Grüß Gott änd welcome the eighth inställment of The Brush Chronicles, which will be feäturing a German gem, the H.L. Thäter 4125/1 (medium) silvertip shäving brush. Before we dive in, I would like to täke ä moment to welcome Dävid (djh) äs the newest Shäving Brush Forum Stewärd (SBFS - trädemärk pending)! Dävid änd I exchänged ä few PMs over the weekend änd we thought it would be fun to co-host this Brush Chronicle äs the new Shäving Brush Forum Stewärd Teäm (SBFST - trädemärk pending). Luckily, Dävid is equälly skilled with the shäving brush änd cämerä, so in äddition to good commentäry there will älso be good photos (no pressure, Dävid) of this beäutiful brush. I will do my best to provide märginälly äveräge photos änd umläuts 
For the next two weeks we will be discussing the H.L. Thäter 4125/1 (medium). Again, this is a discussion, so don't be shy about asking questions or posting your thoughts and/or experiences. I would also like to invite discussion pertaining to any H.L. Thäter model.
I was only able to locate one B&B review for a Thäter. If you know of other reviews, let me know. If you are interested in acquiring an H.L. Thäter brush I recommend using your favorite search engine to locate a vendor. Or check out B&B's Vendor Corner. H.L. Thäter official website.
The H.L. Thäter 4125/1 silvertip a high end shaving brush and is priced accordingly. I paid about $150 (USD) for my Thäter, which may or may not fall outside of your comfort level. Regardless, it was money well spent because the brush is built like tank and fit for king. I have seen little to no variation in knot shape based on all of the online photos I have seen; to me, this is an important attribute of any high end product. The tips of this brush are impossibly soft - absolutely zero scritch. If you have sensitive skin I would consider this brush. One could face lather for a good five minutes without worrying about a raw face (note: I consider face lathering for five full minutes a LONG time). This brush probably doesn't meet the requirements for someone looking to murder a puck of soap (i.e., it isn't going to win the backbone competiton), but it effectively lathers hard soaps and soft creams effortlessly. Don't get me wrong, it is NOT floppy in least just not as rigid as a sub-50mm lofted brush. To me, backbone is a matter of personal preference, not a measure of effectiveness. Due to the extremely bulbous shape the 24mm (mine measured 25mm) knot feels smaller on the face. I am a fan of more fan shaped knots (pun definitely intended), but this bulb is really fun to use (again another matter of personal preference, not a measure of effectiveness). The eight faceted handle provides a very sturdy and comfortable grip. Personally, I love how the handle works, but it isn't my favorite looking shape. Also, the lettering is starting to wear off. At this price point, I would prefer to see engraving.
I thought the 50's era screaming pink towel provided a nice contrast
Obligatory birds-eye shot
Let's kick things off right with a guaranteed performer.
Thäter after ~30 seconds under running tap and then shaken. With any soap I prefer to start with a drier brush and then add dribbles of water the surface of the soap puck whilst loading. If find this method create less mess (i.e., flying proto lather)
~15 seconds worth of loading. Look, the brush is saying, "I need more water."
~45 seconds of loading. I added several, probably five, dribbles of water while loading.
Lather! I won't wax nostalgic about how awesome the lather because for me MWF is always good and provides great results. I am a two pass shaver and there are more than two passes left in this brush, so I had to wash some down the drain. I wept.
Rinsed!
I tried to capture the following two shots near a window for better lighting.
With cheesy little flash.
Without cheesy little flash.
For the next two weeks we will be discussing the H.L. Thäter 4125/1 (medium). Again, this is a discussion, so don't be shy about asking questions or posting your thoughts and/or experiences. I would also like to invite discussion pertaining to any H.L. Thäter model.
I was only able to locate one B&B review for a Thäter. If you know of other reviews, let me know. If you are interested in acquiring an H.L. Thäter brush I recommend using your favorite search engine to locate a vendor. Or check out B&B's Vendor Corner. H.L. Thäter official website.
The H.L. Thäter 4125/1 silvertip a high end shaving brush and is priced accordingly. I paid about $150 (USD) for my Thäter, which may or may not fall outside of your comfort level. Regardless, it was money well spent because the brush is built like tank and fit for king. I have seen little to no variation in knot shape based on all of the online photos I have seen; to me, this is an important attribute of any high end product. The tips of this brush are impossibly soft - absolutely zero scritch. If you have sensitive skin I would consider this brush. One could face lather for a good five minutes without worrying about a raw face (note: I consider face lathering for five full minutes a LONG time). This brush probably doesn't meet the requirements for someone looking to murder a puck of soap (i.e., it isn't going to win the backbone competiton), but it effectively lathers hard soaps and soft creams effortlessly. Don't get me wrong, it is NOT floppy in least just not as rigid as a sub-50mm lofted brush. To me, backbone is a matter of personal preference, not a measure of effectiveness. Due to the extremely bulbous shape the 24mm (mine measured 25mm) knot feels smaller on the face. I am a fan of more fan shaped knots (pun definitely intended), but this bulb is really fun to use (again another matter of personal preference, not a measure of effectiveness). The eight faceted handle provides a very sturdy and comfortable grip. Personally, I love how the handle works, but it isn't my favorite looking shape. Also, the lettering is starting to wear off. At this price point, I would prefer to see engraving.
I thought the 50's era screaming pink towel provided a nice contrast
Obligatory birds-eye shot
Let's kick things off right with a guaranteed performer.
Thäter after ~30 seconds under running tap and then shaken. With any soap I prefer to start with a drier brush and then add dribbles of water the surface of the soap puck whilst loading. If find this method create less mess (i.e., flying proto lather)
~15 seconds worth of loading. Look, the brush is saying, "I need more water."
~45 seconds of loading. I added several, probably five, dribbles of water while loading.
Lather! I won't wax nostalgic about how awesome the lather because for me MWF is always good and provides great results. I am a two pass shaver and there are more than two passes left in this brush, so I had to wash some down the drain. I wept.
Rinsed!
I tried to capture the following two shots near a window for better lighting.
With cheesy little flash.
Without cheesy little flash.
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The Thäter feels like a big fluffy octopus masseuse (or masseur, if you prefer). I know I said the 24mm bulb head feels smaller on your face, but now I feel like I need to quantify. To me this "normal" 24mm bulb feels like 22mm fan. I say "normal" because you can get a brush that too densely packed (gasp, really!?!?!) for the hair, a loft that is too short (gasp, really!?!?!) for the hair, or a combination of both - at which point you can end up with a bulb shaped knot that now feels like a 10mm knot (exaggeration) because there is no give to the hair when you swirl. That said, I hold bulb shaped at a slight angle (rather that straight up and down, which I do with fan shaped knots) to get a full coverage load on the brush (see below), so I probably tend to work the "outer perimeter" of the bulb shape on my face as well.
I have no clue what I did to this picture!?!?!? No matter, the point of this photo is the open breech. As I am building lather I like to add dribbles of water the open breech. A small amount of downward pressure will make the knot splay. If face lathering the chin is the perfect place to make this happen. I like adding water into the knot because it really helps to hydrate the lather from the inside out. Probably a placebo effect, but it works for me.
I hate this forum.
