My B&B Essentials arrived in today's mail. Can't wait for tomrorow morning to try it out. Will let you know.
Essential Brush initial use. . .
- Thread starter BroJohn
- Start date
FWIW, I've used the BaBE since it arrived a week ago and the 'shedding' has ceased.
It does well with soaps and creams, and as Joel mentioned, in full bloom it now generates and holds enough lather for multiple passes.
-- John Gehman
Humph!
I should get at least partial credit for BaBE . . .http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=685017&postcount=5 (note the date - 5 days earlier than BroJohn's)
Humph!
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=685017&postcount=5 (note the date - 5 days earlier than BroJohn's)
You have my vote for attribution
OKOK, is this the "official" B&BE thread? ...
My brush arrived yesterday, and I managed to place this post in the "other" brush thread ... or one of them:
Received today in the Great White North. (First one in Canada?)
First impressions: Very pretty. A little smaller than expected from the pics. Stiffer bristles than expected ("Yay" says Soap Paul). Very modern look. Lost 3 hairs just playing with it dry. It's dense enough that this loss isn't likely to matter once things reach a steady state. If these go into serious production as originally intended, the C&E won't stand a chance for the price.
Well protected in the USPS mailer box, John. Thanks!
Tomorrow evening begins a 3-day long weekend here. Three long shaves with a new brush, and cologne samples from Handy. Nice.
Paul
Edit/Delete Message
Shaved with Floris JF soap, Merkur LHC open comb (first shave), JF AS splash and balm this morning (Friday).
I stopped counting at 20, but I'm down about 40 hairs by now.
And yet, this is a stiff little brush that really does create a LOT of lather.
I do not have any high end brushes ... At this time I mostly use a Rooney 3/1 in Super, and an SR3824. I love both of these brushes, but the BBE eclipsed them both.
The handle NEEDS all of the fancy sculpting. Without them, I'd drop the brush. Except for an AOS travel brush, this is the smallest brush I own ... and when it stops shedding, it'll be a keeper.
BTW, about the funk? ... Not terribly strong, but let's just say that it seemed to neutralize the scent of the JF soap. My guess is it will be gone within a week. perhaps a lot less.
Someone above asked if a poster would have bought the brush if he had known it would shed. I would have still bought it if forewarned, but ... I am a little disappointed that this was not mentioned more clearly.
I see from some of the posts that some members have had these brushes for several months. They could have mentioned this, and not risked reducing their credibility with other members. Unfortunately, they did not.
A very fine brush. I would recommend it to others. It will certainly spoil noobs.
Paul
UPDATE: Second shave ... lost approx. 10 hairs. Brush still makes amazing lather for its size.
My brush arrived yesterday, and I managed to place this post in the "other" brush thread ... or one of them:
Received today in the Great White North. (First one in Canada?)
First impressions: Very pretty. A little smaller than expected from the pics. Stiffer bristles than expected ("Yay" says Soap Paul). Very modern look. Lost 3 hairs just playing with it dry. It's dense enough that this loss isn't likely to matter once things reach a steady state. If these go into serious production as originally intended, the C&E won't stand a chance for the price.
Well protected in the USPS mailer box, John. Thanks!
Tomorrow evening begins a 3-day long weekend here. Three long shaves with a new brush, and cologne samples from Handy. Nice.
Paul
Edit/Delete Message
Shaved with Floris JF soap, Merkur LHC open comb (first shave), JF AS splash and balm this morning (Friday).
I stopped counting at 20, but I'm down about 40 hairs by now.
And yet, this is a stiff little brush that really does create a LOT of lather.
I do not have any high end brushes ... At this time I mostly use a Rooney 3/1 in Super, and an SR3824. I love both of these brushes, but the BBE eclipsed them both.
The handle NEEDS all of the fancy sculpting. Without them, I'd drop the brush. Except for an AOS travel brush, this is the smallest brush I own ... and when it stops shedding, it'll be a keeper.
BTW, about the funk? ... Not terribly strong, but let's just say that it seemed to neutralize the scent of the JF soap. My guess is it will be gone within a week. perhaps a lot less.
