Jack Black 'Pure Performance' Shave Brush

Price: At almost a hundred bucks, many might pass over a "synthetic" shave brush in favor of a badger hair brush. That's too bad, this is one amazing brush that really is a game changer.

Quality: Very well made, quality weight and feel.

Density: Excellent density, full and tight but still spreads out well.

Stiffness and softness of tips: This is where this brush excels. The bristles are baby soft and feel great on the skin, but not so soft as to just turn to mush when lathering the way some high end badger hair brushes do. The Jack Black holds up well, can be used vigorously on the skin but still feels soft and smooth but stiff enough to softly exfoliate your skin.

Ergonomic: Feels great in the hand, best thing I can say is I don't even think about it, it just becomes an extension of my hand.

Latherability: Stupid lather. Crazy mad dog lather. Insane dope whack crunck lather. Lather that rises up like a righteous revolution, and seeks out and smashes down mediocre shaves with one pass.

Conclusion: You are still here? not out buying this brush? Why!? Go get this damn brush!

If you only have one synthetic and it isn't Jack Black "Pure Performace", you bought the wrong brush.

Price: Very steep. Go for a Super Badger at this price, or if you are bent on a synthetic, then maybe the Men-U which would save you money.

Quality: No real complaints here. VERY solid, well-made. Handle is the best of all my brushes. I love holding this hefty brush. Also, just an all-around very handsome brush.

Density: Great density. No problems here.

Stiffness: Too stiff for me. I feel it is very hard to lather on the face, as it doesn't have much "give". If you press down too much then it splays out awkwardly.

Softness: Amazingly soft. Softer than my silver-tip Simpson Super PJ2.

Ergonomic: A big brush. This may be a problem for some. I love the handle and the heft.

Latherability: It doesn't hold water that well. Maybe even less than my good boar brush. It just doesn't seem to lather all that well. Especially at this price point.

NOTE: Part of the reason that I got this brush is that I thought it would bridge the gap between badger and boar, being soft yet scrubby. I don't know if that is even a realistic expectation. But I was disappointed. It is hard to scrub with this because it is just too stiff. Also, this is supposed to dry quickly as it is synthetic. I have not found this to be the case. It hangs on the side of a cupboard, upside down, and completely open. It DOES dry faster than a very full badger, but not significantly faster.

Overall, very handsome, nice presentation and case. Not my favorite, by a longshot.

To qualify this review, I only use synthetic and have never used a badger.

The Jack Black synthetic is an excellent brush in a number of areas. It is incredibly well made, well packaged and feels absolutely wonderful on the face. It is expensive but the build quality is excellent.

The tips are soft and the brustles firm enough to scrub your face if you should wish. The handle is sturdy, well made and feels nicely weighted.

My only problem with it is that is requires a lot of hard work to make lather with this brush. It retains a lot of water so depending on the soap/cream you may use, you may not get good results. You need to be careful in order to get good lather from this brush.

Of course, this brush would be my everyday brush if not for the Men-U offering which lathers like a champion. Unfortunately, as the Jack Black has to stand up to it's cheaper & better brother the Men-U, I can't recommend it; unless you have to have a second synthetic...

I am not a huge fan of Badger brushes. I do like the fact that they will hold a lot of lather and water, but in general I do not care for the floppy, moppy, effect most of badger's have. I do prefer the less expensive badgers because the bristles are a bit stiffer. Currently, my Badger of choice is a Rooney "Super Badger" - which is one step down from their best silvertip. - otherwise, I prefer the scubbiness of what,.....? Synthetics, Boar hair, Boar and Badger Mix, etc., etc.

I search for different manufactures, looking for that great combination of the Boar and Badger. I check in here at B&B ever once and a while and read their reviews on brushes every so often. Well, after reading this review on the Jack Black "Pure Performance Shave Brush" by "Onemanshow", I went to Jack Black's website and just had to order this brush.


