I need a face lather brush recommendation.

[Hex]

I am a recent convert to face lathering due to a brush I refurbished.

It's a TGN 22mm, finest 2-band, set to 50mm* loft.

I say 50mm* because that is what it measures, but upon closer inspection, some of the epoxy leaked up into the brush, therefore the loft is effectively shorter. I am not sure to what degree.

So, since I don't have one, I think I want to try a Rooney, under $65.

I like a soft bristle, but not floppy, so any recommendations will be seriously considered.

thanks,

 

[ChrisS86]

I am a recent convert to face lathering due to a brush I refurbished.

It's a TGN 22mm, finest 2-band, set to 50mm* loft.

I say 50mm* because that is what it measures, but upon closer inspection, some of the epoxy leaked up into the brush, therefore the loft is effectively shorter. I am not sure to what degree.

So, since I don't have one, I think I want to try a Rooney, under $65.

I like a soft bristle, but not floppy, so any recommendations will be seriously considered.

thanks,

I think the only Rooneys that fit your price point are the ones in "pure" grade. I don't think you'll find a new Rooney in silvertip for that price, unless you find one cheap on the BST or the 'bay. I personally would recommend the Rooney 1/1 in Super, for $10 more. It's a great brush, and I use it when face lathering all my soaps.

 

[dwestenk]

... I personally would recommend the Rooney 1/1 in Super, for $10 more. It's a great brush ...

+1 on a Rooney 1/1 or 3/1 in Super!

 

[quickie-cookie]

Grey badger is always the best way for face-lathering. The perfect middle.

 

[Hex]

Grey badger is always the best way for face-lathering. The perfect middle.

What's a grey badger ?

 

[Loric]

Grey badger is always the best way for face-lathering. The perfect middle.

What's a grey badger ?

I think Quickie-Cookie is referring to a pure badger brush. It is the cheapest grade of badger, but some people really enjoy it. The bristles have some decent backbone, but the tips are very sktirchy.

My personal recommendation would be 1/1 or a 1/2 in super. The short handle and loft are perfect for face lathering. I dont know what one is cheapest right now but the T&H brushes are re-branded Rooney brushes and worth a look. There is a discount code B&B10 I think for 10% off anything on the T&H web page, and it might get you under that $65 limmit of yours for a Rooney in Super.

 

[Joe Edson]

The Simpson colonel X2L is supposedly a great face lathering brush and can be had right in your price range.

 

[Hodari D.]

t&H discount is 20% fyi

 

[Hex]

The Rooney 3/1 in Super looks just about right, as does the 2/1.

3/1
Loft = 44
Handle = 50
Knot = 22

2/1
Loft = 48
Handle = 55
Knot = 22

Most of my brushes have at least a 50mm handle. I tried holding a carved up wooden chopstick at 42mm to see how a 1/1 would feel and its kinda small for my hands.

It's about $10.00 more than my budget, but that's ok.

So, what's your opinion on the performance difference between the 44mm and 48mm loft, and please don't tell me it's 4mm.

thanks

 

[redbike]

The Rooney 3/1 in super is a superb face lathering brush for soaps. Firm without being stiff and soft enough to use every day. Really can't go wrong. It's worth the extra $.

Good luck.

 

[atlguitfiddle]

Its not a Rooney, but I recently picked up a Savile Row 3118 from Charles over at QED, and it is an AWESOME brush for face lathering.

 

[Loric]

So, what's your opinion on the performance difference between the 44mm and 48mm loft, and please don't tell me it's 4mm.

The 4mm can make a big difference. I have never used a 2/1 but its really more of a cream brush. I have however used a 3/1 and it worked just fine as a face lathering brush, but I would not want to go any higher on the loft. Rooney super hair is nice and soft, but it in general does not have exceptional backbone even at a loft of 44mm the brush is not overly scrubby. My gut tells me the 2/1 would be to floppy for my tastes.

