Maseto Avatar 30 Knott 56 Loft Silver Tipped Badger Shaving Brush!

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

My Maseto Avatar brush finally arrived in the mail, from a little oh town called TIANJINSHI China! This just came today, so I obviously haven't had a chance to use it yet, just take pics and process them. However, feeling it in the hand, I love how chubby the handle is, it weighs less then my all metal Chrome metal brush. And while my goal was to get a nice big 30 knott brush, I am happy to see that it isn't gargantuan, like some people's pictures make them out to look. The brush overall is an excellent size

I am also the fan of it being a bulb instead of a wide fan. Feeling the hairs with my fingers, this brush hasn't had a chance to break in yet, and it already feels soft! But it also has backbone, this is clear, because my chrome pure badger brush has no backbone to speak of. Its also a silver tipped badger, which overall, is a higher quality brush from the start. Beautiful handle, I am loving it so far! Now I just need to soak this brush in some warm shampoo for the initial breakin.

FYI, I didn't like how much the stand was squeezing the hairs of the brush. So what I did, is I grabbed a pair of pliers, and I widened the fork, which allows me to hold it in the exact same way, except with less squeezing, and more maintaining of the bulb shape. If you guys are looking to get any of these Maseto brushes, look up the seller classicshop2012 on Ebay.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Now soaking the brush in soapy warm shampoo water. Pic taken quick and dirty...

 

[TheBurgh]

Looking forward to your review.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Now soaking the brush in soapy warm shampoo water. Pic taken quick and dirty...

I'm excited for you.... beautiful looking brush... handle, first of all.... very nice... I'm also looking forward to your review.

 

[APBinNCA]

Homer Simpson: Woo hoo!

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Ok guys, you know initial soaking gets super yucky water. So already poured out old soapy water. Now, were on the 2nd phaze of shampoo soaking warm water.

Thank you guys for the kind words. This new brush signifies a big moment, the moment I upgraded my shaving to be more civilized.

Be on the look out cause, I also have a scuttle coming from Captains choice, that will be an additional shaving upgrade, no more cold lather!

 

[APBinNCA]

The good part is that it is a two band knot so it dries faster than some others.

The bad part is it's huge and probably offsets the above benefit.

Use it and enjoy it, but make sure it is as dry as possible when you put it in it's stand. Never leave it sitting wet. You should probably pay extra attention to getting residual soap out of it too. Some can be persistent. Pay attention to the base of any hair that comes out and if it has a little bulb to it especially, come ask for advice. There will probably also being upside down hairs that would confuse you if I didn't warn you.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

The good part is that it is a two band knot so it dries faster than some others.

The bad part is it's huge and probably offsets the above benefit.

Use it and enjoy it, but make sure it is as dry as possible when you put it in it's stand. Never leave it sitting wet. You should probably pay extra attention to getting residual soap out of it too. Some can be persistent. Pay attention to the base of any hair that comes out and if it has a little bulb to it especially, come ask for advice. There will probably also being upside down hairs that would confuse you if I didn't warn you.

All animal hair brushes shed when they are new. I already lost a couple stray hairs brushing up against it with my finger when the brush was dry lol. My pure badger brush is still shedding, apparently common for the first 20-shaves. Regarding getting the soap out, my pure badger brush is also big, I use a thrusting and agitating motion in my sink basin, forcing water to rush through it and out, seems to work fine, so as it shall be for my Maseto Avatar.

The main thing is that the brush has backbone, and doesn't fan out like my pure badger. When I took the brush out of the mug after the first soaking, I was amazed how the hairs held their position, thats cause its got backbone. I shaked it out a bit, hairs still nice and straight! I then put it back in the mug with a fresh warm soapy mix, and I made the soap to water mix ration thick too, cause I aint playing around! I want the badger smell out of the brush.

Now, I tell you what though! My pure badger brush smelled horrid when I first soaked it, the stench was like that of mildew and or wet dog hair being burned off the space heater. I couldn't believe it! Now, when I first put the Maseto brush in water, I didn't smell anything but the shampoo really. @Chan Eil Whiskers told me that not all badger brushes are made the same way.

