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Importance of a good brush

Is it possible to make a great lather using only mediocre synthetic brush or average boar brush?
Or is it that with these you will never make above average lather no matter what soap you have and how much effort you put in?
I have only these two (synthetic and boar) (see photos). And even though I am able to make ok lather and shave myself without irritation or cuts, still when I see some Youtube gents their latter is like from some old school barber shop photo… and mine is not. Also when I apply lather from brush on my face a lot of lather usualy fall down like it is not kept on tip of the brush but it rather going up to stem of the brush… but when I see some gents on yt they have most of their lather on tip of a brush.

my soaps are:
Proraso green
Trufitt&Hill Lavender
Cpt.Fawcett Limited

(I have soft water at home.)
 

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rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I think that it has a lot to do with your lathering style. I have five brushes ; three badger and two synthetic. I face lather, either applying cream to brush or stick soap to face.

My go-to brush now is a USD 2 no-brand Chinese guaranteed pure best badger synthetic. I have used this one brush daily and almost exclusively for about the past two years. Last week it lost its second hair.
 
Well my boar NOM brush (supposedly made by Mühle) lost like 10 hairs already. But I do bowl lathering. One thing I will try is I will load brush with soap longer. Till now I just loaded 30s max, maybe it needs more time with these brushes.
 
I started with Balea boar and Balea black
They are ok brushes I still have them
Now I use Simpson T3
Difference is there, but mostly due to thickness and knot size, it lathers better, for sure, but not magicaly better. On my first 3 shaves it was actually worse, untill i learned correct ratio of water and soap.
 
For years I used badger exclusively, I have a couple of very nice silvertip and finest badger brushes that were not cheap at all. I recently acquired my first synthetic, a PAA Peregrino which cost about $30. It’s my new go to. It makes a perfect lather much faster then any of my badger brushes and feels super soft on the face. Synthetics have definitely come a long way, you don’t need to spend a fortune for a high end brush to make great lather.
 
I've tried lathering with various bowls and scuttles but I get the consistently best performing lather when I face lather -- although the bowl lather often looks prettier.

I'm able to get a great lather with just about any brush, although it's easier with some than others. For me the main distinguishing factor between brushes is feel, with performance (ease of building and applying a great lather) being second. I've got badgers, boars, and synthetics that I really like as well as some that I like less. If a gun was held to my head and I had to pick only one it would probably be the Omega boar.

So OP I would answer your question with a "yes," adding the old but prescient observation that it is the Indian and not the arrow.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Brushes have different characters, but so do their owners.

Different brushes load at different rates, convert to lather at different speeds, hold different amounts, flow at different rates, and have different feels in terms of scrub and softness. Different owners have different priorities over which of those brush characteristics matter most to them, and what their individual preferences are for each of those properties.

One man's pillow soft, is another man's floppy and useless. One man's scrubby, is another man's coarse and prickly. One man's efficient and repeatable, is another man's dull and soulless.

Brushes do matter, but only so far as being a good match for their owner's preferences. All last month I had great shaves with no brush at all, but it was really nice to start using them again. From this coming week, I'm trying some new brushes to see if small best badger and mixed hair brushes, are as good for me as synthetic and boar.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I've been reading the ways to break in a boar brush a bit faster... and the three I have on hand are already showing significant improvement. A few more wet/dry cycles and they'll be ready. I'm sure they'll still improve over time, but they are already getting that soft, pleasant feel to them.
 
Thanks for your advices, I will try to improve my lathering skills first and then maybe will try another brush.
 

Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker

Likes a fat handle in his hand
Is it possible to make a great lather using only mediocre synthetic brush or average boar brush?
Or is it that with these you will never make above average lather no matter what soap you have and how much effort you put in?
I have only these two (synthetic and boar) (see photos). And even though I am able to make ok lather and shave myself without irritation or cuts, still when I see some Youtube gents their latter is like from some old school barber shop photo… and mine is not. Also when I apply lather from brush on my face a lot of lather usualy fall down like it is not kept on tip of the brush but it rather going up to stem of the brush… but when I see some gents on yt they have most of their lather on tip of a brush.

my soaps are:
Proraso green
Trufitt&Hill Lavender
Cpt.Fawcett Limited

(I have soft water at home.)

