Pure badger brush would fulfil this, in general, as they are usually the lowest quality badger hair and quite scritchy.

 

[mdwolfie86]

I would honestly suggest you try a Nathan Clark Envy White supreme badger. If you want to branch out a little bit and try new stuff, I think you will certainly enjoy this one if scritch is what you're looking for.

 

[JimmyHAD]

Shavemac D0-1 two band absolutely. AFAIC there is no other brush currently made (in badger) that will equal the D0-1 two band in scritch. I've tried 3 Morris & Fondrans, a half dozen Simpsons of the current production, and the Shavemac is the undisputed king of scritch AFAIC.

 

[ackvil]

As others have said the Shavemac 2 band in D0-2 is the way to go. It has some scritch but is a lather monster. I have a few with those knots.

 

[MarsEnglish]

Scritch??? Did u say scritch - if the run of the mill Shavemac D0-1 2band isn't dialed in enough - take the leap into the Flat Top arena. Scritch City!!

 

[JimmyHAD]

Scritch??? Did u say scritch - if the run of the mill Shavemac D0-1 2band isn't dialed in enough - take the leap into the Flat Top arena. Scritch City!!

@MarsEnglish
I've been thinking hard about one of those, you may have pushed me over the edge
Does the flat surface handle well as to lathering, and do you recommend a short, medium, or tall loft with that shape ?

 

[old_school]

Sure appreciate the response and recommendations! Have a little studying to do.

I was under the impression scritch was a major taboo. Seems for a few folks at least, having a brush in the rotation with a little scritch is a good thing. This is like group therapy for the noobie, lol!

 

[MarsEnglish]

Does the flat surface handle well as to lathering, and do you recommend a short, medium, or tall loft with that shape ?

Truthfully it's a lather making machine!!!
Between the density & the knot construction, the flow through is fantastic and soaps lather without fuss.

I recently learned that by adding more soap than normal during loading, I can reduce the scrub on my face a bit & I can confirm that that does help.

I'm not a huge fan of scritch, so I regret not going for more loft. My measurements are 20x42. If I were to do it over, I'd go 46 or 48mm loft. The dense flat knot will not easily splay, know that up front!!!

Overall, it's a great brush, it's gotten better with each shave - I hear that it really takes 30-50 shaves to break in. I'm midway to that goal & can already begin to feel it improving nicely.

I hope this helps.

 

[JimmyHAD]

Truthfully it's a lather making machine!!!
Between the density & the knot construction, the flow through is fantastic and soaps lather without fuss.

I recently learned that by adding more soap than normal during loading, I can reduce the scrub on my face a bit & I can confirm that that does help.

I'm not a huge fan of scritch, so I regret not going for more loft. My measurements are 20x42. If I were to do it over, I'd go 46 or 48mm loft. The dense flat knot will not easily splay, know that up front!!!

Overall, it's a great brush, it's gotten better with each shave - I hear that it really takes 30-50 shaves to break in. I'm midway to that goal & can already begin to feel it improving nicely.

I hope this helps.

Indeed it does. I've got a pair of D0-1 two band fan shapes, one in 50x26 and the other in 52x26. If and when I go for a fan I think I'll do 52x24. I love scritch though, so I ought to like it fine.

 

[adamchur]

If you like scritch, and like boar, but aren't sure about venturing into horsehair........
The Vie Long 4101 Professional could be the best of both worlds
It's made of 60% boar bristle - scritchy and 40% white horsehair - floppy
When I got mine about 6 months ago it was as stiff as a yard broom, and it wasn't just funky - it was the stinkiest brush you could imagine !!
It took 3 good hot washes with baby shampoo followed by 3 long rinses in hot water just to upgrade it from "stinky" to just plain "funky"
Then I did 10 test lathers with a Derby stick - it loaded very easily and produced an explosion of lather every time.
After the 10th test lather it had a faint "wet doggy" whiff, but it was at least serviceable
After a week of daily lathering, the smell was just a memory, the tips of the bristles had split and it was well and truly broken in - and producing some of the best lathers I'd ever seen

Now after 6+ months....

The good points-

It loads even the hardest of soaps without any need to bloom - top of the list Williams
It's equally at home bowl or face lathering with hard soap like Williams, or face lathering with something soft like Proraso
It's soft enough to use in a swirling motion to coat my bristles with a thin layer of lather before finishing off with a painting motion
I use all 4 of my brushes in rotation and I always look forward to "Vie Long day"
The olive wood/stainless steel "American Barber style" handle looks ultra cool and is still as good as new

The bad points-

I've got a craving for Vie Long brushes, but don't have the bank balance or shelf space !!

Eye candy....

 

[eezee]

A horse hair brush View attachment 763554 kinda sits between a boars brush and a pure badger brush
you can get a Cremo/Vie-Long brush at target. View attachment 763555

If you like scritch, and like boar, but aren't sure about venturing into horsehair........
The Vie Long 4101 Professional could be the best of both worlds
It's made of 60% boar bristle - scritchy and 40% white horsehair - floppy
When I got mine about 6 months ago it was as stiff as a yard broom, and it wasn't just funky - it was the stinkiest brush you could imagine !!
It took 3 good hot washes with baby shampoo followed by 3 long rinses in hot water just to upgrade it from "stinky" to just plain "funky"
Then I did 10 test lathers with a Derby stick - it loaded very easily and produced an explosion of lather every time.
After the 10th test lather it had a faint "wet doggy" whiff, but it was at least serviceable
After a week of daily lathering, the smell was just a memory, the tips of the bristles had split and it was well and truly broken in - and producing some of the best lathers I'd ever seen

Now after 6+ months....

The good points-

It loads even the hardest of soaps without any need to bloom - top of the list Williams
It's equally at home bowl or face lathering with hard soap like Williams, or face lathering with something soft like Proraso
It's soft enough to use in a swirling motion to coat my bristles with a thin layer of lather before finishing off with a painting motion
I use all 4 of my brushes in rotation and I always look forward to "Vie Long day"
The olive wood/stainless steel "American Barber style" handle looks ultra cool and is still as good as new

The bad points-

I've got a craving for Vie Long brushes, but don't have the bank balance or shelf space !!

Eye candy....

View attachment 763786 View attachment 763787 View attachment 763788 View attachment 763789

Another vote for trying horse hair brushes. I have three and they are all great. Here are mine:
The 13052

The 12705

14080

And the 14080

Good luck with your hunt!!

 

[ColonelHogan]

Stirling has a reasonably priced badger in a fan knot now that I find to have good scritch, as badger goes. In synthetics, the $7 Omega S brush can't be beat for scritch. Go with a medium loft- the Pro size is too unwieldy in synthetic fiber.

 

[old_school]

Uh oh, this isn't turning out well. Been reading, studying and a little reluctant to blow a months allowance on a super fine brush just yet. But, you know how it is, I HAVE to get a new brush now anyway.

shavemac has a Pure Badger that looks like it should have some scrub and scritch with a few pennies left over for my bad habits.

The Brush Configure page allows a loft between 48mm to 56mm for a 23mm knot in Pure Badger. How low do I dare go? Well if I sprung for a D01 2-Band the MAXIUM loft for 23mm knot is 48mm. hmmmm...

So how does a shavemac Pure Badger 23mm knot set a 48mm sound for face lathering? Or is that just to stiff, maybe 50mm?

Just
can't
seem
to
shake
this
obsession.

All opinions welcome and appreciated.