Hang or Stand — AN EXPERIMENT

[Cal]

Just after reading @GlazedBoker's thread "Best or correct way to dry your shaving brush? Hang or......." ...

I thought “Why not WEIGH the brush before and after shaving?” to find out for sure.

I decided I’d weigh my current brush immediately before, and just after, shaving. After the shave I’d do my standard rinse, shake, and towel dry.

MY PLAN:
Do this daily for one week with the brush hanging (as it normally does).
Use the same soap all week.
Continue as above but with the brush standing.

My scales read (and are accurate to) 0.1 gram.

THE RESULT with my Omega 10086 Bigger Bambino:

BRUSH HANGING average of 7 days’ weights:
20.6g ±0.1g pre-shave
22.9g ±0.2g post-shave

BRUSH STANDING average of 7days’ weights:
20.6g ±0.1g pre-shave
22.9g ±0.2g post-shave

OUTCOME:
Hang or Stand to dry, no difference.


FOOTNOTES:
Just as a double check I intend doing the same with my Semogue 1470 (which although small, is about twice the size of my Omega 10086) starting tomorrow.

If anyone else is interested in this kind of minutiae, and has scales that read and are accurate to 0.1g, and has a badger, horsehair, or other than boar brush… it would be great to see if the “no difference” outcome is consistent throughout. Anyone game?

 

[GlazedBoker]

Just after reading @GlazedBoker's thread "Best or correct way to dry your shaving brush? Hang or......." ...

I thought “Why not WEIGH the brush before and after shaving?” to find out for sure.

I decided I’d weigh my current brush immediately before, and just after, shaving. After the shave I’d do my standard rinse, shake, and towel dry.

MY PLAN:
Do this daily for one week with the brush hanging (as it normally does).
Use the same soap all week.
Continue as above but with the brush standing.

My scales read (and are accurate to) 0.1 gram.

THE RESULT with my Omega 10086 Bigger Bambino:

View attachment 784543

BRUSH HANGING average of 7 days’ weights:
20.6g ±0.1g pre-shave
22.9g ±0.2g post-shave

BRUSH STANDING average of 7days’ weights:
20.6g ±0.1g pre-shave
22.9g ±0.2g post-shave

OUTCOME:
Hang or Stand to dry, no difference.


FOOTNOTES:
Just as a double check I intend doing the same with my Semogue 1470 (which although small, is about twice the size of my Omega 10086) starting tomorrow.

If anyone else is interested in this kind of minutiae, and has scales that read and are accurate to 0.1g, and has a badger, horsehair, or other than boar brush… it would be great to see if the “no difference” outcome is consistent throughout. Anyone game?

Interesting. If I had a scale Cal, I'd join you. But I'm going to follow this one. My interest has been "piqued".

 

[CigarSmoka]

I have a scale accurate to 0.1gm but I rarely use the same brush in the same week, let alone all week long. Your results are as I suspected, I see no reason why one way would be better than the other. It's nice to finally see some evidence though, thanks for sharing.

 

[BSAGuy]

Good confirmation.

 

[Cal]

I have a scale accurate to 0.1gm but I rarely use the same brush in the same week, let alone all week long.

I vividly remember the difficulty I had twisting your arm back in the "Fixed Four For March" CigarSmoka.

 

[JohnG10]

Doesn't this just show that your brush drys completely between shaves either way ?

What about weighing it 1, 2, and 3 hours after your shave ?
Maybe the brush drys faster (and has less chance of mildew) when hung. Maybe not...

 

[CigarSmoka]

@1Cal - It almost cured me of my brush disorder....almost. I used to use the same brush every monday, a different one every tues, etc. That went out the window when I made my eighth brush!

 

[Cal]

@1Cal - It almost cured me of my brush disorder....almost. I used to use the same brush every monday, a different one every tues, etc. That went out the window when I made my eighth brush!

It's funny the way ADs can open up your options, and close them down too.

 

[Hoka Hey]

Doesn't this just show that your brush drys completely between shaves either way ?

What about weighing it 1, 2, and 3 hours after your shave ?
Maybe the brush drys faster (and has less chance of mildew) when hung. Maybe not...

I appreciate the efforts @1Cal.
Mr. JohnG10 brings up a valid point. Measuring while in daily use shows it dries the same amount either way. Not that it is actually dry after 24 hours. That would take a moisture meter stuck into the base of the knot. Or just let it sit unused for a couple days to be sure it's dried completely. If it's still 20.6g you know that particular brush will dry out completely in 24 hrs. My guess is an over stuffed brush like a DO1 2 band Badger will be different. Definitely YMMV.

Here is an excerpt from the Shavemac website on brush care:

"The shaving brush should have the opportunity to dry completely between the shaves. In a permanent wet shaving brush is the risk of fungal growth, which can damage the hair. Use a shaving brush stand, where the brush hangs upside down and the remaining water can drain freely. Never keep a wet shaving brush in closed container."

 

[Cal]

I appreciate the efforts @1Cal.
Mr. JohnG10 brings up a valid point. Measuring while in daily use shows it dries the same amount either way. Not that it is actually dry after 24 hours. That would take a moisture meter stuck into the base of the knot. Or just let it sit unused for a couple days to be sure it's dried completely. If it's still 20.6g you know that particular brush will dry out completely in 24 hrs.

