Gents,
Many new to wet shaving often have troubles determining which brush is best for them, namely, why is a badger brush more expensive, and precisely what are the differences? Although I am no expert, I hope to shed some light on this debate with some explanations and pictures.
First let us take a look at the combatants I have chosen. First of which (left) is a burma shave boars hair brush that can be commonly found at walmart, longs, walgreens etc. I think I paid around $5 for it new. Next to it (right) is a Vulfix #41 in super badger hair. This brush retails for $130 (www.classicshaving.com), however the Saville Row version of this brush (the SR241) which is IDENTICAL, save for the logo, will set you back only $99 (available at www.qedusa.com)
A few issues I would like to cover before I continue. Firstly, the boars hair brush I chose for the review is quite inexpensive and is not indicative of all boars hairs brushes. There are higher quality versions available, such as, col conk (made by vulfix), omega, proraso, vulfix, muhle, etc. I have used some of the aforementioned brushes in the past, and they are better than the burma shave brush, however I personally do not feel they are leaps and bounds better. I certainly wish I had a more suitable boar hair brush to use for the comparison, but alas, I am a college student, and do not have the time or patience or wish to spend the $ to order one specifically for this test. I apologize for the long âprefaceâ but shaving brushes for some silly reason are a VERY hot topic, and I want to be as clear, unbiased and fair as one opinion can possibly be.
Now onward!
The areas I will cover are 1.Price 2. Differences (physically) 3. Feel 4.Lather and lastly 5. heat retention
1.) Price
On average badger brushes of good quality tend to be significantly more than boars hair brushes. There are a few things to take into account when contemplating which brush to purchase. First and most important to me is smell. Boars hair brushes simply smell putrid to me. The smell subsides over time, but it never fully disappears. When using delicate scented creams, such as a rose, coconut or violet, the smell of the boar brush tends to overpower the cream and is an unpleasant experience for me. Badger brushes smell a little funky at first, but within a day or two the smell is almost unnoticeable, and within a week, it smells like whichever cream you used last. Second is the quality of the animals hair. I have never used a boars hair brush that did not âshedâ hairs, and I used a burma shave boar hair brush all summer (3 months) and it was totally thrashed and unusable by summers end. On the other hand, I have only lost 1 hair on a badger brush. Although more expensive, most badger brushes will stand at least 10 years of hard use. Many gents even get a heck of a lot more use out of them than that. When you figure $5 for a boar brush four times a year (if you wear one out every 3 months) you are looking at $20 a year. So in five years you will have spent the equivalent of a Saville Row SR241 which will go another 5 years easy.
2.) Physical differences.
Notice when I apply pressure to the tips of the boar brush, it displaces the hair. There is no flex or give. The bristles are stiff and firm, and if a single hair is bent to an extreme, the hair snaps or is permanently bent. Also notice the black ring around the base of the bristles. This has an "exposed" knot, so the handle is attached to the knot piece.
Now examine how the badger hair reacts. It contours around my finger, and the bristles flex around it. They are springy and return back to true when manipulated. When downward pressure is applied, the brush flexes and mushrooms out. Notice no black ring where the bristles meet the handle? The knot is apart of the handle, thus there is almost no chance of losing bristles.
3.) Feel
This section is cut and dry. The boar brush feels âfakeâ and stiff and is abrasive against the face. It is not unpleasant, but it has a stiff, cold feel to it. The badger brush on the other hand is luxurious, soft, and very comfortable against the face.
4.) Lather
Now what you all came here for⦠the nitty gritty. There is not much to say about the lathering differences, just check out the pictures below. The lather with the badger brush is significantly denser, more hydrated, softer, fuller, and just plain works better at delivering a closer, more comfortable shave. I used proraso soap for this first test, to show as an example to one of our newer members surf.
This is the lather I got with the boar brush and proraso....
This is the lather I got with the badger brush and proraso....
This next set of pictures will show you the difference in lathering Taylors Eton College.
BOAR
One swipe across the hand with lathered brush...
10 swipes across the hand with lathered brush...
BADGER
One swipe across the hand with lathered brush...
10 swipes across hand with lathered brush...
5.) Heat retention
There is almost no heat retention within the boar brush. Even when using boiling water, it is cool within a matter of a minute or so. The badger brush locks in the heat within the center of the brush, and the dense hair traps it, so I tend to get 10-15 minutes of nice warm lather!
Hope this helps some of you guys, and as always do not hesitate to ask any questions!
