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Do synthetic brushes need a stand to dry?

I know badgers or boars will be ruined and life shortened if they are not dried properly upside down in a stand. The $64K question is....do you need one for a synthetic? I mean necessarily or good to have one?

What is the general wisdom when it comes to drying synthetics, specifically the new Gen 4 synthetics? Any effect on the brush life if it were to be dried standing upright after squeezing all the water out?(There still will be residual moisture in the brush no matter how hard you squeeze it).

Your thoughts are much appreciated.
 
Your initial premise is flawed, as badgers and boars are not ruined of life shortened, if not dried upside down. They do "just fine" if dried standing on their handle, upright, as long as some care is taken to flick out the excess water.

Synthetics do even better, without a stand, in an upright position. They dry amazingly fast.

No stand means more room in your shave den for brushes!
 
Brushes don't need stands to dry properly. I have a stand that holds my brush and my razor, so I use a stand for convenience sake alone. It just keeps the bathroom counter tidy. I also use a Muhle STF brush. It dries just as fast on it's base or on the stand. All brushes do.

Consider this: have you ever seen brush drippings under a brush that's been held upside down in a stand?
 
I know badgers or boars will be ruined and life shortened if they are not dried properly upside down in a stand. The $64K question is....do you need one for a synthetic? I mean necessarily or good to have one?

In fact it might be the opposite (by a tiny degree). Water travels outward through the capillary effect, i.e. that water will run along outward of the hair despite gravity and other forces upon it. The water then evaporates and rises away from the brush standing on its handle. This is probably too minute to even really measure, but if you have the brush hanging upside down, the water would then evaporate into water vapor and then rise right back into brush itself.

What is the general wisdom when it comes to drying synthetics, specifically the new Gen 4 synthetics? Any effect on the brush life if it were to be dried standing upright after squeezing all the water out?(There still will be residual moisture in the brush no matter how hard you squeeze it).

I don't think it'd be any different than any other "hair"-based brush.
 
Brush stands are absolutely essential for drying badgers, boars, horse, and synthetic brushes. Never dry your brush without a proper stand, and never, under any ci rcumstances, use the plastic stands that comes with some brushes.

Marty. Owner, Acme Brush Stand Company.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
I'll pile on - no brush needs a stand to dry. You would have a hard time ruining a synthetic with any drying method.

I shake virtually all of the standing water from my brush before it goes back on the shelf. Big bubbles, no troubles.
 
Like Foyle, I use a stand to keep my counter in some sort of controlled chaos. It's been my experience that a well ventilated area, free of humidity, has more of an effect than a stand. All of my brushes are badgers, including 3 HMWs, 1 Silvertip A, and the rest are mostly Finest, all from TGN.
 
Thanks. It does sound from majority opinion that a brush stand is more of fashion than function. That's all I needed to know.
 
I have had one brush with a wooden handle splinter/crack on me due to water damage (Body Shoppe synthetic). I do not know how or even if the wood was sealed at all. I dried it standing on the handle, with the damage showing up within months. I don't recall being careful to shake the brush out well and I certainly didn't gently squeeze it with my hand towel afterwards.

Since then, for any brush, I shake it out and then gently squeeze it with my hand towel which in my mind is substantially more important than the brush orientation. I do dry my brushes bristles-down at an angle as they are in a shaving bowl with the handle on the rim.
 
I read somewhere that you need a stand to properly dry the badgers and boars. I think quite a few sites advocate a brush stand for badger brushes. I have a couple of Best Badger brushes and I have those lucite brush stands for both to dry them. Got them for $5 a pop on drugstore so it is not a huge investment.

The logic given for a brush stand is that when you stand a brush upright, the moisture retained in the bristles by badger brushes seep towards the knot where it is glued to the handle and the persistent wet environment can ruin the brush and shorten its lifespan.

I was wondering if the same held true for synthetics but majority opinion here seems to be that a brush stand is not necessary for both badgers as well as synthetics.
 
The logic given for a brush stand is that when you stand a brush upright, the moisture retained in the bristles by badger brushes seep towards the knot where it is glued to the handle and the persistent wet environment can ruin the brush and shorten its lifespan.

That "sounds" right but, like I wrote before, the capillary effect or capillary action precludes that from happening. The fact of the matter is that there is no "wrong" answer, so you'll probably read several posts here or on another forum that advocate either method. But either way is perfectly fine and either way does no harm to the brush.
 
That "sounds" right but, like I wrote before, the capillary effect or capillary action precludes that from happening. The fact of the matter is that there is no "wrong" answer, so you'll probably read several posts here or on another forum that advocate either method. But either way is perfectly fine and either way does no harm to the brush.

Stand not necessary is better than Stand required to me :) Saves me some dineros on a stand and especially if I by a oversized brush like a HIS brush which need a special wide stand.

I got back into the whole conventional shaving thing only 6 mos ago and last I did that was when I was in my late teens. I used a nylon brush back then and I see shaving technology has come leaps and bounds since then.

I still use a cartridge razor (Fusion Proglide Power) which I can't seem to lose out of convenience and ease of use.
 
Just a note. You may think your brush is dry while it is not. I dried a brush for two days and put it away in a quite airtight travel tube. Two weeks later I took it out and the knot was wet! Looks like the part of the knot inside of the handle can retain moisture for a long time. Just a note.
 
Does capillary action work in the absence of pores in the hair? Since synthetics don't have pores and absorb water, would they dry the same way if stood up?

I usually keep my main brush hanging in a cheap plastic stand only because that's the only way to keep my kid from knocking it off the counter. Eventually I'd like to build a simple brush/razor stand that would stand them up.
 
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