The Semogue 1470 which I start weighing tomorrow has been hanging dry for three weeks, so I'll make particular note of its first "dry" weight. If it's significantly different the following day I'll restart the weighing then.
Also, my beloved Omega 10086 is now hanging (with nothing to do for the next two weeks), so I'll weigh it to check its "dry" weight after a week.

My guess is an over stuffed brush like a DO1 2 band Badger will be different. Definitely YMMV.

Indeed. Hence my request for anyone with other than boar brushes to join in the weighing game.
C'mon guys, we need you.

 

[Cal]

Interesting. If I had a scale Cal, I'd join you. But I'm going to follow this one. My interest has been "piqued".

But Gus, you NEED a set of scales!

Looking at Amazon.com there seem to be plenty suitable 0.1g calibratable scales (including the calibration weight) for around $20. Just sayin'.

 

[tromboneliness]

Ages ago a member here did a similar experiment with a moisture meter. His results were the same, they dry just as fast either way.

 

[KW Driver]

I've seen nothing mentioned about humidity/temp variations across the testing period. surely you can refine the household experimentation further.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Great job, Cal, from one measurement nut to another! Playing off of @JohnG10's comment about drying speed, I think that your next step should be making mass measurements at regular intervals for both drying modes to assess drying speed. Making mass measurements every half hour or every hour should get you enough data to confirm which mode dries water faster. The experiment shouldn't have to be conducted more than once. Just fully soak both brushes and ensure that they start with the same mass. Start them at the same time and near each other in roughly the same location to minimize environmental variables. According to @tromboneliness, there was a member here who used a moisture meter and confirmed that the brushes dry at the same rate. Maybe you'd find the same result.

 

[Cal]

Doesn't this just show that your brush drys completely between shaves either way ?

What about weighing it 1, 2, and 3 hours after your shave ?
Maybe the brush drys faster (and has less chance of mildew) when hung. Maybe not...

Great job, Cal, from one measurement nut to another! Playing off of @JohnG10's comment about drying speed, I think that your next step should be making mass measurements at regular intervals for both drying modes to assess drying speed. Making mass measurements every half hour or every hour should get you enough data to confirm which mode dries water faster. The experiment shouldn't have to be conducted more than once. Just fully soak both brushes and ensure that they start with the same mass. Start them at the same time and near each other in roughly the same location to minimize environmental variables. According to @tromboneliness, there was a member here who used a moisture meter and confirmed that the brushes dry at the same rate. Maybe you'd find the same result.

Sheesh guys!

I'm into detail freakery, measuring things, and all that. But I do prefer it when someone else does the work.

My aim here is simply for a YES or NO answer (which I got successfully with my Omega 10086). Just black or white, not "fifty shades of grey" too.

I'll definitely continue weighing my Semogue 1470, plus the additional "bone dry" checks mentioned earlier in the thread. I'm still hoping that others will jump in and weigh their various brushes too. And of course if anyone wants to take the weighing further, as mentioned by @JohnG10 and @ShavingByTheNumbers, that would be great too.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Oh, come on, Cal. You know you want to sit by those brushes like watching paint to dry. Seriously, you've verified that both drying methods work, but which is best (faster)? Here is a post that I found with links and a summary to other experiments:

Does Drying your Brush a specific way matter?

Here is what the poster wrote: "All of these tests found the Simpson recommendation (dry the brush standing on its base) got the brush dryer faster than the Kent recommendation (dry the brush hanging from a stand), but that isn't necessarily conclusive. Larger samples, testing different types of brushes, keeping tighter control over the ambient humidity and temperature, and so on would allow you to be more confident in your conclusion."

This is very interesting. I thought that hanging would be best in general, but it sounds like standing the brush up might be better. Maybe I'll run my own experiment. I have my Semogue 1470 boar brush and my new RazoRock BC Silvertip Plissoft synthetic brush. The boar brush involves water transfer from the inside of the hair and dries slowly, but the synthetic brush does not involve water transfer from the inside of the hair and dries quickly. Also, it might be best to run the experiment with more water one time and less water in the brush another time. Have you just got me going on another experiment? Thanks a lot.

 

[ColonelHogan]

This site needs a special forum where guys can publish their double blind peer reviewed posts.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

Interesting experiment thanks for doing it. Looking forward to seeing how it evolves.

 

[G.W.]

Really, unless you know the bristles on any two brushes come from the same animal and were processed identically, you're starting off handicapped. To compound that, I'd assume anybody doing this "for fun" is going to use old brushes, and not buy new ones just for this. As such, the history of the brush would impact the bristles' ability to absorb/dry from one brush to the next. At a really drilled-down level of detail, you can't get exactly duplicated test beds.

The only way to do this right is going to start with somebody going out and shavin' their own hog.

 

[Cal]

Oh, come on, Cal. You know you want to sit by those brushes like watching paint to dry.

Oh YES, absolutely.

This is very interesting. I thought that hanging would be best in general, but it sounds like standing the brush up might be better. Maybe I'll run my own experiment. I have my Semogue 1470 boar brush and my new RazoRock BC Silvertip Plissoft synthetic brush. The boar brush involves water transfer from the inside of the hair and dries slowly, but the synthetic brush does not involve water transfer from the inside of the hair and dries quickly. Also, it might be best to run the experiment with more water one time and less water in the brush another time.
Have you just got me going on another experiment? Thanks a lot.

I hope so. My pleasure.