Differences between brushes

[babcock1972]

I am curious to learn from someone else's experiences and make a more educated purchase. I have limited experience with brushes. I started with a Tweezerman and then upgraded to an EJ BBB medium. I do like the EJ BBB but find a huge difference in firmness between the cheap tweezerman and the EJ BBB. I am strictly a soap user and right now I face lather. I do find that the EJ BBB is kind of floppy - but it's possible that I just got used to using the prickly Tweezerman and do not know how to treat a proper brush. I recently purchased a Rooney 3/1 Super but it is being shipped home so I am unable to try it out until July (I am currently deployed in Iraq). How does the Rooney 3/1 Super compare to the EJ BBB in regards to softness and firmness? I definitely do not want a floppy brush - being I use soap. EJ has 4 grades of brushes offered. How do they compare? Would it be much difference between say a super in an EJ brush and the Rooney 3/1 Super?

James

 

[JPDyson]

I am curious to learn from someone else's experiences and make a more educated purchase. I have limited experience with brushes. I started with a Tweezerman and then upgraded to an EJ BBB medium. I do like the EJ BBB but find a huge difference in firmness between the cheap tweezerman and the EJ BBB. I am strictly a soap user and right now I face lather. I do find that the EJ BBB is kind of floppy - but it's possible that I just got used to using the prickly Tweezerman and do not know how to treat a proper brush. I recently purchased a Rooney 3/1 Super but it is being shipped home so I am unable to try it out until July (I am currently deployed in Iraq). How does the Rooney 3/1 Super compare to the EJ BBB in regards to softness and firmness? I definitely do not want a floppy brush - being I use soap. EJ has 4 grades of brushes offered. How do they compare? Would it be much difference between say a super in an EJ brush and the Rooney 3/1 Super?

James

You'll find that the Rooney 3/1 is stiffer, or as we say, has more "backbone". That is, it'll buckle less as you apply pressure. That being said, the tips themselves will feel softer because it is a higher quality hair. Overall, you will find the Rooney less prickly and more stiff, so probably a step in the right direction for you.

Good pick, BTW - that's a fantastic brush (the Rooney).

 

[Alex02]

I actually followed this exact same brush path. I just recieved my 3/1 Super a week ago and have used it a few times. It is a lot stiffer then the EJ BBB but my EJ BBB is much softer. I thought it would be the other way around but it's not. It works better for face lathering with soaps because it's not as floppy but honestly, not by much. It's a lot more densely packed then the EJ BBB so maybe that's why it doesn't feel as soft.

 

[babcock1972]

So, if I am understanding this, the floppiness is directly affected by grade of badger, length of bristles and how dense the brush is packed?

James

 

[JPDyson]

So, if I am understanding this, the floppiness is directly affected by grade of badger, length of bristles and how dense the brush is packed?

James

All of the above. Change any one of those aspects, and relative flop will change as well. You can replicate this yourself by taking a floppy brush and adding an o-ring or two to the base of the knot. This shortens the loft a bit, and reduces flop.

The more hair that is packed into a knot can affect this as well. If you squeeze the knot in your hand, you can see what I mean.

Finally, hair grade - the higher end hair tends to be finer, and thusly, more easily bent individually. However, this hair packs denser, so you can see the tension that grade and density form.

Hope this helps

 

[Fozz7769]

Get yourself a Semogue 1305....the rest is history.

 

[fidjit]

So, if I am understanding this, the floppiness is directly affected by grade of badger, length of bristles and how dense the brush is packed?

James

See my wiki in my sig and have a look at the loft/density thread. Show's how the same knot changes as you reduce the loft. Might be of use

( and I've just added a link to Rudy's much better documented thread as well )