Maseto Avatar 30 Knott 56 Loft Silver Tipped Badger Shaving Brush!

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

It sounded like you were getting frustrated with what people were telling you the other day so I kept quiet and figured you would get it figured out on your own. One trick is to get your lather fully built and then squeeze the knot just above the handle to make the lather rise to the top. You may have to do it a few times if you don't like waisting soap. That is the price of using a big brush.

I can understand that, but reality is, I was frustrated with myself more then anything else. I just couldn't figure out what the heck I was doing wrong. I was like, am I really that incompetent? Why are other's having so much more success then I am? It just takes experience is all. You got to remember guys, I am coming from the very bottom, and working my way up on experience, as I am still new to the DE shaving hobby, even though I have been doing it for just about two months now.

The learning never stops. But I also have this problem of always being far too hard on myself. I've had people tell me this before. Sometimes, I just need a load of patience, take a breath, and remind myself, it will be OK, lol. I have ADD guys, what can ya do? But, I will tell you this much, today's shave brought so much happiness to me today, I am loaded with energy haha. Thanks APBINNCA!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Face lathering solves a lot of problems and is much more efficient. Easier too I think.

I've tried several and much prefer this ugly PAA brush warmer to the others I've used. (Not everyone thinks its ugly and I don't care how it looks but only how it functions. It works a treat.)

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Nereis]

What I found quite helpful was to think of creating good lather as managing a water:air:soap ratio.

Since smaller brushes hold less water/air as volume we use less soap. Bigger brushes need more soap. It's just that if you're not used to loading up for a long time it can be frustrating. I would second face lathering as the easier option for a big brush.

That said, I was using a giant Kent VS70 boar for years (some 30mm knot). Moving down to a normal sized brush was comparatively straightforward, so I do sympathise with the struggle.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

30 mm is a normal sized brush for goodness sake.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Shavingeveryday]

You’ll get there.

I remember years ago when I was learning to wet shave (30 plus years ago ) that I was getting frustrated on lather. it doesn’t matter what it looks like, it just takes practice to get there. I used to shave with pears soap, washing up liquid and hair conditioner if I ran out of shave cream…. It still did the job.

We get hung up on the perfect product these days, mainly because of companies who have great advertising budgets, and of course, forums like these and you tube….

use whatever you want to get the job done, and practice. You’ll soon find out what works and what doesn’t.

All the best dude!

 

[Cal]

30 mm is a normal sized brush for goodness sake.

I'm so pleased not to be "normal."

Here's my favorite Shavemac (20mm knot) watching my Simpson Wee Scot (13mm knot) dry out after a bender:

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'm so pleased not to be "normal."

Here's my favorite Shavemac (20mm knot) watching my Simpson Wee Scot (13mm knot) dry out after a bender:
View attachment 1446208

Those are normal sized too according to me.

Just not in Texas.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Phoenixkh]

I have 26mm knots in most of my brushes... one 28mm on the way.. and one 24mm. The 24mm is my least favorite brush... but that could be the brush design, not the knot diameter.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I have 26mm knots in most of my brushes... one 28mm on the way.. and one 24mm. The 24mm is my least favorite brush... but that could be the brush design, not the knot diameter.

Whatever the nominal knot size, some brushes are better than others and some knots of the same size are bigger. I'm not sure whether I mean that in an entirely literal sense, but maybe I do.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Phoenixkh]

I only have synth brushes(by choice), but I certainly agree.... some brushes are just better than others. My first brush still blows everything else I have out of the water. My ECS Ultimate G4 is the smoothest, nicest feeling brush I've used to date. I just got a Simpsons T3 and it's ok.... but not up to the Ultimate. The price was right though.... $20 from JWCowboy.

The Atomic Rocket from PAA, also $20, is my second favorite so far.... nice feel... the handle is a bit clunky... but I'm getting used to it.

Chris' Maseto brush is beautiful. It is one of the larger knots we see used here, but so what? He likes a lot of lather, as do I. i'm hardly an expert but if I fill a larger knot with lather, I always have enough lather for 3 passes and touch-ups. And I don't have tons of soap/cream left in my shaving bowl. I guess I'll never be a successful YouTube lather guy. <eg>

I do have a question though.... sorry, Chris... am I missing out because I'm not using badger brushes? or boar, for that matter?

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

I only have synth brushes(by choice), but I certainly agree.... some brushes are just better than others. My first brush still blows everything else I have out of the water. My ECS Ultimate G4 is the smoothest, nicest feeling brush I've used to date. I just got a Simpsons T3 and it's ok.... but not up to the Ultimate. The price was right though.... $20 from JWCowboy.

