Can I Lather Soaps w/ my T&H Silvertip? Do I Really Need a Boar Brush?

[Nick Danger]

Yesterday, I posted that I was considering my first boar brush. The reason for this was my continued frustration with shaving soaps. However, I'm not sure a different brush will make any difference, as my problem is more about how the soap lather dries out on my face than with the process of lathering. There is a long thread on the soap forum that chronicles the issues I've encountered and all the variations I've tried.

So my question today is whether I really need another brush at all. Is there any reason that a boar brush would be better for bowl lathering a soap than my T&H silvertip?

I don't find my silvertip to be "floppy" but I also have no real basis for comparison.

My silvertip is just great with creams. I was only considering a boar brush for soaps like Mike's and Mystic Waters.

I do not ever plan to face lather. My skin is too sensitive for that much contact with a brush or for keeping lather on my face any longer than absolutely necessary. I'm definitely sticking with bowl lathering.

I know that B&B isn't usually the place to go to get talked out of buying something, but I'm just not sure if a boar brush makes sense for me or not.

I'll admit that I'm a shaving gear minimalist. I only want to buy something new if it will really make a difference to my shaves. I could be perfectly happy with just the one brush if it will cover the bases for me.

What do you think? Do any of you use a similar silvertip brush to lather your soaps? Are there real advantages to lathering a soap with a boar brush?

Nick

 

[celestino]

Have you ever considered a good synthetic? Frank Shaving makes some very good ones for the price and you can custom order what you want. Muhle Silvertip Fibre is also a very nice brush, but a tad expensive, in my opinion.
These are fantastic lather monsters with incredibly soft bristles. i would also suggest Wet Shaving Products brushes if you are looking for a better brush.
Good luck.

 

[rockviper]

Reading your other thread on bad lather, I really don't think this is a brush issue at all. Nothing wrong with having a second (or third/fourth/fifth etc...) brush, but it's not going to solve your problem.

 

[jkh]

No, the boar will not magically make soaps work for you.

 

[njpaddy]

I have no problem (face) lathering hard soaps with my Rooney 3/1 or 1/1 Silvertips or my Simpson Rover & Duke 1 in Best. In fact, next on my "want-2-buy" list is a Rooney 1/2 or T&H 1/Med (your brush, I believe) because of the bigger knot. I've tried boar twice in the last couple of years and didn't like the feel (or performance) of it at all. Boar is just not for me. It may be worth a try, but expect a long break-in period before you know for sure.

 

[stryker4526]

Boars are much better for hard soaps than badgers, in my opinion. Especially badgers as soft as a silvertip that can't really dig into them and load well. My first advice would be load longer and use more water. I had some problems with a few soaps on my silvertip that I have not encountered since I got my SOC boar, but the two main causes of bad lather are usually not enough product or not enough water. With soaps it can be a little hard to get enough product loaded if you're using something soft like a silvertip to load.

 

[Doryferon]

Boars are much better for hard soaps than badgers, in my opinion. Especially badgers as soft as a silvertip that can't really dig into them and load well.

With soaps it can be a little hard to get enough product loaded if you're using something soft like a silvertip to load.

I agree with that,theoretical any brush do for anything but practical the Boar wins in hard soaps
The Badger is very friendly to those who have soft skin
A few drops of hot water in the surface of the hard soap will make it more "melt" and help the brush to load.

 

[Nick Danger]

Reading your other thread on bad lather, I really don't think this is a brush issue at all. Nothing wrong with having a second (or third/fourth/fifth etc...) brush, but it's not going to solve your problem.

I agree, it's probably not a brush issue.

No, the boar will not magically make soaps work for you.

Thanks, I appreciate the straightforward answer. I tend not to believe in magic anyway.

Nick

 

[Nick Danger]

Boars are much better for hard soaps than badgers, in my opinion. Especially badgers as soft as a silvertip that can't really dig into them and load well....With soaps it can be a little hard to get enough product loaded if you're using something soft like a silvertip to load.

What the heck. I've decided to buy a used B&B boar brush. It's not a huge investment. As with so many other shaving-related items, if I don't try a boar I'll always wonder about it. I can always sell it on B/S/T if it doesn't work for me.

Nick

 

[dpmtherrien]

Any brush can be used for either soaps or creams, its not the brush that makes the lather, its your technique. Once you get that down you can make good lather with any brush and any soap or cream.

 

[brucered]

any brush should lather any product (except modern Williams of course)

many have issues face lathering with the Kent BK8, it can be done. many have issues lathering Mystic Water, it can be done. can they both be done at the same time, yup. face lathered MW with my Kent BK8 this morning and got 3 passes, plus one on face for moisturizing during clean up, with no issues.

it just takes time and practice. nothing wrong with the brush or product you are using. sorry to say, it's user error. i've been there before and was ready to give up. stick with it, once you have a break thru, you won't have any issues with any hardware or software.

 

[Nick Danger]

sorry to say, it's user error. i've been there before and was ready to give up.

No reason to be sorry. I've strongly suspected it was a problem with my technique.

It's just like when I do tech support on a friend's computer: The problem usually turns out to be the loose nut behind the keyboard.

At least now I'll have a second brush and won't have to worry about putting too much pressure on my silvertip as I load those hard soaps.

Nick

 

[brucered]

you bowl lather, so if possible, try shooting a couple lather videos and let us "see" what you are doing. nothing fancy, if you have an ipod or digital camera they will do the trick.

it will be a lot easier to see if it's a techinque issue. as for humidity, i don't see that being an issue. same goes for water. i've been able to make lather anywhere i am (home, camping, travelling).

9/10 it's not enough product

I believe all of these companies make an UN-scented and they are all latherable in a bowl with badger or boar.

My Shave Loser (I mean Lather) Video Series:
AOS cream with Boar & AOS cream with Badger
MdC with Badger & MdC with Badger II
QCS Cream with Badger

 

[oldtrout]

I would recommend buying a boar brush.
I had similar issues with my lather when starting out. All I had was a silvertip brush and then another silvertip. I then bought a boar brush thinking it would be the answer.
Fortunately for me, the first boar brush I bought was funky, I mean it stunk. I had some Classic Brand Wool Fat that I could not lather with the silvertips at all, but it smelled nice. So I used that lousy soap to defunk my boar brush making practice lathers and in the process learned how to create a good lather. It all came down to practice, which makes perfect sense. Now I can create great lather with any of my brushes; that funky boar brush and the nice smelling unlatherable soap unlocked the mystery for me.