Hi, I've got one of these brushes and was wondering if you can get stiffer brushes or is this the reason why people recommend holding the knot when applying the lather ?
Cheers
Cheers
Kent BK4
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Antique Hoosier
“Aircooled”
The BK4 is a little flop mop but will whip up a surprisingly great lather even with very hard soaps...it takes finesse and practice but I owned it on 4 separate instances...a neat little brush. I prefer a Semogue boar these days or if I was in the hunt for a badger, a Simpson over the Kent, but it is an amazing little brush when you get the hang of it.
I believe you can get different grades of badger with you various kent models which will change stiffness. I have a kent bk8 which I love, I often hold the brush with my fingers in the knot, both to add stiffness and for control (putting lather around nose and ears). It really depends on what you desire the brush to accomplish and feel like. This is why every brush thread has such a wide range of responses.
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Right, yes that's what I do too Eizan.
So another question is why would you get a brush with a larger head - ie what advantage does it give ?
Cheers
So another question is why would you get a brush with a larger head - ie what advantage does it give ?
Cheers
The Kent BK4 is a little too floppy for my liking. I reserve its use for shave sticks only these days. It is of exceptional quality, and as others have said above, pinching the hair will increse its backbone, but I'd rather use a brush that does that naturally and not by using some knack.
I love mine, as it's one of the best hard soap latherers I own.
This was the second brush I ever owned and is still a favorite. I just like the feel of the this size knot and how it blooms, it holds a ton of lather. Just personal preference, some like smaller, some larger.
With a Kent you will want to bowl lather and "paint" the lather on using a back and forth motion on your face, not scrub it around in a circle.
It is sort of like slapping yourself with your brush. Go back into the bowl for more lather when your brush starts applying to thin of a lather.
You will find that your brush is perfect for painting lather.
It is sort of like slapping yourself with your brush. Go back into the bowl for more lather when your brush starts applying to thin of a lather.
You will find that your brush is perfect for painting lather.
I find mine to be a very versatile, all-around performer. It's soft and not super dense (has great flow through), and I do not find it to be too floppy. If not for SBAD, I could probably live fairly happily with the BK4 as my sole badger.
+1 (except with my bk8)
In fact the reason I originally purchased my 3rd brush (my first was a tweezerman that got relegated to the travel bag) was to alternate and let my kent fully dry (takes longer than 24 hours). Unfortunately, it did not stop there.
Also a proud new owner of the Kent BK4 and was astonished at how soft it was. Simply unprepared, but I love how it feels on the face. Haven't tried it on hard soaps as I just assumed it wouldn't have the backbone for it. Only used it with creams. Beginish says it works well on hard soaps though so I may have to give that a try. If it doesn't work, what the heck, it's only product.
I find mine gives a great lather, but when I rinse it out, do find it a little frightening how floppy it becomes. But, if all our brushes were the same, we wouldn't need more than 1 (or, in my case, no more than 4 since I need two for home and two for travel...at the very least. )
I find mine gives a great lather, but when I rinse it out, do find it a little frightening how floppy it becomes. But, if all our brushes were the same, we wouldn't need more than 1 (or, in my case, no more than 4 since I need two for home and two for travel...at the very least. )
The BK4 is very effective, even though faily "floppy". I like to rotate brushes and the BK4 is always in the rotation
I like the BK4 and use it with hard soaps, shaving sticks and creams. I face lather and love the feel of the soft tips. It is certainly does not have the backbone of my Shavemacks, Simpson LEs or Semogue LEs but it is a wonderful and top performing brush. I rotate brushes and find that the main reason I have several brushes is for the variety they each provide. I have the BK8 as well and it is a great brush as well. If you like super stiff brushes that can double as a grout cleaner than this brush is not for you, but if you like soft tips and a luxurious feel as you lather your face than I think that you will enjoy this brush very much. The handle is very nice as well.
Regards,
Doug
Regards,
Doug
Can anyone compare the BK4 compare to the B&B '09 LE?
