I need a better brush for soaps.

[milkmanv1]

Hey guys, this wound up to be my first actual post on the forums (I've spent the past month lurking to gather plenty of information about wetshaving. I've also been stalking the Shave Mall, but thing's I'd buy always get snapped up too quickly!) and I could use a little help with some brush recommendations.

I've been wet shaving about a month/month and a half. I started off with the inexpensive Vulfix 100A/Pure Badger, Great brush for the Sandlewood TOBS cream I started off with. Due to a order mixup I wound up with two tubs of TOBS soap, so I'll definitely be keeping the Vulfix, and it's a fine brush for creams and possibly for travel if I decide to upgrade brushes.

However, back the the point of this post! I recently discovered Mundus on Etsy, and ordered a bar of body soap and some cologne oil samples (I wanted to try Jen's scents before I commited to a whole puck of soap of one scent) all top notch stuff of course. I dropped the badger and blade name, and told her the 411 about my order, and when I got the package I found that she gave me some free samples of shave soap! (and other samples too, she runs an awesome Etsy shop.) Awesome as they may be, I've noticed I'm having a little trouble getting a good lather, and I have a pretty good feeling that my brush too soft/floppy.

So for the brush recommendations: I am completely not opposed to boar, considering I've yet to try it. But I'd also be willing to try a stiffer/more dense badger. I'm simply trying not to break the bank, so no more then 25-60$. Fire away with recommendations guys, thats what I'm here for!

Thanks a lot guys!

-Joe

 

[Jarick]

FWIW, I picked up a homemade soap bar from an art fair. It was labeled as shaving soap but I can't get a decent lather out of it at all. Tried several times with several different brushes. So it might not be your brush, although I haven't used that soap.

The general recommendation for brushes good for hard soaps seems to be either boar or finest badger. I know both my boar brushes (Omega and Semogue) build lather pretty quickly from any soap.

 

[wheelhouse]

I had that same brush, its really floppy. Since I decided to go all in on soaps, I ended up yanking the knot out and putting a TGN Finest in it. Great little brush now.

Back to your issue, if you want to save some cash and go with boar, the Omega 49 is the finest bang for the buck brush on the market. On the badger side of thing, Whipped Dog would be able to make you something pretty great on the low end of your budget. On the plus side, if this will be your dedicated hard soap brush, you can have the knot set a little deeper to stiffen the backbone up a bit.

Welcome to B&B!

 

[SteveWY]

 

[Raven312]

Milkmanv1, welcome! I'm not sure how you make your lather with the soap but one thing that helps me is to wet the bar of soap and let it sit for a few minutes while you prepare. That particular soap may need more water to really do its thing, also. A couple of things to experiment with...

 

[Nadir M]

Welcome to B&B!

 

[01HDFXD]

FWIW, I've been very happy with my B&B Essential brush from WCS.

 

[nemo]

For a soap eating badger try a VintageBlades house brush, 2-band finest. Lots of backbone.

 

[KlausSchulze]

2 words - Semogue 620.

 

[Greg1911]

Welcome to B&B and 2band badgers eat soap. Look into one

 

[gus1942]

2 words - Semogue 620.

+1. Or, the 830, 1800, and SOC.

 

[RobW]

Just curious, but what are the primary ingredients in that soap? I'm not against enabling my fellow B&B bretheren (welcome!), but don't default to blaming your brush when you're trying a new soap (especially an artisan soap...). I don't suppose the first ingredient is olive oil, is it?

 

[Acmemfg]

If it is a badger you seek grasshopper..the Simpson Colonel X2L in Best is among the most versatile of the lot and available at a quite reasonable price. Firm, soft and kicks the *** of any soap I have put in front of it..from the hard products of C&E, Mike's, MWF, and Mystic Waters to the less-than-solid stuff like Cella, Proraso, and RazoRock.

It does the trick on Arko and Palmolive sticks just as well.

And if you decide you are in the mood for a cream one day....Creams?? You betcha. Totally off the hook.

Current street price-$65 +/-

 

[Starkicker]

You should try a horse hair brush, say a 13061B. I have one, great brush. If you face lather, I'd recommend getting the knot depth a little shorter which they will do for free!

 

[KindestCutofAll]

+1 Semogue is highly respected. Good boar with soft tips. I don't own one yet, but it's next on my want list for new brushes.

 

[Parjay]

Just curious, but what are the primary ingredients in that soap? I'm not against enabling my fellow B&B bretheren (welcome!), but don't default to blaming your brush when you're trying a new soap (especially an artisan soap...). I don't suppose the first ingredient is olive oil, is it?

+1

This isn't foolproof, but if the soap isn't wedged into a bowl/mug yet you can try wetting the soap and rubbing it directly on your face like a shave stick. Then proceed to face lather and see what happens. Since the potential problem with your brush is that it may be too floppy and may not pickup hard soaps well, this will essentially eliminate the brush from the equation and you can see if the soap really lathers well at all. Like RobW suggested, unfortunately making shaving soap is tough and lots of very nice artisan soaps are better suited as a bath bar.


The enabler side if me would like to suggest that you get a nice $20 boar brush and a $10 tub of Cella and you save the artisan soap for later when you know your technique is airtight.

 

[takeshi]

So for the brush recommendations: I am completely not opposed to boar, considering I've yet to try it. But I'd also be willing to try a stiffer/more dense badger. I'm simply trying not to break the bank, so no more then 25-60$.

If you haven't tried a boar then definitely try one. It sounds like it would hit a lot of the points you're after.

 

[BRITD]

First and foremost, nice to see another newbie get off the lurker fence and join us. So welcome.
I would suspect the soap, not the brush is mostly disappointing you. Most Artisan soaps frustrate and disappoint the most seasoned wet shavers. I also recommend practicing making better lather with a mainstream cream like TOBS or Proraso. That said no harm in trying a $15-20 Boar brush since it won't break the bank and it offers better value and results than a low end Badger.

 

[Eeyore]

The thing with creams is that you can even whip up a decent lather with a wet rag.

For a soap, you need a good brush ... something that is soft while having enough backbone.

I mainly use Omega brushes, but Semogue seems to make good brushes as well.

 

[milkmanv1]

Just curious, but what are the primary ingredients in that soap? I'm not against enabling my fellow B&B bretheren (welcome!), but don't default to blaming your brush when you're trying a new soap (especially an artisan soap...). I don't suppose the first ingredient is olive oil, is it?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/112395191/shaving-soap-with-tallow-lanolin-true?ref=shop_home_feat

Her ingredients are listed in the third picture. Tallow being the first. So I believe it is a good soap, it's just a bit to do with technique and a bit to do with a floppy brush.

I actually can/do get a good lather out of the soap, it's just I have to lather ON the bar of soap to get one instead of loading/lathering. Not to mention it does take some time to build the good stuff even lathering on the soap. A firmer brush may load the soap better better IMO