Rudy Vey Brushes - 28mm Persian and 28mm Ukrainian Bog Oak
Pros: Outstanding workmanship, beautiful finishing work, exotic woods, well balanced, great choices of knots from several top knot vendors
Cons: None
The Persian: This handle fits beautifully in the hand and has a creamy look that is an improvement over similar handles from Simpsons. The balance is outstanding. The fitment of the knot is perfect.
The Ukrainian Bog Oak: Rudy sourced the wood from 1,500-year-old oak trees pulled from Ukrainian bogs. He stabilized the blanks before turning them on the lathe.
Prior to making either of the handles, Rudy and I discussed what I wanted the brushes to feel like - how much scritch, how soft the tips should be, how the brush should balance in the hand.
We settled on ShaveMac knots - Standard 3-band for the bog oak handle and D01-2 band for the Persian. Rudy is one of the few vendors that knows not only how to turn a handle, but has the depth and experience to know which knots to use to fill a customer's requirements.
Both came out exactly as requested. I had wanted the bog oak to serve as a utility brush - something that has enough backbone for triple-milled soaps, but is soft enough to use with creams. It is luxurious.
I wanted the Persian to provide a more invigorating shave experience, but still relatively smooth. The D01 2-band was the perfect call.