Someone above asked if a poster would have bought the brush if he had known it would shed. I would have still bought it if forewarned, but ... I am a little disappointed that this was not mentioned more clearly.
I see from some of the posts that some members have had these brushes for several months. They could have mentioned this, and not risked reducing their credibility with other members. Unfortunately, they did not.
A very fine brush. I would recommend it to others. It will certainly spoil noobs.
Paul
UPDATE: Second shave ... lost approx. 10 hairs. Brush still makes amazing lather for its size.
received mine yesterday
this is a fantastic brush
lost 4 or 5 hairs shampooing it then 2 hairs while lathering/shaving
no glue line
makes plenty of lather
excelent for face lather stiff hairs, very soft ends
i'm sure it will become my favorite brush
this is a fantastic brush
lost 4 or 5 hairs shampooing it then 2 hairs while lathering/shaving
no glue line
makes plenty of lather
excelent for face lather stiff hairs, very soft ends
i'm sure it will become my favorite brush
I just got mine yesterday - here are my initial impressions
Overall appearance - very nice going with the clear handle definitely sets this brush apart from the rest of the pack.
Printing - just ok - there was an ink blob on the badger and the "Handmade" was missing the bar on the left so that it looked like a T turned on its side - not a big deal as far as I'm concerned.
Balance - the brush is nicely balanced.
Proportions - the handle seems a touch on the small size in terms of both height and width - I do not have large hands and found the bottom of the brush a little on the small size - but I'm used to using a Duke and Rooney 1/3, both of which have fairly thick handles.
Knot - this is where this brush shines - the knot is extremely dense and the glue plug works as intended. I'm not a huge fan of lightbulb-shaped brushes generally, but the BBE has not of the floppiness or excessive splay that other lightbulb-shaped brushes seem to exhibit. While the BBE has a higher loft than most of my other brushes, it didn't exhibit any more splaying in use - again, I attribute this to the glue plug.
The knot is extremely dense - comparable to my Rooney and Simpson - so no complaints on this score.
Bristle - the banding is nice and even on my brush, the bristle colour is quite consistent. There is the odd dark hair here and there, but that's not uncommon. The tips are a nice grey/brown - darker than the Simpson best and Rooney silvertips and about the same as the Simpson pure bristles.
The real shocker is how the bristles feel - I was amazed to discover that (to me) the bristles used in this brush are comparable to the Rooney silvertip and Simpson best brushes I have (to be fair, the BBE was slightly more prickly, but the brushes I was comparing it are well broken in and I have no doubts that the BBE will soften up a touch with use). Basically, the bristles on this brush are comparable to brushes in the $75 (the price of a small Rooney in supersilvertip) and up range. You'd have to pay at least more than double the price of the BBE to get a brush that is noticeably softer at the tips (and even then...)
So, how does the sucker lather - in a word - awesome! I whipped up a couple of lathers - first with some HBS in a bowl and then some Trumper Rose directly on my face - the brush loaded up the soaps like a champ and whipped up a great lather in no time at all. I am a face-latherer and this is the first lightbulb-shaped brush that I've owned that has really excelled in this department.
While I do find the handle a touch on the small size, the shape and texture provided a secure, comfortable grip - so no issues in terms of functionality.
I will try the brush with some creams, but have no doubt that it will work equally well with creams as it does with soaps
My brush shed a bunch during the first lather and about 10 - 15 hairs on the second go-round. I also have the glue line that others have mentioned. I'm prepared to accept these things (along with the printing issues) for a brush that cost me about $55 shipped and that performs so far above its price point. In all honesty, for the vast majority of folks out there, if this is the first "good" brush they buy, they may not ever feel the need to upgrade.
For only $15 more than the C&EBB, you have a brush that performs well above its price point and, in my view, knocks the C&E on its ***. The other big difference between the C&E and the BBE is that the C&E is generally touted as a good "first" badger - with the expectation that people will upgrade once they decide that wetshaving is for them (and most people do upgrade fromt he C&E). I suspect this is not the case with the BBE, which I think could be fairly characterized as the only brush a guy would ever need - I don't think people will feel the need to move on from the BBE the same way they do with the C&E.
