Hello all.
I have heard several terms used when describing the characteristics of shave brushes and being relatively new to wet shaving in general; I do not have a keen understanding of what brush attributes contribute to various characteristics. I am hoping that some of you wet shave veterans can shed some light on the terms and brush attributes that can contribute to a brush having a specific and possibly desirable characteristic. I did check the Wiki and did not find anything. The desired result would be a list of terms > definition > brush attributes that help achieve said term. This would then be a great resource for others in helping choose a brush with attributes that should produce the desired results. I know that there are numerous combinations of brush attributes that can produce a plethora of results, that being said lets begin with my initial list of terms and hopefully some responses from fellow members to address what those terms mean and what qualities to look for in a brush to achieve said terms. Here is my list with what I understand to be the meaning. The effects of various brush attributes are really the enigma to me for which I am hoping to gain insight.
Knot: Diameter of hair at base where it enters the brush handle. What effect does a larger / smaller knot have on a brush with all other attributes being equal?
Loft: Height of Knot from brush handle to peak of Fan or Bulb. What effect does a shorter / longer knot have on a brush given that all other attributes are equal?
Backbone: I'm assuming that this refers to stiffness of some sort? What attributes help add backbone to a brush? (ie: Boar will have more backbone than an otherwise equal badger. Two badgers with same knot, but the shorter loft will create more backbone. Same dimensions, etc in a brush, but denser knot will give more backbone, etc) Hoping to have some reference such as this. Also perhaps a few examples of Brush A has little backbone and is considered "floppy" , brush B has some backbone a middle of the road if you will, brush C has good backbone, brush D is like lathering with the brush you use to clean your grill
.
Floppy: A brush with little or no backbone? Splays with very little pressure. Do the rules of backbone apply to floppy just in reverse?
Flow Thru: What does this refer to? Is it a reference to the brush's ability to release lather? What determines good / poor flow thru?
Release: If Flow thru doesn't refer to a brush's ability to release lather please allow for one more term. The ability of a brush to release its lather from brush to face. What, if any, attributes affect this? Is boar better than horse and a little less than badger? And then there are the various grades of badger
...
I am hoping that some sort of sticky or otherwise can be created and added into the Brush Wiki. I think that these terms explained would go a long way to help people from potentially spending lots of money searching for that "perfect" brush. At least it should get them looking in the right direction.
Thank you fellow B&B'ers for shedding light on this subject.
I have heard several terms used when describing the characteristics of shave brushes and being relatively new to wet shaving in general; I do not have a keen understanding of what brush attributes contribute to various characteristics. I am hoping that some of you wet shave veterans can shed some light on the terms and brush attributes that can contribute to a brush having a specific and possibly desirable characteristic. I did check the Wiki and did not find anything. The desired result would be a list of terms > definition > brush attributes that help achieve said term. This would then be a great resource for others in helping choose a brush with attributes that should produce the desired results. I know that there are numerous combinations of brush attributes that can produce a plethora of results, that being said lets begin with my initial list of terms and hopefully some responses from fellow members to address what those terms mean and what qualities to look for in a brush to achieve said terms. Here is my list with what I understand to be the meaning. The effects of various brush attributes are really the enigma to me for which I am hoping to gain insight.
Knot: Diameter of hair at base where it enters the brush handle. What effect does a larger / smaller knot have on a brush with all other attributes being equal?
Loft: Height of Knot from brush handle to peak of Fan or Bulb. What effect does a shorter / longer knot have on a brush given that all other attributes are equal?
Backbone: I'm assuming that this refers to stiffness of some sort? What attributes help add backbone to a brush? (ie: Boar will have more backbone than an otherwise equal badger. Two badgers with same knot, but the shorter loft will create more backbone. Same dimensions, etc in a brush, but denser knot will give more backbone, etc) Hoping to have some reference such as this. Also perhaps a few examples of Brush A has little backbone and is considered "floppy" , brush B has some backbone a middle of the road if you will, brush C has good backbone, brush D is like lathering with the brush you use to clean your grill
.Floppy: A brush with little or no backbone? Splays with very little pressure. Do the rules of backbone apply to floppy just in reverse?
Flow Thru: What does this refer to? Is it a reference to the brush's ability to release lather? What determines good / poor flow thru?
Release: If Flow thru doesn't refer to a brush's ability to release lather please allow for one more term. The ability of a brush to release its lather from brush to face. What, if any, attributes affect this? Is boar better than horse and a little less than badger? And then there are the various grades of badger
...I am hoping that some sort of sticky or otherwise can be created and added into the Brush Wiki. I think that these terms explained would go a long way to help people from potentially spending lots of money searching for that "perfect" brush. At least it should get them looking in the right direction.
Thank you fellow B&B'ers for shedding light on this subject.
