Declaration Grooming B15 Review

[Hannah's Dad]

After a few uses of my cherished @Graydog brush with a newly-installed 24mm B15 knot, I have a few thoughts to share.

This B15 knot is a very ‘natural’ batch of hair, as compared with previous iterations with varying degrees of processing. The color of the hair alone reveals that fact. Here’s my B14 Unicorn Bone next to my B15 Graydog:

That’s a pretty striking color difference between batches.

Though it’s probably unwise, and likely unfair, to compare two knots with different widths (28mm v 24mm), the 24mm B15 knot possesses a fair amount of noticeable scritch - a quality I don’t mind but don’t particularly prefer. For as small as the knot is, it has real ‘presence‘ with face lathering. It does not, however, provide the ‘cloud-like’ wall of badger like the B14, and I feel that the density I’ve come to expect with DG is lacking with this B15 knot. I almost feel like Scott (DG) skimped a little on this knot and he could have packed more hair in it.

This is a certainty a brush that I will never part with since the handle was a gift from one of the kindest, most talented and most generous B&B’ers ever (Steve); but in retrospect, I wish that I had sent it to DG when B14 hair was still available.

A few friends on here have asked for my opinion of B14 versus B15, and I prefer the B14 knot for the reasons set forth herein. Nonetheless, isn’t Steve’s woodworking a thing of beauty!?

 

[dmshaver]

Thank you for the insightful review & comparison, Dan. And I agree 1000% with you regarding the talents & heart of @Graydog.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I also found that my B15 knot has a good deal more scritch than my B14, though I also feel slight scritch with the B14, and none at all with my B13. In terms of backbone, I found B15 to be half way between B13 and B14 (B13 being least firm and B14 most). Possibly you are right that the B15 is a little less densely packed than the B14, but it’s hard to be sure and I don’t think the difference is big. I feel all three have similarly light treatment, and they exhibit just a little clumping and crustiness when the knots dry.

I have only one of each knot so these are my impressions from the smallest possible sample.

Of the three my personal preference is B13 - it’s exactly my kind of brush and I like a soft and lowish backbone knot.

 

[BigJ]

Great review!! And two LOVELY BRUSHES!!

 

[Hannah's Dad]

I also found that my B15 knot has a good deal more scritch than my B14, though I also feel slight scritch with the B14, and none at all with my B13. In terms of backbone, I found B15 to be half way between B13 and B14 (B13 being least firm and B14 most). Possibly you are right that the B15 is a little less densely packed than the B14, but it’s hard to be sure and I don’t think the difference is big. I feel all three have similarly light treatment, and they exhibit just a little clumping and crustiness when the knots dry.

I have only one of each knot so these are my impressions from the smallest possible sample.

Of the three my personal preference is B13 - it’s exactly my kind of brush and I like a soft and lowish backbone knot.

Great input - thank you!

 

[Adam18]

Very thoughtful and insightful review Hannah's Dad. I hope you continue to enjoy both brushes.
And I hope that you, Hannah, and all the family are enjoying a lovely summer ! Peace and love !

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Very thoughtful and insightful review Hannah's Dad. I hope you continue to enjoy both brushes.
And I hope that you, Hannah, and all the family are enjoying a lovely summer ! Peace and love !

Thanks for your kind words, Adam. Hannah has a few more weeks of summer left before embarking on her journey into 4th grade!

Wishing you and your loved ones the best, Adam.

 

[Latherati]

Wonderful review Dan! Your brush from @Graydog is strikingly beautiful! A fine craftsman and even finer gentleman!

 

[Rhody]

Great review
Great looking brushes.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Wonderful review Dan! Your brush from @Graydog is strikingly beautiful! A fine craftsman and even finer gentleman!

Great review
Great looking brushes.

Thank you my friends.

 

[never-stop-learning]

After a few uses of my cherished @Graydog brush with a newly-installed 24mm B15 knot, I have a few thoughts to share.

This B15 knot is a very ‘natural’ batch of hair, as compared with previous iterations with varying degrees of processing. The color of the hair alone reveals that fact. Here’s my B14 Unicorn Bone next to my B15 Graydog:
View attachment 1499469
That’s a pretty striking color difference between batches.