 

[Y2K]

I was looking for a travel brush recently, my regular brush that I use for face lather is Crabtree & Evelyn (Edwin Jagger) Best Badger which feels very soft to me but I wanted something smaller for travel. I picked up New Progress (Vulfix) Pure Badger Travel Shaving Brush on eBay for $35. It is pure badger and smaller (knot size is 19 - 20 mm) and comes with a travel tube. I've used it a few times so far and it works really well for me for face lathering. It has very good backbone and as the tips get a bit softer after being broken in, it will be perfect and may actually become my regular brush rather than just travel. I noticed that the seller raise the price to $42 since I bought it, but it is still cheaper than anywhere else and is totally worth it in my opinion.

I have no affiliation with the seller, I just bought the brush from him/her and really like it.

 

[Hex]

Just took a look at the T&H site and it's tough to figure out which one to buy.

There are no, nada, zilch, size descriptions on their brushes.

Grrrr.

I posted a WTB, and I will continue to poke around.
This is funnnnn.

 

[Loric]

Just took a look at the T&H site and it's tough to figure out which one to buy.

There are no, nada, zilch, size descriptions on their brushes.

Grrrr.

I posted a WTB, and I will continue to poke around.
This is funnnnn.

T&H brushes are listed as small/medium/large as opposed to size 1/2/3. The measurements are the same, they just use a different label for marketing. My T&H style one medium was the same exact size as my Rooney Heritage Stubby 2 (same measurements as a 1/2).

 

[Pioneer]

I personally would recommend the Rooney 1/1 in Super, for $10 more. It's a great brush, and I use it when face lathering all my soaps.

+1 My go-to face-latherin' soap-'n-cream slatherin' brush!

 

[quickie-cookie]

Yes, sorry. I mean the "pure-badger".

In Germany we call it "Grau-Dachs" (Grey-Badgerhair).

There are 3 categories of pure-badgers.

1. strong pure-badger (near to boar-hair, but much more effective, great massaging-effect) and the best face-lathering, you can get, because of the perfect mixing-effect of water and soap.

2. soft pure-badger (higher prices (near to silvertip), but same high effectivness)

3. very soft pure-badger (soft like silvertip-hair, not everybody´s darling)



Between "pure-badger" and "silvertip", there is the "fine-badger" (Dachszupf). In Germany, the fine-badger is not selled very well. But it´s a personal decision, what to buy.
The fine-badger is the crown of grey badgerhair. Soft and highly selected from special parts.

 

[benvh]

See if Rudy Vey can make one to your specifications. I have a couple from him with the finest grade hair w/ extra stuffing from TGN and they are awesome for face lathering.

 

[Loric]

Yes, sorry. I mean the "pure-badger".

In Germany we call it "Grau-Dachs" (Grey-Badgerhair).

There are 3 categories of pure-badgers.

1. strong pure-badger (near to boar-hair, but much more effective, great massaging-effect) and the best face-lathering, you can get, because of the perfect mixing-effect of water and soap.

2. soft pure-badger (higher prices (near to silvertip), but same high effectivness)

3. very soft pure-badger (soft like silvertip-hair, not everybody´s darling)



Between "pure-badger" and "silvertip", there is the "fine-badger" (Dachszupf). In Germany, the fine-badger is not selled very well. But it´s a personal decision, what to buy.
The fine-badger is the crown of grey badgerhair. Soft and highly selected from special parts.

This is a very interesting post! Could you possibly link some examples of the grades of German Pure Badger hair? I'd love to see some illustrations of the grading scale used there.

 

[quickie-cookie]

Here we are:

strong pure-badger (8 EUR to 35 EUR):

Greatest beard-preparation!

that´s a "normal-soft" pure-badger, the "standard-line" (8 to 35 EUR):

these is an example of an too soft pure-badger (8 to 10 EUR):

too slinky, not really a massaging-effect

typical fine-badger (25 to 50 EUR):