Have Muhle synthetic and boar, is it worth it to try a silvertip?

[Teppanyaki]

My first great brush was the Muhle silvertip fiber version 2.0. A velvety soft brush with zero scratch/irritation that lathers well. Doesn't need soaking, dries fast, cool handle. I thought I would never try another brush until . . .

B&B Essential Boar in purple. I'd never tried a boar, why not? And I love purple. So I am enjoying the backbone/swirly feeling, and while it isn't as soft as my Muhle it's still certainly soft enough for now. It's also only been a few days, and I expect it to continue to soften over the next few months. So I started wondering . . .

Am I missing anything by not trying a silvertip badger brush? I'm certainly not going to spend a lot of money on some high end badger (famous last words!), but my assumption is that a badger is a softer, more "luxurious" feel than a boar and really would be much like my Muhle. Except that it would need to be soaked before use, soak up a bunch of cream, and need to be "de-funked." Oh, and it wouldn't dry as fast and the hairs could break off.

Or am I completely off base here?

 

[bosseb]

Am I missing anything by not trying a silvertip badger brush?

The face feeling of different brushes is a highly personal experience. I have attempted a write up on the subject of comparing different brushes that I use for face lathering sticks here http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/359040-Stick-brushes-shootout .

Even if I don't know how you build lather and from what there just might be one option that you have not considered...

​

 

[Chadao]

Nice brushes Bosse. Teppanyaki, there is for me, a definite difference. I have a synthetic 3 and its softness seems similar to a Silvertip. But I definitely prefer the silvertip for feel and for the lather it makes...holding water much better. When I got my first B&B Essential, I went all not for a while. I don't use boar now. I'm about 75% silvertip, 15% black badger/pure badger, and 10% synthetic. I just like the softness better. But that's definitely subjective.
All but one of my silvertips is a Whipped Dog. Larry has great products at a great price. I've got him working on a new one for me now
with an extra long Firehouse handle.

 

[NSmalls]

I've never tried the Muhle synthetic but I have a small collection of badgers and do feel like it would be good for you to try one. If you're not looking to spend a lot of money you could try a Whipped Dog as Pierce said or you could try the Vintage Blades house brand. My theory behind it is this - The silvertip fibre is trying to emulate the feel of real badger. Don't you want to know how good of a job it's doing in that department? I would want to know!!!

 

[Elbe]

I had more than a dozen high classed (and priced) badger brushes, Simpsons, shavemac, Semogue. Tested the Mühle Silver Tip Fibre. Sold all but 2 badger brushes, and these last two will have to go, too. All my badgers were inferior to the STF in every aspect. I'm through with badger brushes.

 

[Codfish]

...Am I missing anything by not trying a silvertip badger brush? I'm certainly not going to spend a lot of money on some high end badger (famous last words!), but my assumption is that a badger is a softer, more "luxurious" feel than a boar and really would be much like my Muhle. Except that it would need to be soaked before use, soak up a bunch of cream, and need to be "de-funked." Oh, and it wouldn't dry as fast and the hairs could break off.

Or am I completely off base here?

You've covered the bases pretty well. My Retro series (on the left) is certainly a beautiful-blooming masterpiece. However, it mostly sits as a display brush, for some of the reasons you point out. I find that soaking--and especially cleaning--are taxing on my patience. Dense silvertips have luxurious face-feel, but soaking and cleaning them properly takes a lot of time and effort, at least for me. The cleaning is especially time consuming. And drying time, I find, takes two days.

BTW, I found no need to de-funk the silvertip at all. As a premium brush, this matter seems to be done well by Muhle.

I prefer my V2 synthetics for daily use, and the 23mm is my favorite. They have very nice backbone, and the tips are at least as soft as the silvertip, and you can buy several in different sizes for the price of my Retro. And soaps and creams last twice as long, so upgrading to premium brands is more easily justified

 

[Teppanyaki]

Hm . . . from what I've read about the Vie Longs, they are very soft but potentially floppy or have weird "face feel." Mixed feelings on those. Trying a Whipped dog silvertip is definitely doable, and the allure of a custom handle is . . . considerable! Then again, I really need to trim down my shaving acquisition disorder . . . but I do really like having both my boar and my synthetic.

 

[Chadao]

I still own two Essentials, I just don't use them. But I'll probably revisit them sometime next year.

Hm . . . from what I've read about the Vie Longs, they are very soft but potentially floppy or have weird "face feel." Mixed feelings on those. Trying a Whipped dog silvertip is definitely doable, and the allure of a custom handle is . . . considerable! Then again, I really need to trim down my shaving acquisition disorder . . . but I do really like having both my boar and my synthetic.

 

[GDCarrington]

My first great brush was the Muhle silvertip fiber version 2.0. A velvety soft brush with zero scratch/irritation that lathers well. Doesn't need soaking, dries fast, cool handle. I thought I would never try another brush until . . .

B&B Essential Boar in purple. I'd never tried a boar, why not? And I love purple. So I am enjoying the backbone/swirly feeling, and while it isn't as soft as my Muhle it's still certainly soft enough for now. It's also only been a few days, and I expect it to continue to soften over the next few months. So I started wondering . . .

Am I missing anything by not trying a silvertip badger brush? I'm certainly not going to spend a lot of money on some high end badger (famous last words!), but my assumption is that a badger is a softer, more "luxurious" feel than a boar and really would be much like my Muhle. Except that it would need to be soaked before use, soak up a bunch of cream, and need to be "de-funked." Oh, and it wouldn't dry as fast and the hairs could break off.

Or am I completely off base here?

If you have been using a V2 Muhle, you might want to consider a solid 2 band instead. If you get a really good knot they will provide softness at the tips but great backbone. This throws a monkey wrench in the thought process, but give that some thought too.