He mentioned how some badger brushes come treated, while others do not, it just all depends. But like I said, not taking any chances, I want this brush ready for my shave tomorrow, no exceptions! Also, I already have the plan on how to dry my badger brush completely. After I have rinsed out the brush, and shaken it out a few times, I am going to use my hair dryer on low heat.

The hair dryer will speed up drying time just enough, that I can stick it on the stand after, and be sure, the brush will be fully dry. I've talked this over with a few other B&B members here, and they agreed that should work fine. Hair dryers are meant for real hair, badger hair is real hair, as long as I use low heat, I don't see any issues damaging the brush.

Thanks buddy for the advice, I appreciate it!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Beautiful handle.

I'd expect the knot to bloom a good bit, but you can shape it back to a near new looking knot if you want to.

My Maseto brushes have not lost hairs that I've noticed. Almost all brushes will lose an occasional hair or bristle. Some, shedders, overdo the matter.

I have owned and used I think three or four MS brushes and have found no pokiness and no upside down hairs. These have been very well made knots in my experience with them.

Man, that's a good looking handle and brush.

Generally I wash my brushes post shave in the bathtub. The faucet puts out a lot more water a lot faster than my bathroom sink faucet + it stops up less readily.

It's important to get all the soap out if you want the knot to last.

I towel dry my knots, but that doesn't mean I'm trying to get them totally dry before quitting until the next shave.

I use only this one brush stand. Cal has a similar version. (Look it up. It's a great and free stand.)

You don't actually need a brush stand. Drying the brush so the knot is up on top and the bottom of the handle is on a flat surface works fine.

If you're going to store the brush away in an airtight box the knot better be bone dry before you put it away. Otherwise getting the knot totally dry doesn't make any difference so don't worry about it.

Dried on a towel and then dried on a shelf or in a stand the knot may or may not be totally dry by tomorrow's use of it, but it doesn't matter at all to the brush or the knot or the shave.

I'd bet you're going to love that brush. If you have calipers handy you might enjoy measuring it. The knot is likely bigger at its exit than the vendor's nominal size.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[HazMat Shaver]

I like that brush stand. On an angle. Where can I find one of those?

 

[Phoenixkh]

I like that brush stand. On an angle. Where can I find one of those?

I've seen them at Executive Shaving Co and Alpha Shaving.... but I think they are common. Shoot... they are both out of stock.... Not as easy as I thought it would be.,,,I had one but I gave it to our youngest son. I prefer this for mine:

Shaving Bowls and Lathering Bowls at Executive Shaving

Shop the range of shaving bowls, also know as lathering bowls, at Executive Shaving. A lathering bowl or mug will help you whip up the best shaving lather possible, rich, creamy and ideal for use with your razor. Suitable for use with any shaving brush and all shaving soaps and shaving creams...

www.executive-shaving.co.uk

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I like that brush stand. On an angle. Where can I find one of those?

Here. It's the Thater stand. I've seen the same stand in at least one other brand. Probably one manufacturer. It's a great brush stand, but do you need a stand? No, you don't. I just wanted one really good stand and spent the money.

Do look up Cal @Cal's version of it. It's easy to make and free to make for most people and will do the same thing.

Not that mine's not better of course.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Cal]

Do look up Cal @Cal's version of it. It's easy to make and free to make for most people and will do the same thing.

Here's the link for anyone who's interested:

Cal's FAB® (fits any brush) Stand

 

[HazMat Shaver]

Thank you both.

I dont want to get into a hanging or standing for brush drying as it cam go on forever. But i stand mine. Do i need a stand? No. But its kinda cool. I will look into making one as I do a lot of DIY stuff.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Hello everyone, how are all you awesome folks doing today? I tell you what, this forum has been keeping me busy and then some! I've taken a lot of pics for the forum, so plenty of entertainment for you all, we love our pics! lol

I noticed that my Maseto brush looked really cool once I rinsed it out but it was still wet. Does this remind anybody of corel? It does to me, so cool!

And here is a picture of the brush, after I had dried it with a hair dryer...

OK, its time to post my findings on my new brush, are you guys ready for this? Good, cause I am going to tell you lol.

