Breaking in 2 bands

[Loric]

My experience with two band brushes has shown me that they break in much more than other grades of badger hair. The slender white tips soften up a substantial amount while the thick dark part of the hair stays quite ridged. My Chubby 2 two band in particular has really became a spectacular brush. It was quite nice out of the box, but the pronounced bulb shape really was not my cup of tea. However with several months of use it really started to feel softer and more fan like to the face.

SliceOfLife had said he broke his two band brushes in on a rough bottom lather bowl, and I had an idea to try the same thing myself. I dont have any bowls with a textured bottom, but I do have a nephew who has copious quantities of Leggos. I appropriated a flat base price that was about 5x5. I have been whisking it on the Leggos while I have down time (watching a movie or what not) and it is really accelerating the break in possess. In the past week it has broken in as much as it did in the first 2 months of use.

Just as a note, I did not push down onto the surface as I was worried I would damage the hairs. My goal was to rough up the tips not break the shafts of any hairs. I'd hate to harm my brush.

I was curious if anyone else had noticed this change in their two bands or used a similar "tool" or method to soften up the tips of two bands.

 

[Vlad]

Subscribed. I'd like to know how soft they're supposed to get. I have a feeling that backbone is the main attribute of these knots.

 

[Loric]

Mine is not as soft as my chubby in Super, but its getting closer all the time. On a 1-10 scale I would give the Chubby in Super a softness of 9 (my stubby 3 and some of my low density brushes are a touch softer) and the Chubby 2 band a 7.7 At least it is after the break in and a good long soak.

You might also want to start giving your two band a long soak in hot (but not scolding) water. The large diameter hairs soap up a lot of water almost like a boar hair will. Capillary action will hold plenty of water between the bristles for lathering if you just run it under water, but it will not soften up this way. The water observation is not the point of this thread, as it is only temporary. However, its a factor that cant be ignored when using two bands especially Simpsons as they seem to have the widest diameter of any two band I have gotten my hands on.

 

[drumana]

I've been noticing how my CH2 two band is getting softer with use. Even better is that it's getting better flow through and is releasing lather more easily. It was a bit of a lather hog at first.

I also have a CH1 in two band which I've had for several months longer than the CH2. It has seen a lot of use, and has really become an amazing brush. Very soft yet with definite backbone. The CH1 knot is just perfect for me.

The two bands just continue to get better and better with use. Lately I've been alternating between the CH1 and CH2 - my other brushes getting hardly any use at all.

 

[Thebigspendur]

Pretty much all my brushes are original two banders and to tell you the truth they haven't changed in the years I have been using them and I wouldn't want them to. If I wanted soft I'd buy a plain silvertip. Maybe these new two banders are a different animal altogether.

 

[xriley]

My emperor 2 - 2 band took about 4 weeks to hit it's stride.

At first I was a little disappointed. Now I would trade it for anything.

 

[AJMiami]

my experience with 3 different Simpson's 2-band is that they remain pretty much with the same character after 10 or so uses. But I have always used my brushes in a large rotation of 5-6 at the same time.

Are those noticing this softening using their brushes exclusively/or within a short rotation?

 

[inkwell]

i dont find much softening of tips in my 2-band brushes over time. The biggest change i see is becoming less stingy with the lather. My tulip 2 i used exclusively for about 3 weeks before i could get it to be generous with lather. My shavemac 2-band is still opening up and ive had it for many months as well. The brushes come nice from the factory, but i definitely notice a difference after using them thoroughly.

 

[Loric]

Are those noticing this softening using their brushes exclusively/or within a short rotation?[/QUOTE]

I have a BIG rotation, anywhere between 6 and 10 brushes at any one time It did take a couple months of use, and then a week of "breaking in" on that Leggo board I mentioned.

I did not use it on the Leggo but my Rooney Finest did soften up too. At first the long soft tips were a touch prickly but after 10 or so lathers they softened up quite nicely.

The moral of the story is really break a brush before you make a final opinion.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I had a thread or two here many months back when I had Bullseye make me a custom job 24mm TGN 2 band Finest. I told him I wanted a long handle to lather in my ~3.5" deep scuttle and I wanted backbone... lots and lots of backbone. He offered to create a "pinch" in the handle where the hair left it, to minimize bloom and make a much stiffer brush. You can see where the seal/finish has worn off from contacting the walls of my scuttle. I was aggressive with this thing. Dug it deep into the base and walls of the scuttle, used a plunger motion on the bottom to press the lather out for futher whipping, etc. For several weeks, this brush was used nine days out of ten and the brush has never lost a single hair and now the knot is as soft as any brush I own. If it were bigger and had a handle more like what I prefer for face lathering (rarely bowl/scuttle lather anymore), it would easily be my favorite brush. It's at 43mm loft by the way.

You say the Rooney finest loses some prickle as it wears? Nice. I've got 4 or 5 uses of mine in so far and if it lost a bit of prickle, I'd only love it even more.

 

[Loric]

Woot! I'v been eager to see what this famous TGN Finest brush of yours looked like Ian. I like the G.I. Joe battle damage on the brush It has character!

Your kind of the guest of honor in this thread anyway. You gave me the idea. Thanks for the pics.

 

[drumana]

i dont find much softening of tips in my 2-band brushes over time. The biggest change i see is becoming less stingy with the lather.

Yeah, I'll agree with this. My two bands might get a little softer (I think so), but the definite noticeable change is improved flow through.

 

[huntmol]

Eh, I'd have to say just give it time. These are brushes that you'll be using for decades to come - no reason to shorten their lifespan just to make them a little bit softer right now. Just be patient.

 

[bbarton713]

I was just talking/typing about this with someone else on here and I likened a brush's life to a bell curve.

The beginning of the life of a two-band may be with it being too stiff or too prickly. Over time, it will gradually get better and reach the sweet spot at the top of the curve. This will be followed by a gradual decline and ultimately you'll have a brush that someone buys on BST circa 2110 and they'll ask if people think whether they should replace the knot on their vintage handle or keep it as original.

Someone will tell them that Rudy Vey VIII does a sweet job with replacing knots and if you place it on the teleportation pad he'll send over a new knot after you go through your choices on the holo-deck.

 

[JPDyson]

It's not unheard-of for badger knots to benefit from a few uses. Certainly not to the extent that boar does, but I'd say my Simpsons two-bands have certainly matured over a couple weeks of use.

 

[Darjeeling Express]

I was just talking/typing about this with someone else on here and I likened a brush's life to a bell curve.

The beginning of the life of a two-band may be with it being too stiff or too prickly. Over time, it will gradually get better and reach the sweet spot at the top of the curve. This will be followed by a gradual decline and ultimately you'll have a brush that someone buys on BST circa 2110 and they'll ask if people think whether they should replace the knot on their vintage handle or keep it as original.

Someone will tell them that Rudy Vey VIII does a sweet job with replacing knots and if you place it on the teleportation pad he'll send over a new knot after you go through your choices on the holo-deck.

Lovely thoughts. Rudy, are you listening? Time to start passing the secrets of the trade on to the next generation. Me, for one, hope to be scanning that holo-deck in the next 5 years.