I enjoy using a wide variety of brushes that display many different characteristics. I don't usually go for small brushes but travel with a Simpson Major which always makes me think I should pick up a few other smaller sizes. The one deal killer for me is scritch, so no longer have a Rooney Finest, Plisson or Shavemac D01 2-band; those were expensive lessons.
While I regularly fall in & out of love with various brushes, Shavemac really offers something unique in their "Experts Select" custom ordering service. Other makers (especially Lee at M&F and Mark at Simpson) will put together a custom order but Shavemac takes the whole process to the next level. They let you pick from 7 handle shapes, 7 colors, 5 hair types, 3 knot shapes, 11 knot diameters, 14 loft heights and an endless number of engraving options.
I ordered the brush on the right on 2/18 and it was shipped 2/21; now that's customer service. Let me say that the stock brushes at Shavemac and all the other well-known makers are excellent and will easily meet the needs of those OCD shavers who stay on their meds. But for those who feel the need to fill a hole in their collection that only they can identify, Experts Select is the solution.
I pulled two of my other Shavemacs out to put in the photo as it would seem I have 3 very similar brushes. They are all Silvertip D01 3-bands, fairly close in size, which begs the question as to why have all three. One thing I learned from Rudy Vey is that you can count on the consistency of Shavemac knots so when you start tinkering with dimensions, you can have confidence about the outcome. The three bushes above offer quite different shaving experiences. The new brush is 28.5-47 which gives it a loft/knot ratio of 1.65. This is a short loft for this size knot using the characteristically densely packed D01. As always, the tips are fabulously soft but the backbone is over the top giving a scrubby (in a good way) massaging face feel that is hard to find without also getting the hated scritch. Because you generally get little bloom from a dense short lofted brush I ordered it with a fan shape. The middle brush is 27-51 and one of my favorites. Loft/knot ratio 1.89 leaves it with plenty of backbone and it's an ideal face lathering brush with a bulb knot. The brush on the left is 25-53 with a 2.12 ratio. To be honest I bought it for the cool limited edition natural horn handle but the knot is fantastic and the densest packed of the three.
OK, I'm off to look at the Simpson LE page.
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While I regularly fall in & out of love with various brushes, Shavemac really offers something unique in their "Experts Select" custom ordering service. Other makers (especially Lee at M&F and Mark at Simpson) will put together a custom order but Shavemac takes the whole process to the next level. They let you pick from 7 handle shapes, 7 colors, 5 hair types, 3 knot shapes, 11 knot diameters, 14 loft heights and an endless number of engraving options.
I ordered the brush on the right on 2/18 and it was shipped 2/21; now that's customer service. Let me say that the stock brushes at Shavemac and all the other well-known makers are excellent and will easily meet the needs of those OCD shavers who stay on their meds. But for those who feel the need to fill a hole in their collection that only they can identify, Experts Select is the solution.
I pulled two of my other Shavemacs out to put in the photo as it would seem I have 3 very similar brushes. They are all Silvertip D01 3-bands, fairly close in size, which begs the question as to why have all three. One thing I learned from Rudy Vey is that you can count on the consistency of Shavemac knots so when you start tinkering with dimensions, you can have confidence about the outcome. The three bushes above offer quite different shaving experiences. The new brush is 28.5-47 which gives it a loft/knot ratio of 1.65. This is a short loft for this size knot using the characteristically densely packed D01. As always, the tips are fabulously soft but the backbone is over the top giving a scrubby (in a good way) massaging face feel that is hard to find without also getting the hated scritch. Because you generally get little bloom from a dense short lofted brush I ordered it with a fan shape. The middle brush is 27-51 and one of my favorites. Loft/knot ratio 1.89 leaves it with plenty of backbone and it's an ideal face lathering brush with a bulb knot. The brush on the left is 25-53 with a 2.12 ratio. To be honest I bought it for the cool limited edition natural horn handle but the knot is fantastic and the densest packed of the three.
OK, I'm off to look at the Simpson LE page.
View attachment 313645View attachment 313674
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