are today's brushes larger than in the past?

[FireDragon76]

I agree, modern brushes are very excessive.

But everything is a matter of preference. The trend around here is for moderately thick 24+ and low loft <52. I have a few of those. Honestly, the classic 22/57 brushes splay easier, make much better lather and release them more uniformly.

Backbone is overrated.
.

That's the style I prefer. Something the size of the less expensive Omega or Vie Long brushes.

Whoever made those vintage drugstore badgers knew what they were doing, they all seem to lather great. Sure, none look impressive, but the proof is in the lathering. In contrast, my Razorock Plissoft 24mm is very much forgetable in terms of its performance. It'll probably end up on eBay soon enough.

 

[pdieten]

The last "drugstore" shaving brush on a mass market store shelf would probably have been the Van Der Hagen, and that was a 22mm boar. My first English-made best badger brush was, and still is, described as a "medium" - it has a 21mm knot. The Ever-Ready C40, which is about as classic as an American drugstore shaving brush gets IMO, takes a 20mm boar. So I'd consider those "standard" sizes, and if you think that's too small, then brush sizes have grown.

The biggest brushes I have are a 23mm VDH badger and a 24mm Omega 10065 boar. 24mm is okay for me for a boar because it doesn't really bloom, but the VDH blooms and I think it's too big. I don't want brushes that put lather in both my eye and my ear at the same time.

 

[Saabo]

I agree, modern brushes are very excessive.

But everything is a matter of preference. The trend around here is for moderately thick 24+ and low loft <52. I have a few of those. Honestly, the classic 22/57 brushes splay easier, make much better lather and release them more uniformly.

I agree. My vintage Ever-ready 1500 pure badger is my favorite/go to brush. Holds water and lathers better than several of my newer brushes. Most all of my vintage brushes are Ever-ready because I live in a country near where every.-ready razors where produced

Backbone is overrated.
.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Huge backbone isn't necessarily about making more or better lather (though nothing lathers like a Rooney Finest, and nothing has its backbone). It's more about giving your face and beard a nice rubdown while face lathering, as opposed to the feel of being slapped in the face repeatedly with a wet paper towel from a floppy brush.

 

[FireDragon76]

Perhaps Charles Roberts influence has something to do with larger brushes becoming common? His "method shaving" seemed to emphasize big brushes.

 

[naughtilus]

Perhaps Charles Roberts influence has something to do with larger brushes becoming common? His "method shaving" seemed to emphasize big brushes.

Method shaving uses a towel (hydrolast something).

 

[MrSmith83]

Method shaving uses a towel (hydrolast something).

That was very late in the method shaving timeline. He sold and recommended huge Simpson's brushes for most of the method run.

Roberts then designed his own brush (sort of the first flat top) which was huge as well. They all tended to fall apart for some reason.

 

[MrSmith83]

Btw I think shorter lofted, dense badger brushes were more or less 'invented' by the tastes and preferences of the forums. Even when I first got into wetshaving in the early/mid 2000's super floppy Kents and vulfixes were widely used. Simpson's were dense but usually taller lofted (well, all over the place, really). Plisson also made dense badger brushes but they were very tall lofted as well. I personally think we got it right; big floppy badger brushes are just unusable for me now. Of course I'm not saying there are 'no' dense antique brushes, but...virtually.

 

[FireDragon76]

Method shaving uses a towel (hydrolast something).

That's a change... when I first saw it, the method was using specialized badger brushes.

 

[REV579]

If you look at some of the older publications and ads from makers such as Rubberset, you’ll see that the average size for home use was 20mm or less. In addition, as previously shared, the loft was set pretty high and the backbone was pretty floppy.
The process of assembling a shaving brush was also a bit different. If you’ve removed the bristles from an older brush, you’ll notice there is rarely, if ever, a glue bump or glue bulge.
It’s an interesting process and evolution for those interested.

 

[FireDragon76]

I have some old Rubberset horsehair brushes. Even though they are smaller in diameter, and taller lofted, they seem to work fine, and are actually good brushes for quick one or two pass shaves with an injector razor. I've also never had a problem lathering soaps with them.