I received the brush three days ago. Shipping time was less than a week. It comes in a very sturdy hard plastic container, that can be used as a brush stand or as a travel brush container by just putting the lid on the opening. It has vent holes in the back of the container. The knot size is 25mm, handle is 50mm and the brush itself is 60mm, making it 110mm total. Very nice!

I have had three shaves with it. I really wanted to put this brush through a few different senarios in regard to making lather. My 1st shave was a combo Uberlather, using both a cream and triple milled soap mixed in a bowl. The lather was excellent and when applied to my face, it was a whole different feel. The brush was very stiff, and when I pressed it spread out and was delightful in regard to scrubbing, yet the tips were very soft at the same time. The 1st shave was quite different getting used to this brush, but excellent at the same time. The next morning I used a straight cream in a bowl with the same results, getting lots and lots of lather. Lathering and scrubbing was excellent! This morning I decided I'm going to give this brush the ultimate hard test: Triple milled soap (Tabac) and I will lather only on my face. I wanted to know how much lather, if any, this brush would hold. I went through my normal face prep. While doing the prep, I put a layer of hot water on the Tabac soap. After my prep, I swirled the brush over the top of the Tabac soap, loading the brush. I then started swirling the brush on my face - the lather was great, as much or more than I have ever experienced. Incredible! With one application of soap from the soap dish, I was able to do four passes (I usually do three), but there was so-o-o-o much soap on the brush, I said, "why not"! and, I could have done a fifth. This has never happened to me. A synthetic brush producing this much lather........! To say the least, I am blown away by this brush. Here are some performance ratings with 10 being the best, of course:

PRICE: 9.5 Yea, I could give it a 10, it's worth every penny at $85.00 because it could be the last brush you ever buy. I am confident it will be the last brush I ever buy.

QUALITY: 10+ Very well made, The handle is a heavy plastic, I think. It could even be a metal for all I know. The hair shafts are beautiful, they are cream colored on the bottom with a dark color in the middle, and the tips are very soft and gray. Excellent!

DENSITY: 9.5 It is slightly less than my silvertip Shavemacs and my Rooney. We are comparing a natural animal hair to a synthetic shaft, which I do not believe this is a valid comparison. Who Knows?

STIFF AND SOFT: 10++ Here at B&B you have two categories, Stiff tips, and soft tips. I am combining these because these shafts are stiff at the base and the middle, and yet, very soft at the tip. I can't say enough good about this quality. This sells this brush for me!

ERGONOMIC: 9.5 It has a nice size handle, it is a bit heavy, which I rather like, and I think you will, too.

LATHERABILITY: 10++++ I can't say enough about this feature of this brush! Would WOW be appropriate here?

* I think it is probably obvious to you what I think of this brush. It surprises me that no one here at B&B has commented on Onemanshow's sterling review of this brush. it tells me that nobody has tried it, yet! - because if they did, a lot of people would have a lot to say about it. Maybe it's the Christmas season and shelling out $85.00 for a SYNTHETIC SHAVING BRUSH sounds kind of foolish right now.

** I Love this brush! - and I highly recommend you give it a try. You won't be sorry!

Steve

I’m a very harsh critic when it comes to shaving gear. I scrutinize all the products I intend to buy before I buy them; I don’t want a closet full of shaving products if you know what I mean.

My dilemma was not liking the floppy badger hair brushes that don’t get rid of dead skin cells or push the facial hair up. Badger hair brushes in my opinion do not do the full job of a shaving brush. I personally love boar hair brushes for the scrubbing effect and they seem to do the job of a shaving brush.

For awhile I was struggling between liking the soft tips of the badger hair and the scrubbing effect of a boar hair; If only a brush can have both features.


I finally found a brush that has everything I was looking for.

This brush is by far the best brush I have ever used. Its unique synthetic hair is amazing; the tips are as soft if not softer than a silver tip badger brush; Likewise it provides a better scrubbing effect than a boar hair brush. I personally recommend this brush and place my seal of approval on it .


Sincerely,

OneManShow