badger brushes

[bluesparkuk]

when i started wet shaving around 2 years ago, through ethical reasons, i started off with only synthetics, and then decided to try a badger, then another and another etc, at the beginning i was purchasing my badger brushes by grade, but now around 2 years later i choose my brushes more now by make or style/look of brush, as after having used all the grades of badger hair, i really don't think a particular grade gives an actual better shave than another(I'm sure i will have a few of you guys strongly disagreeing with me) yes different grades maybe feel different to each other on the face, but for the actual shave, i dont think a particular grade gives an actual better/closer shave than another, anyone with me here, feel free to share your opinions

 

[ouchyfoot]

A lathered face is a lathered face no matter how it got lathered.

 

[SterFry]

Brushes are tools and I've never found one to necessarily have a superior final result. The process to that end result can vary considerably, however.

But could somebody look at a bowl of lather and tell which type of brush lathered it? I doubt it very much.

 

[Big Jim]

The lowest grade badgers are extremely uncomfortable. If you like scratching your face when you lather up go ahead, but not me. Unfortunately these lowest grade brushes sometimes actually lather faster. Me, I'm addicted to Silvertip, but that doesn't keep me from using many others, but I have sworn off pure grade badgers.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I enjoy badgers the most but I am also very happy with a good synthetic brush or a boar. Variety can enhance the shaving experience. I find bloomed badger knots to be quite beautiful and interesting in appearance.

I never quite understood the arguments that synthetic brushes are more ‘ethical‘ than badger. Who is to say whether cruelty to animals is more unethical than plastic pollution and unnecessary consumption of fossil fuels, as well as the no doubt toxic waste that accompanies plastic production (I presume that synthetic brush hairs are plastics - synthetic polymers, like nylon - and are made from crude oil). The notion that synthetic brush fibres are clean or ethical seems like lazy thinking to me.

By the way, I recently purchased a Declaration Grooming badger brush with a ‘unicorn ivory’ handle. I do hope the handle is truly made of ivory from a slaughtered unicorn and I would be disappointed if it turned out to be something as unethical as plastic.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Go for it. The point I was really trying to make is that plastic is unethical in many quite serious ways. I wasn’t trying to say that harming animals is ethical.

 

[sydbarett]

The lowest grade badgers are extremely uncomfortable. If you like scratching your face when you lather up go ahead, but not me. Unfortunately these lowest grade brushes sometimes actually lather faster. Me, I'm addicted to Silvertip, but that doesn't keep me from using many others, but I have sworn off pure grade badgers.

Interesting point. It makes me wonder if its possible to reduce the "scratch" on pure badger/similar brushes by treating them with some sort of a file or simply by using them too many times, much like a barber primes his brushes (though admittedly this might do more to the hardness/water bearing capacity of the strand than the tip itself). Would love to hear from someone who has tried anything similar.

 

[Big Jim]

Interesting point. It makes me wonder if its possible to reduce the "scratch" on pure badger/similar brushes by treating them with some sort of a file or simply by using them too many times, much like a barber primes his brushes (though admittedly this might do more to the hardness/water bearing capacity of the strand than the tip itself). Would love to hear from someone who has tried anything similar.

I read about someone claiming that using sandpaper would do that. It didn't work for me.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Before I knew better, I got a cheap badger brush from amazon, I believe the brand was Grand Slam. It was advertised as "finest badger," whatever that means. But it doesn't look like a pure black. Anyway, it's not all that scritchy. I have a vintage boar with more scritch. Beyond being a lather hog I have no complaints.

 

[COdiak]

By the way, I recently purchased a Declaration Grooming badger brush with a ‘unicorn ivory’ handle. I do hope the handle is truly made of ivory from a slaughtered unicorn and I would be disappointed if it turned out to be something as unethical as plastic.

+1 Love this. lol

 

[Ron R]

I'm kind of new to badgers and bought some Yaqi 2band and a silver tip brushes. Each brush does feel a little different when lathering and is a nice change up from my synthetics that I still enjoy the most for now. 2band badgers are very nice because they have the backbone with soft pillow like tips. My 24mm high mountain silver tip is also a nice brush and it is not floppy and works well.
The grades of badger is a guide for folks who want a certain feel to the face. I do not have a Pure badger but that is for fellows who love scrubbing the face and has the most back bone is my understanding.

 

[bluesparkuk]

I'ts actually quite amusing the way things turn out,i bought my Simpsons Case in "best" a few months ago,and on arrival i was so disappointed in it(not realising how small it was),thinking it was a waste of money as i would probably never use it,now a few months on and although ive actually only used it around 2 or 3 times now,its now one of my favourite brushes,and also ive gone from buying larger brushes at the start of my collection,to now buying medium or smaller brushes...its great

 

[RayClem]

When you are young, your skin tends to be much less sensitive to abrasion.

According to the National Institutes of Health "Your skin changes with age. It becomes thinner, loses fat, and no longer looks as plump and smooth as it once did. Your veins and bones can be seen more easily. Scratches, cuts, or bumps can take longer to heal."

The changes to your skin as you age are likely to alter your prospective on shaving. If your beard hairs become tougher, that will be another change impacting your shave. The brushes, soaps, razors and blades that work well when you are younger might not be suitable when you age.

My skin is so sensitive that nearly every brush I own will irritate my skin if I try to face lather. That includes some premium silvertip badgers. I could not use the Simpson Case Best Badger brush shown in the photo above, even for bowl lathering. I can see some dark tips sticking up that would feel like needles pricking my face. If I plucked out all of those dark hairs, I might be able to use the brush for bowl lathering, but never for face lathering.

For those of you who are still young enough to use any brush, razor, blade or soap you wish, consider yourselves fortunate; but do not be surprised if that changes one day.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Notwithstanding what Ray said - which is always correct and informed by careful experimentation - for those of us without particular skin sensitivity I am coming to the conclusion that pretty much all shaving brushes are equally good.

There are certainly big differences in face feel, backbone, size, etc. between brushes, but I’m thinking this is really a question of personal preference. I don’t find that high-end, artisan badger brushes are superior for shaving - I just find that they are made to fit the prevailing set of preferences within the community of people who tend to buy and collect these things. When you buy an expensive artisan brush today you know it will be 2-band badger, about 28mm diameter, densely packed, medium backbone, bleached tips (to different degrees within a range) for some level of gelling and tip softness / consistency.

There is no real reason why those should be YOUR preferences - you might like a scrubby, high backbone brush; or a floppier, softer 3-band badger brush; or a less dense knot; or a smaller knot; or a boar; or a very soft nylon brush. Or maybe you want a few brushes that give you a variety of characteristics. The fact that these different options have different price levels in the current market doesn’t mean they are different levels of quality, I think, it only reflects that some characteristics have become fashionable and some haven’t.

 

[BanjoCowboyMartaTobes]

I enjoy my badgers and my STF synth immensely. My several Yaqi synths work alright however I really do not like how they fling water and lather everywhere. I suspect a denser lower cost synth would be ok but that razo plissoft, my gosh, my lab couldn’t fling more water all over the place lol.

 

[Barbarian80]

This is a pretty old thread so not sure what the topic is anymore- but, no brush will give you a better shave and i don't believe that any brush will build a lather any better than any other- building lather is something that must be learned by the person shaving. Brushes are all about feeling. If you like how it feels on your face then its a good brush. If you don't like it then it aint. Simple as that.

 

[davidw963]

The best brush is one that actually works. I had purchased an Art of Shaving travel brush, which was pure badger. Worked great, but shed like a nervous dog in about 2 months. Alas, it didn't last - and picking bristles off my face and cleaning them out of the bowl is a PITA.