Though it’s probably unwise, and likely unfair, to compare two knots with different widths (28mm v 24mm), the 24mm B15 knot possesses a fair amount of noticeable scritch - a quality I don’t mind but don’t particularly prefer. For as small as the knot is, it has real ‘presence‘ with face lathering. It does not, however, provide the ‘cloud-like’ wall of badger like the B14, and I feel that the density I’ve come to expect with DG is lacking with this B15 knot. I almost feel like Scott (DG) skimped a little on this knot and he could have packed more hair in it.

This is a certainty a brush that I will never part with since the handle was a gift from one of the kindest, most talented and most generous B&B’ers ever (Steve); but in retrospect, I wish that I had sent it to DG when B14 hair was still available.

A few friends on here have asked for my opinion of B14 versus B15, and I prefer the B14 knot for the reasons set forth herein. Nonetheless, isn’t Steve’s woodworking a thing of beauty!?

View attachment 1499472

Great review Dan!

Absolutely gorgeous @Graydog brush!

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Great review Dan!

Absolutely gorgeous @Graydog brush!

Thanks, David.

 

[Cannon Cocker]

I also found that my B15 knot has a good deal more scritch than my B14, though I also feel slight scritch with the B14, and none at all with my B13. In terms of backbone, I found B15 to be half way between B13 and B14 (B13 being least firm and B14 most). Possibly you are right that the B15 is a little less densely packed than the B14, but it’s hard to be sure and I don’t think the difference is big. I feel all three have similarly light treatment, and they exhibit just a little clumping and crustiness when the knots dry.

I have only one of each knot so these are my impressions from the smallest possible sample.

Of the three my personal preference is B13 - it’s exactly my kind of brush and I like a soft and lowish backbone knot.

When you refer to “…light treatment, and they exhibit just a little clumping and crustiness when the knots dry”, is this the chemical treatment done to the hair that produces gell tips in the knot? If that is the case, how would one be able to know ahead of time that the knot they are ordering would end up being a bell knot to some degree?

I ask because I hate gell knots.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

When you refer to “…light treatment, and they exhibit just a little clumping and crustiness when the knots dry”, is this the chemical treatment done to the hair that produces gell tips in the knot? If that is the case, how would one be able to know ahead of time that the knot they are ordering would end up being a bell knot to some degree?

I ask because I hate gell knots.

When you say you hate gel knots, do you mean the slimy feeling heavy gelled knots, or the moderately treated knots that only have soft, white tips, or the lightly gelled knots that feel pretty natural but just have whiter and maybe just slightly softer tips? There’s a wide spectrum and I think most artisan badger knots are treated to some extent, in some cases only to make the knot look more attractive. The best way I’ve found to tell how much a knot is treated is to soak it and then see how much the hair clumps and how crusty it feels when it is dry. I’m certainly no brush expert here, though.

But, yes, I mean the chemical treatment that is used to bleach the tips and produce some level of softness and potentially hooked or gelled tips.

I do have a couple of Chiseled Hound knots (Fanchurian V11) that are heavy gelled and slimy feeling. But he is selling V16 now and I don’t know what those are like. The rest of my artisan knots are only lightly treated, to varying degrees, and they do not feel slimy at all. Heavy gel tips that feel slimy were popular a while back but aren’t really the fashion now.

The way to know in advance is to ask the brush maker, or ask other buyers, or look for pictures of the wet knot from above. You can also get some indication by looking at how white the hair tips are, but that won’t really tell you the extent of the treatment and, in any case, there will be variation in hair colouring anyway, and probably different treatments used.

 

[Cannon Cocker]

When you say you hate gel knots, do you mean the slimy feeling heavy gelled knots, or the moderately treated knots that only have soft, white tips, or the lightly gelled knots that feel pretty natural but just have whiter and maybe just slightly softer tips? There’s a wide spectrum and I think most artisan badger knots are treated to some extent, in some cases only to make the knot look more attractive. The best way I’ve found to tell how much a knot is treated is to soak it and then see how much the hair clumps and how crusty it feels when it is dry. I’m certainly no brush expert here, though.

But, yes, I mean the chemical treatment that is used to bleach the tips and produce some level of softness and potentially hooked or gelled tips.

I do have a couple of Chiseled Hound knots (Fanchurian V11) that are heavy gelled and slimy feeling. But he is selling V16 now and I don’t know what those are like. The rest of my artisan knots are only lightly treated, to varying degrees, and they do not feel slimy at all. Heavy gel tips that feel slimy were popular a while back but aren’t really the fashion now.