This is what you need for a brush, and what you should be looking for in a lather...

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APShaveCO Custom G5C synthetic 24mm brush not in a Blue Lagoon handle. Lather whipped up into a Yogurt like consistency.

If lather is falling down to easily, that means it's too wet, you need more soap. I find, it's better to build the latter up, and add water as needed.

Practice makes perfect. I have faith that you will achieve it!
 
This is what you need for a brush, and what you should be looking for in a lather...

proxy.php


APShaveCO Custom G5C synthetic 24mm brush not in a Blue Lagoon handle. Lather whipped up into a Yogurt like consistency.

If lather is falling down to easily, that means it's too wet, you need more soap. I find, it's better to build the latter up, and add water as needed.

Practice makes perfect. I have faith that you will achieve it!

Thanks according to this picture I’m slowly getting there each shaving.
Thanks for the photo, that always helpful!
 
Is it possible to make a great lather using only mediocre synthetic brush or average boar brush?
Or is it that with these you will never make above average lather no matter what soap you have and how much effort you put in?
I have only these two (synthetic and boar) (see photos). And even though I am able to make ok lather and shave myself without irritation or cuts, still when I see some Youtube gents their latter is like from some old school barber shop photo… and mine is not. Also when I apply lather from brush on my face a lot of lather usualy fall down like it is not kept on tip of the brush but it rather going up to stem of the brush… but when I see some gents on yt they have most of their lather on tip of a brush.

my soaps are:
Proraso green
Trufitt&Hill Lavender
Cpt.Fawcett Limited

(I have soft water at home.)
Would look a this question differently. Instead of a focus on brush quality an alternative is to ask if it's possible to make great lather with moderately priced brushes versus higher end premium tools. To this question the answer is a definite yes. My two brushes are a Razorock Monster 26mm synthetic and Blondie(rebranded Zenith 80N) 26mm boar brush. These brushes allow me to easily produce excellent lather from my soaps. Both only cost $9 U.S. when on sale. In the case of boar brushes many higher end versions use the same knot as the basic brushes with molded plastic handles. The premium prices cover what are often hand turned wood or resin handles with the result that the lathering ability of the brushes are the same as the basic model.

Note that sometimes that "Instagram Worthy" lather we see in many postings is not the best for shaving. With my soaps using a somewhat wetter lather delivers a better shave by maximizing initial and residual slickness. The lather you currently make may turn out to be ideal for the best shave. Cut down on your water and you should be able to thicken your lather to see what works best for you.

P.S. Regarding your original question the answer is still yes. May just take a lot more work. This is based on personal experience with a lower quality Van Der Hagen boar brush (lost its knot after a few months) and a no-name synthetic from Amazon purchased when I first returned to wet shaving two and a half years ago.
 
Brushes have different characters, but so do their owners.

Different brushes load at different rates, convert to lather at different speeds, hold different amounts, flow at different rates, and have different feels in terms of scrub and softness. Different owners have different priorities over which of those brush characteristics matter most to them, and what their individual preferences are for each of those properties.

One man's pillow soft, is another man's floppy and useless. One man's scrubby, is another man's coarse and prickly. One man's efficient and repeatable, is another man's dull and soulless.

Brushes do matter, but only so far as being a good match for their owner's preferences. All last month I had great shaves with no brush at all, but it was really nice to start using them again. From this coming week, I'm trying some new brushes to see if small best badger and mixed hair brushes, are as good for me as synthetic and boar.
Great post! :thumbup: It’s like you read my mind. I have a hard time getting my thoughts out sometimes.

My favorite line being that “brushes do matter, but only so far as being a good match for their owners preferences”! Nailed it.
 
Higher end brushes make for more "likes" in SOTD pics.

They should all be able to produce quality lather with decent soaps/creams.
 
Yesterday I used Cpt. Fawcett Limited soap with NOM Boar brush and really took my time to make best lather I could. And it turns out I was really me and not a brush, bc I produced a lot of lather (even spared some for my wife). Problem before was I didn’t load the brush enough. Thanks again everybody !
 

linty1

My wallet cries.
Concur with the general sentiment: yes.

I mean, you can create lather using just your hands as your would hand washing (would need to adjust water etc), for me it's a "which brush do I like/enjoy using" thing too.
 
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