This brush, is without a doubt, the best shaving brush I have ever owned, and yes I only own two HAHA! This brush can hold water and lather like you can't believe. But it also has what I hoped that it would have in a quality shaving brush, and that is backbone....Finally! So not only does it have backbone, without fanning out on itself becoming useless like my Pure Badger does, this Silver Tipped Badger brush has very soft hairs, feels so good when lathering up on my skin.

Have you ever wanted to know what a face massage would feel like? Well, after you complete your first WTG passes, where there is less hair on your face now, come back with this brush to re-lather your face, and you will have a face massage that makes you love life, just saying! The handle also feels excellent in the hand, I had control of the brush the whole time, and at no time, did it feel like the brush was going to slip out of my hand.

Yes, I know quality grip isn't as important in a brush then it is a razor. But guys, if you have ever dropped a smooth finished brush into your sink basin, causing water to splash everywhere, you will appreciate a quality grip on a brush handle. So there you go, a quality Silver Tipped badger brush, with nice soft hairs that do not scratch, but yet has backbone to get the job done.

Oh and the knott size? For someone like me who shaves everything on the face off, there is nothing like a big knott, to cover a wide area. And unlike my Pure Badger which splays completely out, getting lather where I don't want it, like in my ears for example, the Maseto, due to its backbone, it does what I tell it too, and as such, I do not get lather in my ears, which is a plus.

Guys, when you begin your shaving hobby with garbage gear, it really teaches you to appreciate when you get quality gear down the line. Hands down, best shaving brush ever! I will continue to dry it with a hair dryer, just as I did today after using it. Stay tuned, I got more posts coming on different topics, including for todays shave. Like I said, this forum keeps me busy.

So brush rank for this review? 5 out of 5 stars!

Shave Den PIC With New Brush In Stand!

 

[Phoenixkh]

I'm so glad it matched and surpassed your expectations.... It not only looks nice.... but it works brilliantly.... wonderful to hear.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

I'm so glad it matched and surpassed your expectations.... It not only looks nice.... but it works brilliantly.... wonderful to hear.

The picture is showing up in my SOTD rate the shave now, thank goodness. I put effort to get that photo, wouldn't want my time wasted. But I am going to post it here too, to make sure you see it.

I am happy now, this shaving hobby is the best thing ever!

 

[APBinNCA]

I don't know what you are going to do after getting a top quality razor and brush, you are doing everything backwards from how things are done on here and it is confusing me...

I suppose the boots probably boot a dent in your bank account though!

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

I don't know what you are going to do after getting a top quality razor and brush, you are doing everything backwards from how things are done on here and it is confusing me...

I suppose the boots probably boot a dent in your bank account though!

Yep, I've noticed that too. Most folks start out at the very bottom, and then work their way up. But I was trying to aim for quality right from the start, thats why I picked a badger brush instead of synthetic. What I didn't know at the time, was that not all badger brushes are created equal. A painful lesson that was, and what I should have done, was ask the forum back then, and looked what happened when I didn't, bought a garbage brush.

OK ok, maybe I am being a bit harsh. Look, in all fairness, the all metal chrome handle does look nice on my first brush, I aint gonna lie. But when it comes to its ability to be a brush that actually does something right, it fails flat on its face. So ya, I am super happy to have a nice brush now. The only kind of brush that is higher quality then this one, would be a best badger Manchurian brush, but I don't need one. This Silver Tipped finest badger brush makes me happy.

And yes, the boots were a solid hit on the bank account. But, you should have seen the terrible condition of my old boots. I know, should have taken a picture, but I feared that the sight of them would be so horrifying, that it would cause you guys to have heart attacks. So I aired on the side of caution, and just posted the pictures of my new boots lol.

I literally had my old boots held together by 2-part epoxy glue, and black duct tape. That was the only thing, keeping the bottom sole intact enough, for temporary walking, until my new boots arrived.

 

[gpjoe]

Nice brush, but where's the beauty shot, covered in glorious lather?

I've seen the wet shot, the bubble-bath shot, the blow-dry shot, the parked-in-the-stand shot, but no lather shot.

Maybe next shave?