Respectfully,
Many new to wet shaving often have troubles determining which brush is best for them, namely, why is a badger brush more expensive, and precisely what are the differences? Although I am no expert, I hope to shed some light on this debate with some explanations and pictures.
First let us take a look at the combatants I have chosen. First of which (left) is a burma shave boars hair brush that can be commonly found at walmart, longs, walgreens etc. I think I paid around $5 for it new. Next to it (right) is a Vulfix #41 in super badger hair. This brush retails for $130 (www.classicshaving.com), however the Saville Row version of this brush (the SR241) which is IDENTICAL, save for the logo, will set you back only $99 (available at www.qedusa.com)
A few issues I would like to cover before I continue. Firstly, the boars hair brush I chose for the review is quite inexpensive and is not indicative of all boars hairs brushes. There are higher quality versions available, such as, col conk (made by vulfix), omega, proraso, vulfix, muhle, etc. I have used some of the aforementioned brushes in the past, and they are better than the burma shave brush, however I personally do not feel they are leaps and bounds better. I certainly wish I had a more suitable boar hair brush to use for the comparison, but alas, I am a college student, and do not have the time or patience or wish to spend the $ to order one specifically for this test. I apologize for the long âprefaceâ but shaving brushes for some silly reason are a VERY hot topic, and I want to be as clear, unbiased and fair as one opinion can possibly be.
Now onward!
The areas I will cover are 1.Price 2. Differences (physically) 3. Feel 4.Lather and lastly 5. heat retention
1.) Price
On average badger brushes of good quality tend to be significantly more than boars hair brushes. There are a few things to take into account when contemplating which brush to purchase. First and most important to me is smell. Boars hair brushes simply smell putrid to me. The smell subsides over time, but it never fully disappears. When using delicate scented creams, such as a rose, coconut or violet, the smell of the boar brush tends to overpower the cream and is an unpleasant experience for me. Badger brushes smell a little funky at first, but within a day or two the smell is almost unnoticeable, and within a week, it smells like whichever cream you used last. Second is the quality of the animals hair. I have never used a boars hair brush that did not âshedâ hairs, and I used a burma shave boar hair brush all summer (3 months) and it was totally thrashed and unusable by summers end. On the other hand, I have only lost 1 hair on a badger brush. Although more expensive, most badger brushes will stand at least 10 years of hard use. Many gents even get a heck of a lot more use out of them than that. When you figure $5 for a boar brush four times a year (if you wear one out every 3 months) you are looking at $20 a year. So in five years you will have spent the equivalent of a Saville Row SR241 which will go another 5 years easy.
2.) Physical differences.
Notice when I apply pressure to the tips of the boar brush, it displaces the hair. There is no flex or give. The bristles are stiff and firm, and if a single hair is bent to an extreme, the hair snaps or is permanently bent. Also notice the black ring around the base of the bristles. This has an "exposed" knot, so the handle is attached to the knot piece.
Now examine how the badger hair reacts. It contours around my finger, and the bristles flex around it. They are springy and return back to true when manipulated. When downward pressure is applied, the brush flexes and mushrooms out. Notice no black ring where the bristles meet the handle? The knot is apart of the handle, thus there is almost no chance of losing bristles.
3.) Feel
This section is cut and dry. The boar brush feels âfakeâ and stiff and is abrasive against the face. It is not unpleasant, but it has a stiff, cold feel to it. The badger brush on the other hand is luxurious, soft, and very comfortable against the face.
4.) Lather
Now what you all came here for⦠the nitty gritty. There is not much to say about the lathering differences, just check out the pictures below. The lather with the badger brush is significantly denser, more hydrated, softer, fuller, and just plain works better at delivering a closer, more comfortable shave. I used proraso soap for this first test, to show as an example to one of our newer members surf.
This is the lather I got with the boar brush and proraso....
This is the lather I got with the badger brush and proraso....
This next set of pictures will show you the difference in lathering Taylors Eton College.
BOAR
One swipe across the hand with lathered brush...
10 swipes across the hand with lathered brush...
BADGER
One swipe across the hand with lathered brush...
10 swipes across hand with lathered brush...
5.) Heat retention
There is almost no heat retention within the boar brush. Even when using boiling water, it is cool within a matter of a minute or so. The badger brush locks in the heat within the center of the brush, and the dense hair traps it, so I tend to get 10-15 minutes of nice warm lather!
Hope this helps some of you guys, and as always do not hesitate to ask any questions!
Respectfully,
