A Tale Of Kents And Madness

[Mr. Shavington]

You've provided the salespeople a tale they will only whisper amongst themselves in years to come, one that will take on mythical proportions as time goes by. You bought brushes but left a legacy. That's pretty cool.

They were too shocked to take a picture of me. So it will indeed be a myth and a few years from now none of the employees will believe the story of the wild-eyed Englishman who came in and bought all the brushes, including the insanely big one that was only meant for display.

 

[StuMcB]

Have been a fan of Kents for several years and have around 15 of their brushes all styles and sizes as well as knots. As a face lather I've never had any issues. Even the newer range of synths they have are pretty good. Enjoy your new additions.

 

[rsp1202]

They were too shocked to take a picture of me. So it will indeed be a myth and a few years from now none of the employees will believe the story . . .

Maybe they'll keep your receipt locked away in their vault, discovered by archaeologists from the distant future trying to understand 21st century humans. This might very well set them on their bum.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Have been a fan of Kents for several years and have around 15 of their brushes all styles and sizes as well as knots. As a face lather I've never had any issues. Even the newer range of synths they have are pretty good. Enjoy your new additions.

I ought to try a Kent synthetic then. I guess they would set the loft higher than most, to give it the Kent feel - would you say that’s the case? I never see any comments here about Kent synthetics so I’m definitely curious. There are all sorts of good things in the dark corners of shavedom if only we would try them and tell about it, as @huck1680 noted.

 

[Trollky]

Ok, here it is and, as you expected, it is magnificent with the knot bloomed. The BK12 is so shockingly enormous that it’s quite hard to find a way to make the scale of it clear in a photo. It’s just multiples bigger than another large shaving brush. When it’s full of lather you just need to dab it on your chin in order to lather the whole face. Ok, the last bit is an exaggeration, but not by much.

I only have a small selection of my brushes with me currently, as I am between homes, though I’ve been adding to them. I took a pic together with the other largest brushes I have on hand - a Zenith 502 27mm boar, a Thäter 4125/4 30mm bulb, and the Kent BLK8. You can kinda see that the BK12 is much bigger, but I think it rather gives the appearance that the other three are small or medium-sized brushes. In reality the Thäter is a really big brush - both the handle and the knot.

There’s a pic with it in my hand. I have pretty large hands and can easily spread my fingers to span a foot across.

The overhead shot is next to the Thäter 30mm, and the soap tub in the other pic is a 250ml Razorock XX jar.

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OMG that is a LARGE knot! Looks bloody lovely though

 

[rsp1202]

I ought to try a Kent synthetic then. . .

Based on splay, softness, and density, one might think Kent made my Zenith synthetic. This talk of Kents finally made the connection in my mind.

 

[huck1680]

That has to be one of the largest blooms, I've ever seen. Wow!

 

[linty1]

Have been a fan of Kents for several years and have around 15 of their brushes all styles and sizes as well as knots. As a face lather I've never had any issues. Even the newer range of synths they have are pretty good. Enjoy your new additions.

Photos please sir! Would love to have a look. Actually a Bk4 was one of my very first brushes, recommended by the folks here. Taking the blk8 for a shave tonight and wow... its so floppy compared to what I like these days. Dug them both up... and a backup bk4 I found on the cheap. A prisoner lineup photo:

 

[APBinNCA]

There is a Kent on ebay for sale, I have been a bit reluctant to mention it and won't give further details. It is a special brush of sorts, but there is a problem; I can clearly see dried, crusty soap in the knot! I have heard how this can go and for the price, it's a tough decision(not to buy it). I know Rudy can replace the knot, but then it's not really a Kent anymore. And the handle alone isn't worth what they are asking to me. I want to mention the dried up soap and see what happens, but it's clearly an estate seller who will have no idea what I am talking about! They may discount it since it's ended and been re-listed a few times now, but I doubt it since they haven't yet.

 

[Pat Puma]

Damn. Got me thinking of the one Kent I had. I believe it was an 8. I had recently been thinking about trying to find one recently after using my Plisson. Really great find.

