It seems to me that there should be a hair density measurement in brushes. I am relatively new, I have 4 brushes.:
AoS Best brush that came with the kit that pulled me into traditional shaving, a
Parker Silvertip (to see what silvertip was like), a
Frank's Richmond Finest 26mm knot and a
Rooney style 1 size 2 with the print not the script that I got new
Anyway, I bought the Frank's brush to try a 'bigger' knot to see what it was like before going after a more expensive brand. The hair quality that Frank's uses is fine but the density is subpar. The brush does not bloom much at all, and unless I make copious lather the brush has a tendency to expose the breach (the inner bristles all stick to the outer bristles) which doesn't make for a spectacular lather especially with denser less copious soaps/creams. The parker was a mistake of a purchase, fine brush, but the hair quality is just ok.
On the other side, the Rooney was truly eye opening. It blooms, which at least my guess is, is because the density is so high that the bristles push out on each other especially when wet and expanded. Anyway, it will infuse tons of water into soaps/creams because it holds so much water due to the hair quality and density of hair. It tends to only make 'wetter' lather because of this, it won't just give up a dry lather because it hasn't saturated the brush yet, it took some getting used to but the results are superior. The Frank's or AoS brushes don't hold much water at all, and just work entirely differently.
Anyway, I am posting mainly to vent. But also because someone posted somewhere that Simpson's is much denser than Rooney. I handled a couple Simpson's in Pasteur Pharmacy in Manhattan last weekend and when I squeezed the not to see how much I could, it did not seem like it was much denser, or even denser than the 1/2 I have. What are your all's opinions. Am I missing the boat? Is this just a really dense brush? Is there such a thing as too dense? Will I love a Chubby or a Duke? Is M&F similar. Are there less dense brushes that bloom?
I also have tried many soaps, but that is a different board, I use primarily AoS and MWF, I own all the other usual suspects but do not like them all too much. I'm experimenting with Cella, but most soaps/creams irritate my skin so I dislike some soaps simply because they burn when I have them on.
AoS Best brush that came with the kit that pulled me into traditional shaving, a
Parker Silvertip (to see what silvertip was like), a
Frank's Richmond Finest 26mm knot and a
Rooney style 1 size 2 with the print not the script that I got new
Anyway, I bought the Frank's brush to try a 'bigger' knot to see what it was like before going after a more expensive brand. The hair quality that Frank's uses is fine but the density is subpar. The brush does not bloom much at all, and unless I make copious lather the brush has a tendency to expose the breach (the inner bristles all stick to the outer bristles) which doesn't make for a spectacular lather especially with denser less copious soaps/creams. The parker was a mistake of a purchase, fine brush, but the hair quality is just ok.
On the other side, the Rooney was truly eye opening. It blooms, which at least my guess is, is because the density is so high that the bristles push out on each other especially when wet and expanded. Anyway, it will infuse tons of water into soaps/creams because it holds so much water due to the hair quality and density of hair. It tends to only make 'wetter' lather because of this, it won't just give up a dry lather because it hasn't saturated the brush yet, it took some getting used to but the results are superior. The Frank's or AoS brushes don't hold much water at all, and just work entirely differently.
Anyway, I am posting mainly to vent. But also because someone posted somewhere that Simpson's is much denser than Rooney. I handled a couple Simpson's in Pasteur Pharmacy in Manhattan last weekend and when I squeezed the not to see how much I could, it did not seem like it was much denser, or even denser than the 1/2 I have. What are your all's opinions. Am I missing the boat? Is this just a really dense brush? Is there such a thing as too dense? Will I love a Chubby or a Duke? Is M&F similar. Are there less dense brushes that bloom?
I also have tried many soaps, but that is a different board, I use primarily AoS and MWF, I own all the other usual suspects but do not like them all too much. I'm experimenting with Cella, but most soaps/creams irritate my skin so I dislike some soaps simply because they burn when I have them on.
