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Brush (See Post #4012)

Really gonna miss these brushes :(

I've got four and was looking forward to buying future versions.
I snagged an Anniversary Edition just in time. I kept waiting for a color combo that wasn't puke-ugly, but each one was worse than the last. Even so, those horrible looking brushes sold out before I could even think about pulling the trigger.

Maybe with the surge in popularity synthetic brushes have had over the last couple of years we'll see a B&B synthetic brush someday?
+1 ... I have a badger from the second batch, and a boar 10AE. A synthetic Essential brush would round out the set nicely.
 
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The B&B essential boar is a very good brush. Having said that, if I were new to wetshaving and looking to purchase my first brush I grab one of the plissoft clones from Maggards or RR before I would purchase any natural hair knot. The new synthetics are just easier to use and require no break in. I tend to be a bit old school and enjoy the process of breaking in a boar or badger brush. But it takes time and I have many brushes to choose from, so when I am breaking in a new brush I can alternate and use the new brush every other day for optimal break in.

So for me, the B&B when well broken in matches the performance of new synthetics...but if I were starting over from zero.....I'm buying a syn.
 
interesting snowman. I can not even imagine a boar hair matching the synthetics at this time. when I got into wet shaving, the synthetics were fairly new and not readily available. at that time, the recommended first brush was a boar because it was more reasonably priced for the quality.

I am going to continue to try to break this brush like a wild horse. I mean break it in. with all the comments thus far, not being broken in HAS to be the issue. People really dig this brush. I'll keep the faith.
 
Since it is discontinued. I will say now that I don't like my brush. It was my first boar brush. I got the clear gold leaf version. Any gold leaf parts that were close to the knot tarnished and turned black and green. It never got really soft after many months of usage. And you have to put a silly amount of soap in it to get a good lather. I had picked up a synthetic just out of curiosity and it beats the boar on every front. I pulled the essential back out last night because I was doing some more reading on it. It is just so stiff that building a lather is a lot of work. I am going to use it again for the next few weeks to see if it has just hardened because of age and lack of use. But at this moment, I'm not super impressed. It WAS a beautiful brush though. But the whole tarnishing thing upset me.
How about some pics of the tarnishing?
 
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$IMG_4681.jpg$IMG_4682.jpg
How about some pics of the tarnishing?
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
I snagged an Anniversary Edition just in time.

Still over 180 of these brushes available at WCS ... once they're gone, they're gone, though.

So is this the LAST EVER B&B brush? Or will we see a badger or synthetic version in the future?
Both curious and sad.

"Last ever B&B brush" sounds ominous, and overly broad, if you mean any brush commissioned by B&B. The last "essential boar"? That's what we have been told. And while I'd say "never say never again" ...

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... let's just call it "almost impossible" to see resurrected.

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Still over 180 of these brushes available at WCS ... once they're gone, they're gone, though.

"Last ever B&B brush" sounds ominous, and overly broad, if you mean any brush commissioned by B&B. The last "essential boar"? That's what we have been told. And while I'd say "never say never again" ...
... let's just call it "almost impossible" to see resurrected.
Well I meant in the context of a brush with the B&B logo on it, if that is what you mean by commissioned. I want one, maybe WCS if they have some by next week, but I'm worried about this odor I'm seeing popped up here and there by users, is this common for all of them, or a rare instance?
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Well I meant in the context of a brush with the B&B logo on it, if that is what you mean by commissioned. I want one, maybe WCS if they have some by next week, but I'm worried about this odor I'm seeing popped up here and there by users, is this common for all of them, or a rare instance?

On the logo ... B&B has done several other brushes before, usually with the badger head somewhere. Those wewe all limited editions or "one and done" editions without preset limits but fixed window of opportunity. The Essential Boar was the first time B&B tried to have a brush available for purchase on an ongoing basis. All good things must come to an end, though.

On the smell, it's part of the ... charm ... of boar and badger brushes. It goes away after a few latherings.
 
interesting snowman. I can not even imagine a boar hair matching the synthetics at this time. when I got into wet shaving, the synthetics were fairly new and not readily available. at that time, the recommended first brush was a boar because it was more reasonably priced for the quality.

I am going to continue to try to break this brush like a wild horse. I mean break it in. with all the comments thus far, not being broken in HAS to be the issue. People really dig this brush. I'll keep the faith.

Something to keep in mind is that boar brushes vary widely. The B&B boars have soft tips after break-in, but tons of backbone. That backbone wont go away with break in. If you prefer soft floppy brushes like Plissons synthetics the B&B boar will not be for you.

My 2 favorite boars are the B&B and a SOC boar. Their performance characteristics are opposite ends of the spectrum. The SOC is a large wild beast with soft tips and splays easily. I use the SOC for soft soaps and creams, I use the B&B to dig into triple-milled soaps.

It all depends on what you prefer.
 
On the logo ... B&B has done several other brushes before, usually with the badger head somewhere. Those wewe all limited editions or "one and done" editions without preset limits but fixed window of opportunity. The Essential Boar was the first time B&B tried to have a brush available for purchase on an ongoing basis. All good things must come to an end, though.

On the smell, it's part of the ... charm ... of boar and badger brushes. It goes away after a few latherings.
Thanks for the info. I'm going to give in and purchase the 10th Anniversary B&B boar brush and give it a go. I only have a badger right now and I've used it maybe 7 times and it is still shedding (maybe a 2-8 hairs, is this normal?) So maybe I need a stifferror brush for some of my soaps.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Thanks for the info. I'm going to give in and purchase the 10th Anniversary B&B boar brush and give it a go. I only have a badger right now and I've used it maybe 7 times and it is still shedding (maybe a 2-8 hairs, is this normal?) So maybe I need a stifferror brush for some of my soaps.

Brushes can shed a few bristles in the early shaves. Basically, you expect that a few bristles in amongst all the others are either not actually glued in or maybe only slightly, so they come loose soon after the brush starts getting used. I like to have three or more brushes in rotation, so that each brush gets at least two days to dry out before the next use, and in that sort of situation I'd expect a brush to basically stop shedding after a month or two. If it continues, or if I'm losing massive numbers of bristles, I'd be thinking "dud".
 
[MENTION=2453]Doc4[/MENTION] thanks for the info! I only have my Vulfix Super Badger right now and it gets used maybe 2-3 times a week so with how little I shave right now it seems normal.
 
I recently "pifed" all my boar brushes, (I only had 3 left) because I have settled on synthetic brushes. But when I saw this 10th anniversary B&B brush I just had to have it. Even if I never use it, I had to have it.
 
I just went thru the last 10 pages of this thread and now I am really pumped up on this brush. I can't wait to get it. In the past I have not had good luck using any boar brush for face-lathering. Still I am going to try this one. I never seem to have enough lather to do more than one pass. Right now I use synthetics for face-lathering.
That's okay I intend to use it for bowl-lathering.
10 year.jpg
 
I got my B&B brush in today and all I can say is you have to hold one of these babies in your hand to really appreciate how nice it is. It really looks sharp and the handle feels so perfect in my hand. This brush is worth every penny. I will use it on Saturday but I know already I am going to like this brush.

B&B brush_2.JPG
 
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