 

[linty1]

There is a Kent on ebay for sale, I have been a bit reluctant to mention it and won't give further details. It is a special brush of sorts, but there is a problem; I can clearly see dried, crusty soap in the knot! I have heard how this can go and for the price, it's a tough decision(not to buy it). I know Rudy can replace the knot, but then it's not really a Kent anymore. And the handle alone isn't worth what they are asking to me. I want to mention the dried up soap and see what happens, but it's clearly an estate seller who will have no idea what I am talking about! They may discount it since it's ended and been re-listed a few times now, but I doubt it since they haven't yet.

Did you end up actioning on this?

 

[APBinNCA]

Did you end up actioning on this?

No, I received a PM about somebody who was selling a similar one, but completely forgot about that too! I bet that brush is still for sale… or somebody over paid for it.

 

[huck1680]

I have to say that I like my synths. More so than my former badgers...but that's just me. My boars are just now starting to soften to the point where they lather damn near as well as the synths.

 

[DrCarver]

I live on the west coast just outside Vancouver, BC. It is such a shame that there are such slim pickings when it come to stores offering traditional shaving supplies. Reading the original post, I am reminded of my recent family trip to Vancouver Island.

In the downtown area of Victoria near the harbour are two stores, literally within a few hundred yards of each other. One mainly focuses on tobacco and cigars, but carries a decent assortment of the English brands of shave soaps and cream, and a few brushes. The other store carries a lot of mens products and specializes in pens. It also carries a decent assortment of mainly British brand shaving products and quite a few badger brushes from Kent and Trumper.

When I was there, the tobacco store had two Kent H12 brushes and one BK4 brush in stock. Not sure about the price of the small brush, but the large horn brush was listed for $300 Canadian dollars. The clerk was not well versed in traditional wet shaving, so I was able to give her a bit of an education of shave brushes and in return I received an education in cigars. It was a great experience overall. I didn't end up buying the H12 brush as my wife said that I already have more than enough. I didn't want to upset the apple cart, so I gladly purchased a nice Cuban cigar and got to keep my testicles.

The pen store had quite a few Trumpers badger brushes and a few Kent brushes including the H12 model, though this one was listed for closer to $400 Cdn. I believe the store's website has a few more badger brushes listed that were not on display. I didn't buy anything at this store this time, but there were a lot of cool traditional mens products there that had I hung around long enough I may have purchased. In the end, I got to keep my testicles.

If you ever have the chance to visit this part of Canada, Victoria should be on your list. The downtown area still has a few traditional stores selling the classics that are becoming harder and harder to find.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I live on the west coast just outside Vancouver, BC. It is such a shame that there are such slim pickings when it come to stores offering traditional shaving supplies. Reading the original post, I am reminded of my recent family trip to Vancouver Island.

In the downtown area of Victoria near the harbour are two stores, literally within a few hundred yards of each other. One mainly focuses on tobacco and cigars, but carries a decent assortment of the English brands of shave soaps and cream, and a few brushes. The other store carries a lot of mens products and specializes in pens. It also carries a decent assortment of mainly British brand shaving products and quite a few badger brushes from Kent and Trumper.

When I was there, the tobacco store had two Kent H12 brushes and one BK4 brush in stock. Not sure about the price of the small brush, but the large horn brush was listed for $300 Canadian dollars. The clerk was not well versed in traditional wet shaving, so I was able to give her a bit of an education of shave brushes and in return I received an education in cigars. It was a great experience overall. I didn't end up buying the H12 brush as my wife said that I already have more than enough. I didn't want to upset the apple cart, so I gladly purchased a nice Cuban cigar and got to keep my testicles.

The pen store had quite a few Trumpers badger brushes and a few Kent brushes including the H12 model, though this one was listed for closer to $400 Cdn. I believe the store's website has a few more badger brushes listed that were not on display. I didn't buy anything at this store this time, but there were a lot of cool traditional mens products there that had I hung around long enough I may have purchased. In the end, I got to keep my testicles.

If you ever have the chance to visit this part of Canada, Victoria should be on your list. The downtown area still has a few traditional stores selling the classics that are becoming harder and harder to find.

Nice to know you are guarding your testes so admirably. You might need them someday.

It seems like Canada is a good place to find old stock Kent badgers.