Da Vinci brushes part two...and three

[Rivguy]

I was so pleased with my experience with my Da Vinci 290 Silvertip that I decided to get the 293 and the travel brush as well. They both arrived today and I gave them a quick hand lather to start the bloom. I am anxious to try them soon. I think the 293 will see action tomorrow and the travel brush the next day. The travel brush will get a work out on our upcoming trip to Alaska. The travel brush has a 20 mm knot with a loft of 43 mm. The 293 has a 23 mm knot and a loft of 52 mm. I am pleasantly surprised with the travel brush so I am anxious to give it a whirl. The shots below are pre and post bloom with just one hand lather each.



Best regards,

Doug

 

[Amzimbo]

Just got both these yesterday to join my 290. The 293 has a wonderfully ergonomic handle and the knot is seemingly a touch smaller than the 290. About 1mm lower, it blooms quite a bit less. Same velvety tips though. May be the ideal combo of qualities for face latherers who don't like large brushes.

I love the idea that with the travel brush you can adjust the loft by how much you slide it from the tube. I can see attacking a hard soap with the knot only partially extended and, once the brush is loaded, opening it up for a luxurious face lather.

 

[jsj_297]

I must say the davincis are very intriguing....and I love the handle shape. Is anybody considering making a shave or lathering Oreo with one?

 

[Rivguy]

Today was my first shave with my new Da Vinci 293 brush and it did not disappoint. The tips are as soft as velvet and the brush has nice backbone. Plenty of lather for a four pass shave and perhaps more. I am very glad that I found these brushes and I am convinced that they are the most under-appreciated brushes around. The handle fits the hand perfectly and the balance is excellent. These are becoming my go to brushes and I find that surprising given the fact that I have a descent stable. I find them to be aesthetically pleasing and ergonomically comfortable and natural in the hand. I think that they are an excellent value given the high quality of the brushes. The fine US vendor is a big plus as well. Tomorrow morning I will give the travel brush a whirl.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Rivguy]

Continuing my journey with Da Vinci brushes, today I used the travel brush today with GFT Coconut SC. I was very curious as to how this brush would perform given the rather unusual configuration. I was very pleasantly surprised with how well this brush performed. Like the rest of the Da Vinci silvertips, the tips of the hair is velvet soft and felt wonderful on my face. The 20 mm x 43mm knot felt bigger than it actually is in every sense. It held plenty of lather for four passes and beyond. The handle is unique in that it is basically a metal cylinder and performs much like a long handle Old Spice or Barber Shop brush which I use from time to time. I thought that the handle might be slippery in the hand but I did not find it so. Granted, my hand was not covered with soap but it would not be with any other brush either. My first impression is that I like it quite a bit and look forward to using it a great deal on an upcoming trip. I will try it with a hard soap soon and post the results.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Neognosis]

congratulations on your new brushes, I'm happy you are pleased.

I am in the small minority that does not find these brushes aesthetically pleasing, though.

Glad to hear that the knots themselves are outstanding.

 

[Rivguy]

This morning I used the Da Vinci travel brush to lather D. R. Harris Arlington soap and it performed beautifully. I was able to do a four pass shave easily with plenty of lather. The hair on this brush is very soft and the knot has plenty of backbone though it is not what I would call scrubby. The build quality is very high. It has earned a place in my travel kit.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Vlad]

We need more pictures, doug' and more comparison with the well known brushes!

 

[Rivguy]

I will try to post more pictures soon Vlad. The travel brush is so unique that I don't have a direct comparison other than a Vulfix travel brush with its own case and an 18 mm TGN silvertip restore that I completed several months ago. (I know, pictures!) The Da Vinci travel brush's strong point with only two uses is the knot and the quality of hair which I would describe as luxuriously soft with descent backbone. The fact that it fits in the small diameter case is a plus. I will be giving it a real test on a trip very soon.

The 290 and the 293 brushes have very high end silvertip hair that is comparable with some of the best. The brushes that I have that I am comparing them to are the Simpson Eshan, Grosvenor, and Douglas, Kent BK4 and Bk8, Smogue 2010LE and 2011LE #2 Silvertips and the T&H medium Classic silvertip, which is as you know is made by Rooney. I also have several TGN high end silvertips while are very fine knots, but are not in the class of the above brushes in my view. I also have three Shavemac DO1 knots in handles that I have restored. To compare the Da Vinci knots to the Shavemac knots is difficult because they are very different. The only way to do so is to compare the hair in my view. Just looking at that, I would say that the tips of the Da Vinci 290 and 293 are softer. The DO1's are delightfully scrubby and firm with great backbone. The extreme flat top is a wonderful brush that is in a category all on it's own. The Da Vinci brushes have higher lofts than the DO1's so again the comparison is difficult because of how different they are.

So we are left to compare the quality of the knots and the feel of the handles. Aesthetics are very subjective, or as we say in B&B, YMMV. To me, they are very aesthetically pleasing with the contrast of the black handles, chrome ring and beautiful silvertip knots. As I have indicated in earlier posts, the handles are very comfortable and natural in the hand. That leaves us with the "business end" of the brush...the knot. This is where these brushes shine in my view. The quality of the densely packed silvertip knots is outstanding. I face lather and find them to have a wonderful velvety feel on the face with the capacity to hold plenty of lather for multiple passes. The velvet caressing of the face with these fine knots is delightful. The bloom is fantastic as seen in previous posts.

Like many wet shavers, I like some variety in my brushes as is demonstrated by the list of my silvertips above. I do have other brushes. I was a bit of a skeptic at first but these brushes have won me over. As I have said previously, they are fine brushes that deserve greater respect than they currently have. I know that I would not like to be with mine. The excellent US vendor is a plus as well. I hope this helps.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Amzimbo]

I would compare the feel of the Davincis to Thater's knots. That same soft, plush feel on the face. I've used my travel brush just once so far, as an experiment. By slightly closing the case you can sort of lower the loft of the knot, making it quite stiff. This allowed me to pick up a lot of Joris hard soap quickly. Then I pulled back the cylinder and the brush opened up, blooming for a soft, welcoming face lather. Like Rivguy, I'm looking forward to putting this through it's paces on a trip. I own and love my Wee Scot, but I have to say that it is a challenge to use when the handle is covered in lather, something the Davinci avoids through it's design. The long, slender retractable case actually seems to take less space in my travel kit then the Wee one in a travel tube.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Got my 293 last night. It gets its first work-out today. From the looks and the feel, it is right there on the top with the other German brushes: Thater and Shavemac. I think the German made brushes are the best there is!

 

[Amzimbo]

Got my 293 last night. It gets its first work-out today. From the looks and the feel, it is right there on the top with the other German brushes: Thater and Shavemac. I think the German made brushes are the best there is!

Including those German brushes made in NJ!

 

[German]

Still waiting to get mine delivered. Once I get it I will review it vs my shavemacs and Thaeters. This will be interesting...

Got my 293 last night. It gets its first work-out today. From the looks and the feel, it is right there on the top with the other German brushes: Thater and Shavemac. I think the German made brushes are the best there is!

 

[Rudy Vey]

Including those German brushes made in NJ!

Thanks!!