The way to know in advance is to ask the brush maker, or ask other buyers, or look for pictures of the wet knot from above. You can also get some indication by looking at how white the hair tips are, but that won’t really tell you the extent of the treatment and, in any case, there will be variation in hair colouring anyway, and probably different treatments used.

Thank you very much for you answer. I will try and answer your questions.

What I hate in a gel knot is the slimy feeling along with the crusty feeling when dry. I have a number of brushes that show very white tips and are very soft, but do not clump, feel slimy or feel crusty when dry. These include all 2 band knots in the following brushes: Shavemac 4, Saponificio Varesino 2 and a Maggard SHD knot 1 I installed in a handle. I also have 8 Simpson brushes but they are all in Best hair and do not show any hint of gel.

I recently bought a new brush made by a well known brush maker in Manchurian White that turned slimy, clumped and dried crusty. I PM’ed a person on one of the forums that has several brushes from this maker, and he has never had any gelled knots. This was an expensive brush, and I want to protect myself from getting another one of these.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Thank you very much for you answer. I will try and answer your questions.

What I hate in a gel knot is the slimy feeling along with the crusty feeling when dry. I have a number of brushes that show very white tips and are very soft, but do not clump, feel slimy or feel crusty when dry. These include all 2 band knots in the following brushes: Shavemac 4, Saponificio Varesino 2 and a Maggard SHD knot 1 I installed in a handle. I also have 8 Simpson brushes but they are all in Best hair and do not show any hint of gel.

I recently bought a new brush made by a well known brush maker in Manchurian White that turned slimy, clumped and dried crusty. I PM’ed a person on one of the forums that has several brushes from this maker, and he has never had any gelled knots. This was an expensive brush, and I want to protect myself from getting another one of these.

Thanks again for your help.

You should probably stick with what you know and trust - and they are all the brands I would have suggested for untreated knots.

It’s unfortunate that you got a heavily gelled knot from the other ‘well known’ maker that doesn’t normally offer gelled knots, but I suppose there can be variations in batches of hair and smaller makers can’t necessarily control what their knot supplier sends them.

 

[Cannon Cocker]

You should probably stick with what you know and trust - and they are all the brands I would have suggested for untreated knots.

It’s unfortunate that you got a heavily gelled knot from the other ‘well known’ maker that doesn’t normally offer gelled knots, but I suppose there can be variations in batches of hair and smaller makers can’t necessarily control what their knot supplier sends them.

Probably true, thanks.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I also found that my B15 knot has a good deal more scritch than my B14, though I also feel slight scritch with the B14, and none at all with my B13. In terms of backbone, I found B15 to be half way between B13 and B14 (B13 being least firm and B14 most). Possibly you are right that the B15 is a little less densely packed than the B14, but it’s hard to be sure and I don’t think the difference is big. I feel all three have similarly light treatment, and they exhibit just a little clumping and crustiness when the knots dry.

I have only one of each knot so these are my impressions from the smallest possible sample.

Of the three my personal preference is B13 - it’s exactly my kind of brush and I like a soft and lowish backbone knot.

I’ve got to revise my comments about the B15 knot. I just used it again and there is no scritch at all now. It was very nice, actually - felt really full and firm but soft at the tips. @Hannah's Dad maybe you should persevere a little longer with yours and see if it breaks in the way mine now appears to have done. I’m thinking now this may be a better knot than B14. I still favour the lower backbone of B13, though.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

I’ve got to revise my comments about the B15 knot. I just used it again and there is no scritch at all now. It was very nice, actually - felt really full and firm but soft at the tips. @Hannah's Dad maybe you should persevere a little longer with yours and see if it breaks in the way mine now appears to have done. I’m thinking now this may be a better knot than B14. I still favour the lower backbone of B13, though.

Thank you, my friend. Since my Graydog brush will follow me to the grave, I’ll keep using it in hopes that the scritch goes away. Glad to hear you’re loving your B15!

 

[Hannah's Dad]

I’ve got to revise my comments about the B15 knot. I just used it again and there is no scritch at all now. It was very nice, actually - felt really full and firm but soft at the tips. @Hannah's Dad maybe you should persevere a little longer with yours and see if it breaks in the way mine now appears to have done. I’m thinking now this may be a better knot than B14. I still favour the lower backbone of B13, though.

After dozens of uses with the B15 - I still feel it has a fair amount of scritch. Not a complaint; just an observation.