I know this sounds like a promo, but I really think that this brush fills a void in the market - a brush that performs like a Porsche for the price of a Honda (insert your choice of automobile brands here). Yes, there are a few minor (to me anyhow) trade offs, but where the bristle meets the soap/cream, you get a hell of a lathering machine for a very reasonable amount of $$.
Overall appearance - very nice going with the clear handle definitely sets this brush apart from the rest of the pack.
Printing - just ok - there was an ink blob on the badger and the "Handmade" was missing the bar on the left so that it looked like a T turned on its side - not a big deal as far as I'm concerned.
Balance - the brush is nicely balanced.
Proportions - the handle seems a touch on the small size in terms of both height and width - I do not have large hands and found the bottom of the brush a little on the small size - but I'm used to using a Duke and Rooney 1/3, both of which have fairly thick handles.
Knot - this is where this brush shines - the knot is extremely dense and the glue plug works as intended. I'm not a huge fan of lightbulb-shaped brushes generally, but the BBE has not of the floppiness or excessive splay that other lightbulb-shaped brushes seem to exhibit. While the BBE has a higher loft than most of my other brushes, it didn't exhibit any more splaying in use - again, I attribute this to the glue plug.
The knot is extremely dense - comparable to my Rooney and Simpson - so no complaints on this score.
Bristle - the banding is nice and even on my brush, the bristle colour is quite consistent. There is the odd dark hair here and there, but that's not uncommon. The tips are a nice grey/brown - darker than the Simpson best and Rooney silvertips and about the same as the Simpson pure bristles.
The real shocker is how the bristles feel - I was amazed to discover that (to me) the bristles used in this brush are comparable to the Rooney silvertip and Simpson best brushes I have (to be fair, the BBE was slightly more prickly, but the brushes I was comparing it are well broken in and I have no doubts that the BBE will soften up a touch with use). Basically, the bristles on this brush are comparable to brushes in the $75 (the price of a small Rooney in supersilvertip) and up range. You'd have to pay at least more than double the price of the BBE to get a brush that is noticeably softer at the tips (and even then...)
So, how does the sucker lather - in a word - awesome! I whipped up a couple of lathers - first with some HBS in a bowl and then some Trumper Rose directly on my face - the brush loaded up the soaps like a champ and whipped up a great lather in no time at all. I am a face-latherer and this is the first lightbulb-shaped brush that I've owned that has really excelled in this department.
While I do find the handle a touch on the small size, the shape and texture provided a secure, comfortable grip - so no issues in terms of functionality.
I will try the brush with some creams, but have no doubt that it will work equally well with creams as it does with soaps
My brush shed a bunch during the first lather and about 10 - 15 hairs on the second go-round. I also have the glue line that others have mentioned. I'm prepared to accept these things (along with the printing issues) for a brush that cost me about $55 shipped and that performs so far above its price point. In all honesty, for the vast majority of folks out there, if this is the first "good" brush they buy, they may not ever feel the need to upgrade.
For only $15 more than the C&EBB, you have a brush that performs well above its price point and, in my view, knocks the C&E on its ***. The other big difference between the C&E and the BBE is that the C&E is generally touted as a good "first" badger - with the expectation that people will upgrade once they decide that wetshaving is for them (and most people do upgrade fromt he C&E). I suspect this is not the case with the BBE, which I think could be fairly characterized as the only brush a guy would ever need - I don't think people will feel the need to move on from the BBE the same way they do with the C&E.
I know this sounds like a promo, but I really think that this brush fills a void in the market - a brush that performs like a Porsche for the price of a Honda (insert your choice of automobile brands here
). Yes, there are a few minor (to me anyhow) trade offs, but where the bristle meets the soap/cream, you get a hell of a lathering machine for a very reasonable amount of $$.
My Essential had the intial shedding (nothing too bad) for the first 3-4 shaves, but since then it has pretty consistently lost 2-3 hairs per shave. The brush works great, and I'm not worrying about it, just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar to this or if I should be concerned at all. Maybe mine is just a slow shedder as opposed to shedding a lot in the very beginning.
- Thread starter
- #68
My BaBE stopped shedding after a week or so.
-- John Gehman
-- John Gehman
