badger for face lathering

[Nudd]

I exclusively face lather with hard soaps, MWF mostly. I have a few semogue boars which I would marry if I could. Lately, my AD has been getting the better of me. I have been browsing some badgers to add to my small collection. I was considering continuing my semogue addiction by getting an SOC badger, getting a simpson colonel, or even getting a knot from TGN.

In my brain I know that I do not need another brush. Would ANY badger out perform my boars for face lathering the fat? If so, which brush?

 

[johnh]

Well I have some Semogue boars including a SOC. Of my badgers I have a Simfix Manchurian which gives the boars a good fright.
Simfix is a portmaneau of Simpson Vulfix. The Manchurian is fairly dense and luxurious. Worth a try for sure.

 

[RVshave]

What ever you get you'll want to be pretty dense with plenty of backbone for the Fat. I had a nice badger that was too big for me, I prefer smaller knots so I traded it for something that worked for me. There are plenty who use boar for the Fat and I'm sure they'll chime in here

 

[Eeyore]

I've never used a badger brush, but I think you'd need a small dense knot to compete with a good boar.

 

[nightguard]

Simpson duke 2 in best, small and dense. I find it great for face lathering MWF.

 

[ou_sooner]

I too face lather with my Simpson Duke 2 in best.....it is breaking in nicely

 

[Doryferon]

Pure-Black badger are working fine with me in face latehr
I have tested some dozens, no problem.

 

[Nolimit]

I face lather MWF with a Simpsons commodore x2 works wonderfully!

 

[Nudd]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up getting a pink B&B brush in honor of Sue. I'll revisit the badgers later when I can justify it to myself again.

 

[Philosophy Student]

Tell you the truth I am really loving the wee scot.

 

[aihpcfl]

I mainly use an Edwin Jagger silver tip. Before that I was using a Col. Conk branded pure badger. And I use a cheap boar when I travel. I always face lather with soap, at home MWF, and Col.Conk on the road. As far as lathering, each brush works fine. The difference for me is the silver tip is the softest brush I can imagine, and it is just beautiful to look at, and it may last the rest of my life. But the inexpensive boar works fine, and so does the pure badger.

 

[Danricgro]

I have a Thater 4125/2 two band fan that has extremely soft tips and pretty much no backbone and it face lathers MWF just fine. If you like the feel of a scrubby brush that's fine but soft brushes face lather too. The whole needing backbone for hard soaps is a bit overblown IME.

 

[tomharr51]

I just received my SOC badger and it is a great face lathering brush and at $95 I consider it a bargain compared to what I payed for some of the Simpsons i purchased which haven't seen much use.

 

[azhawk0516]

Any Chubby, Duke 3, Tulip 3, or Commodore 3 are some great choices for face lathering.

 

[ailevin]

I started out with Omega Boar (Pro 49 and smaller 10275) but was curious about badger so I got a Simpson Berkeley. Partly it was good recommendations here for face lathering, and also, because it wasn't very expensive for a Simpson. Finally, I really wanted to try Simpson Best badger hair.

I liked the Berkeley enough that I bought a Simpson Colonel after using the Berkeley for a month or so. The Colonel is very well reviewed here, costs a bit more than the Berkeley, and is a versatile brush that I enjoy using. Yet I definitely prefer the Berkeley for face lathering. And the two badgers have not knocked the boar brushes out of my rotation either. There are just different animals (sorry for that), and the way that they load and lather is a little different as well.

I am pleased with the variety and I stay in a fairly strict rotation, because I enjoy each brush and like mixing and matching soaps and brushes. The Marco wet loading method works exceptionally well with the boar brushes using most soaps, but I generally use a drier loading technique with the badgers since they hold/release so much water from the breech. I often use shaving sticks, for for these I start with a pretty dry brush either way, but the badger picks up a heck of a lot more water with a dip of the tips, so again, I have to adjust.

So, if and when you want to try a badger, I think the Simpson Berkeley is an excellent entry point.

Alan