Do the tips of badger brushes get better at lathering?

[Nobeard]

I have a few older badger brushes that develope beautiful creamy peaks during lathering and I love that, except they don't have much, or any backbone. Two that I recently used are a Simpson super badger and a Simpsons manchurian

Recently I've developed an urge to try something with more backbone to it. I've bought a few from the B/S/T section. They feel more rigid, less floppy however the tips do not develope that rich, thick lather that I also like. They are OK, but not as good as the 2 Simpsons.

Is the ability for the brush to develope the thick, rich lather something that gets better with time? I know that boar brushes develope split ends with time which helps. What about badger brushes?

 

[stone and strop]

Badger hair does not split like boar does.
If the other brushes are new they will get better after a short while.
A good amount backbone and velvety tips are a rarity.
The ability to develop a good lather is proportional to how dense the knot is as well. A little floppiness allows for more air in between bristles building more lather.
I had a whipped dog badger a while ago that was so dense that it was not very good to build lather with, it had plenty of backbone as well, partly because of the hair and partly because of the density.

 

[Omarz]

Iv got a pure badger had very little back bone then I got a synth and had too much after awhile I’m talking 20 shaves it got a lot better and works better then my badger it will get better they just need to be broken in is all

 

[BigJ]

IME badger brushes change very little with use. This is in marked contrast to boars.

Just my $0.02!

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I have a few older badger brushes that develope beautiful creamy peaks during lathering and I love that, except they don't have much, or any backbone. Two that I recently used are a Simpson super badger and a Simpsons manchurian

Recently I've developed an urge to try something with more backbone to it. I've bought a few from the B/S/T section. They feel more rigid, less floppy however the tips do not develope that rich, thick lather that I also like. They are OK, but not as good as the 2 Simpsons.

Is the ability for the brush to develope the thick, rich lather something that gets better with time? I know that boar brushes develope split ends with time which helps. What about badger brushes?

Badger brushes will bloom with use, some more than others. Assuming the same loft I would expect a Simpson Super to bloom much more than a Manchurian for example. In my experience the tips do not change to any great degree, if at all, over time, unlike a boar. I am surprised that your Manchurian brush does not have much backbone, I have a Manchurian Chubby 1, Duke 3, and M7, amongst others and they all have significant backbone without being stiff, and soft tips, especially when wet. A pure grade would have significant backbone, and scritch, but I cannot comment on the tips changing over time as I have never used that grade of hair. Sorry, not much help.

 

[ajduplessis]

Exactly why I use boar brushes. The omega 11126 is a great example of plenty of backbone and soft tips that is also cheap. I have used the so called Manchurian brushes which are just chemically treated badger bristles. They are very soft but that’s where things stop, at least for me for me.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Exactly why I use boar brushes. The omega 11126 is a great example of plenty of backbone and soft tips that is also cheap. I have used the so called Manchurian brushes which are just chemically treated badger bristles. They are very soft but that’s where things stop, at least for me for me.

I suspect that "Manchurian' is simply a marketing term such as 'blonde', 'high mountain', and many others. For me, most Manchurian brushes have excellent characteristics and are superb performers. I am not clear 'exactly' what the Manchurian hair grade is so I am interested in your statement that 'Manchurian brushes are just chemically treated badger bristles'. On what do you base this assertion?

 

[ajduplessis]

Yes you are right suspecting its a marketing term. The grade hair is typically Super or Silvertip.

You state that you are not exactly clear on my comment that they chemically treat badger hairs for this purpose. Are you then suggesting there is a very special, rare/mystical and blond badger with super soft and gel-like hairs?

The only blond badgers with gel-like hairs I know of lives in the high mountains in China but they do bleach their hair, its high fashion All other badgers are kept in cages from birth to processing and only produce pure, best, super and silver tip grades. Lastly I never disputed their performance, I personally just found them lacking backbone. Its my preference and at the end of the day only an opinion. I hope thats a lot clearer now, otherwise please correct my lack of knowledge and interpretation by sharing your expertise.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Yes you are right suspecting its a marketing term. The grade hair is typically Super or Silvertip.

You state that you are not exactly clear on my comment that they chemically treat badger hairs for this purpose. Are you then suggesting there is a very special, rare/mystical and blond badger with super soft and gel-like hairs?

The only blond badgers with gel-like hairs I know of lives in the high mountains in China but they do bleach their hair, its high fashion All other badgers are kept in cages from birth to processing and only produce pure, best, super and silver tip grades. Lastly I never disputed their performance, I personally just found them lacking backbone. Its my preference and at the end of the day only an opinion. I hope thats a lot clearer now, otherwise please correct my lack of knowledge and interpretation by sharing your expertise.

I am not suggesting anything, making claims as to my expertise, or disputing your knowledge. I am simply a purchaser of brushes, some of which are Simpson, and some of those are Manchurian. I do not know exactly what Simpson Manchurian hair is and have made no claims about it other that what I feel is good performance. On the contrary, it is you that have made a claim, that Simpson 'Manchurian brushes are just chemically treated badger bristles'. I am, at least I was, interested to know on what basis you made that claim and it seems to be simple conjecture which is fair enough. You may well be quite correct and probably are; I have no doubt that some hair is bleached or otherwise chemically treated to achieve Manchurian, blonde, high mountain, and other grades but I do not definitively know this to be the case for Simpson Manchurian, I thought perhaps you did but it seems not. I will leave this discussion there.

 

[A Cut Above]

I have 2 Manchurian brushes from Zenith and they have great spines with soft tips. Really soak up water and produce a nice thick lather. These brushes cost under $80 on Ebay. I am sure the quality varies from manufacturers. I'd put them up against any of my expensive badgers.

 

[EL Alamein]

Nope.

Chris

 

[steveclarkus]

My vote goes for boars and their ability to evolve into something very very special. Badgers will remain much the same.

 

[nemo]

Never had a badger change for the better over time and I've owned plenty.

If you're looking for soft tips and firm backbone that still produces a rich lather think about a smaller 2-band knot that's not super dense.

 

[nav]

I have a few older badger brushes that develope beautiful creamy peaks during lathering and I love that, except they don't have much, or any backbone. Two that I recently used are a Simpson super badger and a Simpsons manchurian

Recently I've developed an urge to try something with more backbone to it. I've bought a few from the B/S/T section. They feel more rigid, less floppy however the tips do not develope that rich, thick lather that I also like. They are OK, but not as good as the 2 Simpsons.

Is the ability for the brush to develope the thick, rich lather something that gets better with time? I know that boar brushes develope split ends with time which helps. What about badger brushes?

I understand what you are referring to.

I went through a phase of badger brushes years ago and realised I hated very dense badger knots for the reason you have stated.

I find that a good splay leads to a great larger whereas the denser knots don't give me the same quality lather.

To this day, the Simpson Commodore X2 Best is my favorite badger brush as it's perfect in every single way.

I'm firmly in favour of a balanced splay:backbone.

Nb: the lather I like can be achieved with any brush, including a high density badger but it's too much effort for my personal preference.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Simpsons have something special to them, very much like vintage American guitars often do. I think it has to do with the density of the hair and how they're formed. Both Simpsons I own make the quickest and highest quality lathers of everything I've tried to date, yet feel very different from one another on the face. I don't use anything else anymore.

You're just going to have to take a few more for the team and keep trying more Simpsons, I'm afraid.

 

[karacha]

From my experience - no. Badger brushes either do what you want them to do, or they don't. One reason many people like to use boar brushes; they do change over time. For the better, of course.