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Have you ever worn out a brush?

I have an AoS shaving brush that's going on 10 years old. I've never used it exclusively, but it's my favorite brush and the one I use most frequently. Last year it started shedding for the first time ever--every use it would lose 5 - 15 hairs. I was sad my favorite brush was dying but decided to continue to use it until it gave up the ghost. Anyway, after losing probably 300 hairs, it stopped shedding and continues to be an awesome performer.

Question for you all--have you ever worn out a brush and had to throw it away (not counting defective brushes that the epoxy didn't set right)? I've read the normal life of a brush is anywhere from 5 -10 years (mantic) , or 3000 - 5000 uses (someone claiming to be a master barber). I know some people on here have used the same brush for 30+ years, but I've yet to read much on here of people wearing out and tossing a brush.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
This all depends how you take care of your brush and how you use it.
I have replaced a knot in an old Kent brush that was used for some 30 years, it really needed a new knot. Then there are brushes that are so abused and worn they need a new knot in a few years of use. One brush I was able to see was used daily for about 30 years and looked nearly new. So, this is a wide range and mostly depending on how the brush is cared for.

I was now looking for several hours and i found the pictures of my first restoration, the mentioned 3+ years old Kent brush:
30+ year old Kent brush.JPG

As received.JPG
IMG_0578.JPG
 
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This all depends how you take care of your brush and how you use it.
I have replaced a knot in an old Kent brush that was used for some 30 years, it really needed a new knot. Then there are brushes that are so abused and worn they need a new knot in a few years of use. One brush I was able to see was used daily for about 30 years and looked nearly new. So, this is a wide range and mostly depending on how the brush is cared for.
Thanks, Rudy. Your insight is greatly appreciated as I certainly consider you an expert on the subject!
 
In the couple years I've been in, I haven't seen much change in my brushes other than the boars breaking in nicely.

I did have one Yaqi 24mm 2-band badger that shed 20 hairs in one session but it hasn't shed a lot since then.
 
I've had two fail on me in seven years, both within a few months of purchase: a van der Hagen cheap boar brush, in which the knot glue disintegrated, causing most of the bristles to fall out, and a Semogue 620 boar that exhibited a similar issue but more suddenly. Both brushes were hung to dry knot down, as per the standard of care.

Contrast this with many years of use by me of Simpson, Vulfix, and Omega brushes without any problems.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I have never worn out a brush. I swirl and mash when I face lather and have never hung brushes to dry as Simpson state it is not necessary though opinions differ. I think the most important thing is thorough rinsing and removal of soap after use, especially deep in the knot. I do not subscribe to the idea that the longer a brush survives in perfect condition the better it has been cared for. To me it is a tool to be used for my enjoyment not to be preserved for all eternity. I am happy to wear out my brushes; through vigorous use rather than through lack of care and cleaning, after all they are in my bathroom not a museum 👍
 
I had one no-name brush that I started with back in 1956. It was a rather small badger brush that I used for more than 35 years. The brush never gave out and provided me with great service. I took this brush on a business trip and inadvertently left it in a hotel never to be seen again. :mad3: When I got home and unpacked I realized I left the brush in the last hotel room I was in. I called the hotel but it was never turned it. I went to work the next day and bought a replacement brush from the Hoffritz store that was located at the time in the World Trade Center in NYC. I bought the brush in 1991 and still have that brush. In fact, before joining B&B in 2010 it was one of two brushes I used.

Hoffritz.jpg
 
There was a thread here a few days ago by a guy with a rubberset barbers-style boar brush he'd been using for almost 50 years. It was pretty "worn out" in my opinion... but he had been using it right up until the handle cracked.

 
I have an old vulfix super that I used pretty heavily for about 6 or 7 years. It’s not necessarily worn out but it’s gotten to the point that the bristles show considerable wear and are more prone to breaking and falling out than it did in the past.
 
I used a Simpsons Duke 2 every day for 10 or 12 years. Perhaps I was too rough on it; in those days I didn't think too much about it, I just shaved with it. By the end of that period the knot was clearly shot. (I believe that's what brought me to these forums. I'll have to see if I can find a picture that I posted back then.) It not only lost density, it also lost loft. The ends had clearly broken or wore down. I still have the handle, but the knot I put in it is not very good. One day I'll re-knot it with a better choice.

Edit: Here's the photo of that Duke 2.

1587931435012.png
 
There was a thread here a few days ago by a guy with a rubberset barbers-style boar brush he'd been using for almost 50 years. It was pretty "worn out" in my opinion... but he had been using it right up until the handle cracked.

I'm in a similar boat with an old Victoria boar brush that my Dad gave to me. I used it almost everyday for 30 years and the knot was slowly wearing down. I figured that I might be able to use it a few more years, but then the wooden handle cracked.

I switched to a different vintage Victoria brush, but that handle cracked, too.

I don't know if that qualifies as "worn out". I guess, technically, I've broken two brushes.
 
Since 2003, I’ve replaced 2 due to a brush basically going to ka-ka and being worn out. They’ll shed from the middle and it’ll look like a hollowed out center in the bristles. Both were vanderhagen brushes....🤣😂🤣 Indidnt shed a tear....just another $5 for a new one 😂🤣
 
I've got my Grandpa's EverReady boar brush. He passed in the mid 60's & I'd used it for around 5-6 years before going to college with a simple can of Barbasol. I use the brush today on occasion & it's over 100 years old.
 
I have worn out boar brushes and took an old badger into it's end. The boars lasted a couple of decades each. The badger was pretty much shot when it was passed on to me when I was 15. I reknotted it when I was about 70 and now use it frequently.

The boars were drug store cheap ones. The last one was a Surrey which was taken over by VDH. The one before it may have been a different label but it was the same brush. They were not meant to last long. My current VDH isn't even made as well as the earlier ones and has always shed.

A well made brush can last decades if well taken care of. Always rinse it out thoroughly at the end of use, shake it out, and make sure it is kept where it can dry properly.
 
My art of shaving fine badger 22mm started shedding like crazy after 3 years of sporadic use. thankfully, the nearby store replaced it with a new one.
 
I have an AoS shaving brush that's going on 10 years old. I've never used it exclusively, but it's my favorite brush and the one I use most frequently. Last year it started shedding for the first time ever--every use it would lose 5 - 15 hairs. I was sad my favorite brush was dying but decided to continue to use it until it gave up the ghost. Anyway, after losing probably 300 hairs, it stopped shedding and continues to be an awesome performer.

Question for you all--have you ever worn out a brush and had to throw it away (not counting defective brushes that the epoxy didn't set right)? I've read the normal life of a brush is anywhere from 5 -10 years (mantic) , or 3000 - 5000 uses (someone claiming to be a master barber). I know some people on here have used the same brush for 30+ years, but I've yet to read much on here of people wearing out and tossing a brush.
Years ago...yes. I was a one soap, one razor, one brush guy. And nothing was replaced until it was either empty, broken or dull. Now, there is little chance of that happening. I never use one brush long enough to wear it out.
 
Of course, several. Always left lather in them for the next day's shave which means they were rinsed... occasionally. Ever wonder why a brush looks like this?

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It's from leaving them on the puck of Williams (or Cogate or OS) after every shave like this.

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