Mt. Tamalpais Brushes by Dan Capshaw - 28mm Thuya Burl

This little guy showed up today. 22mm stiff flex of handmade loveliness.

I was pleasantly surprised that the wood was a little darker than I thought it would be. Plain white box and a nice little note from Dan on brush maintenance.
The first two pictures were taken outdoors to better represent the true colors, and on the knot to let me get enough light for a good macro.

The brush felt stiff but somewhat thin and not really packed. That all changed once I soaked it. It seemed to thicken right up and lathered up easily using first a Proraso cream and then some Ogallala soap. The picture is after about 45 seconds beating with soap. I would say it is a tiny bit harder than what my SRXX18s are to lather. This is it's first use and I can only imagine how it will age.

Applying the lather to my bald, shaved face this brush is extremely stiff. It doesn't bend much at all but is soft. A lot softer than my C&E BBB was. Everything about this brush was what I hoped for from my Shavemac purchase last month. It has a better finish, just as densely packed and has no "floppiness" whatsoever. Couple that with the fact I could have purchased almost three of these for what I paid for my Shavemac!
The final picture is rinsed and a 20% damp bloom. Looks like it spent three hours in bed with a Russian hooker.

On my ratings
Price: Cost was $60 for 22mm in Red Palm wood. Can't beat that.
Quality: Top notch. Only a 9 because someone, somewhere probably makes a better brush..at a higher price.
Density: Only a 9 as he offers a density upgrade! Jeez oh peez.
Stiffness and Softness of tips: A 9, only because someone musy make a softer, stiffer brush...at a much higher price.
Ergonomic: Looks are beautiful but the polished handle is a little slippy.
Latherability: A 9 'cause my SR lathers better...for now.
Improvements? Mibee, in time, a logo. I love the logos.
I doubt there is a better value for money brush out there.

Dan Capshaw the a superb craftsman who runs Mt Tamalpais Woodworks.
http://www.tamwoodworks.com

In my opinion he is the best Custom Brush maker, who constructs superbly crafted custom handles with top notch badger knots to match, at a great value. A rare combination. I have purchased 3 brushes from Dan that have meet and exceeded my expectations.

Here I have a brush with a custom wood (Thuya Burl) handle with the following specifications
Knot Size - 28mm Bulb Shaped
Loft - 58mm
Handle Height - 55mm


Pictures have been attached to the post below...

The first picture is to give a perspective of the size of the brush. In the middle is a Simpsons Chubby 3 Best, on either side are Mt Tamaplais brushes.

The second picture is a top view of the brush left is the Simpsons CH3 Best and to the right is the Mount Tamalpais brush (one with the smaller bloom). The brush knot is densely packed, as you can tell. The tips are softer than the CH3 Best similar to the tips of the new Shavemacs. I must add that the extra dense knot was by request and it has a $20 upcharge but it is well worth it.

The third picture is of the brush making lather using L'Occitane Cade Shave Soap. The picture is taken after about 20 swirls in the bowl. Mind you this is the maiden journey for this brush, and it takes about 5-7 uses for a brush to reach its peak lather making capacity. After 20 swirls the lather was overflowing into my hands

The fourth picture is after a few swirls in a bowl to see the copious amount of lather that is generated. Generally I would just lather on the face but it would be easier to show the picture of the lather in a shaving bowl

Finally a picture of the brush in full bloom.

This is a 5 star brush