First Badger Brush (WSP prince double band)

[TourettesTuna]

My first real brush was the original HIS synthetic from FM brush, and I had been wondering about how it would compare to a good quality badger or boar. When I saw the WSP "The Prince" High Density 2-band Silvertip going for $50 I ran it by my wife, and she told me to buy it. The brush has been interesting in an enjoyable sort of way, but I can't help thinking that I haven't quite got used to it yet. I primarily wanted to see if it would produce and hold more lather than the HIS, but thus far I am disappointed in the lather production. The up side is that it feels worlds better on my face than the HIS, it feels more like a relaxing massage than just having a paint brush run over my face.

At this point I would like feedback on two things:
1.) General advice for improving the performance and results for lathering with my new badger brush.
2.) Specific experience any of you have had with these two brushes that might validate or refute my experience thus far, and provide methods for improvement specific to "The Prince".

My routine for lathering with the prince is to soak it in hot water for ~10min while I shower. I then gently squeeze the excess water out and load the brush on my soap for ~30-45 sec with swirling and pumping until I have an nice proto-lather. Then it's onto my wet face where it almost immediately turns into piles of perfect lather, which run low around the third pass. I get about twice this much lather from the HIS, but it is released in a more controlled manner I think. I also rinse between passes so that may be diluting the lather of the badger while it is reconstituting the lather of the HIS.

The soaps I have used with the prince are D.R. Harris Lavender, Vitos with glycerine, and Mikes Natural Lanvandin and Eucalyptus. They all had rather similar results.

 

[blzrfn]

There is a learning curve going from one type of knot to another. I am not an expert on synthetics, but moving to badger you will have to change up your technique a bit to get it all dialed in. I like to shake my badger brushes free of any excess water and load for around a minute (depending on the soap). Once I have a thick proto-lather I move to face or bowl lathering, swirling for a good 30 seconds before I begin adding small amounts of water at about 15 second intervals until the lather is where I want it. For some soaps this could mean two small additions, while others do better with several. There is no harm in practicing a lather or two to figure out a new technique for your brush. I have two Prince brushes, one silvertip and the other 2-band, and both are more than capable of holding 3+ passes worth of lather.

 

[flutewhistler]

I have had this brush for a couple of months, and it has improved as it has broken in. I face lather exclusively using shaving sticks, and the knot size and loft are perfect for this. However, I found the handle hard to grip, and one day as I was shaking out the brush while drying it, I dropped it and the handle chipped. The handle is not black all the way through, so the chip showed white.

I had made up my mind already to put the knot in another handle, so I easily freed the knot with a single blow with a hammer, made some modifications to the base of the knot (for some reason, this knot has a base that is much larger in diameter that the hair it is attached to, requiring the base to be paired down), and then put the knot in a copper pipe fitting for a nice ergonomic (for me, anyway) handle. It is now one of my favorite brushes. Makes and holds good lather, nice backbone - though tips aren't that soft, and it is much easier to hold on to now.

Give the brush some time to break in, and it will perform wonderfully.

 

[TourettesTuna]

I had a suspicion you guys would tell me that it would come down to a learning curve and brush break-in. Thanks for the advice. It is encouraging to know that I just need to keep trying, and that my brush isn't necessarily defective.

 

[Teddyboy]

Maybe your new brush isn't as dense as the HIS, so you may have to load the brush longer. Perhaps the badger holds the lather more securely than the HIS - i.e., is a bit of a lather hog, in which case you should load the brush longer.