The Atomic Rocket from PAA, also $20, is my second favorite so far.... nice feel... the handle is a bit clunky... but I'm getting used to it.

Chris' Maseto brush is beautiful. It is one of the larger knots we see used here, but so what? He likes a lot of lather, as do I. i'm hardly an expert but if I fill a larger knot with lather, I always have enough lather for 3 passes and touch-ups. And I don't have tons of soap/cream left in my shaving bowl. I guess I'll never be a successful YouTube lather guy. <eg>

I do have a question though.... sorry, Chris... am I missing out because I'm not using badger brushes? or boar, for that matter?

Like I said, when you lack experience, and things are not going right, you don't know why, it can be frustrating. I think part of it is due to the fact, its an extra density brush, its not just the size. If you look on the Ebay page, the guy lists it as "EXTRA DENSE." If you look at my pictures showing just the knot, you can confirm, it is indeed, "EXTRA DENSE!" So with that extra density, combined with the size, is why it just soaks up all the soap.

Since I've used my brush several times now, I'm learning how much soap it likes, pretty much the exact amount of soap you get in a Captains Choice shave soap sample. I think it might be easier if I just get myself one of those tiny spoons everybody talks about, and just scoop the soap out of the puk. Otherwise I am going to be there all darn day, trying to gather enough from the puk just by swirling the brush.

Its a huge difference, going from my sparsely populated pure badger brush, to a high density populated silver tipped badger brush. Synthetics are known for being good brushes. But I haven't heard anyone make the claim yet, that they are just as good as a high end silver tipped badger brush. The reason for getting a badger brush IMO, is to get a brush that has very soft hairs, which feel good on sensitive skin. But again, you don't want a pure badger.

My experience with pure badger brushes leave much to be desired, a synthetic brush will beat a pure badger any time of the week. Having said that however, where that all changes, is when were talking about silver tipped badgers, also known as finest badgers, or even higher grade still, best badgers, like the Manchurian's. Thing is, all the best badgers are costly.

This is why, we always recommend synthetic brushes to beginners. They are cheap, you can get quality ones for only 15-20 bucks, and it will start them out right, while they learn how to use a brush. And then after a beginner gets experience, then they can choose something more higher end. Truth be told, if you buy synthetic brushes from an artisan, you will pay more then 20 bucks for synthetic. Take Captains Choice brushes for example, their artisan synthetic brushes are in the 60 dollar+ range.

And their badgers are in the 90+ range. Whats interesting about that is, I got my Maseto Avatar for 60 dollars and mine is a silver tipped finest badger brush. So its a better deal IMO. Anyways, I feel like I am getting a warm facial massage, everytime I bring that warm lather, and massage it into my face. Thats the thing about our wet shaving hobby, its not just that were getting a shave, were getting a facial massage on top of it. A life of luxury that is lol.

 

[albsat]

The only reason I don't enjoy a dense badger brush is that they keep the lather too much inside. They are not great at releasing it. However they have their appeal. No deny in it.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Face lathering solves a lot of problems.

Even if you don't want to become a long term face latherer it's worth putting in some time to learn what goes into making an extremely well hydrated, sufficiently soapy, and perfect lather (for you) via the face lathering process.

Towards that end, I shared some of my tips here. Even more so it's helpful in shortening the learning process.

I use a variety of brushes including boars, a horse, various badgers including pure badger and knots of highly varying densities, and different knot sizes (mostly large but not entirely). Also a very good synthetic which behaves like a three band silvertip.

All of my lathers are perfectly satisfactory and satisfying to me. They are also very uniform and consistent. All due to following a method which works. It also helps, if you're having problems, to stick to just one soap and just one brush for a month.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Phoenixkh]

Face lathering solves a lot of problems.

Even if you don't want to become a long term face latherer it's worth putting in some time to learn what goes into making an extremely well hydrated, sufficiently soapy, and perfect lather (for you) via the face lathering process.


View attachment 1447287


Towards that end, I shared some of my tips here. Even more so it's helpful in shortening the learning process.

I use a variety of brushes including boars, a horse, various badgers including pure badger and knots of highly varying densities, and different knot sizes (mostly large but not entirely). Also a very good synthetic which behaves like a three band silvertip.

All of my lathers are perfectly satisfactory and satisfying to me. They are also very uniform and consistent. All due to following a method which works. It also helps, if you're having problems, to stick to just one soap and just one brush for a month.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I read your suggestions...... sounds good. I don't face lather for one simple reason: soap in general makes my face break out into little red bumps because of the effects psoriatic arthritis has on my skin. I try to keep keep the time the lather is on my face to a minimum as a result.

But I do the same thing with making lather in my shaving bowl. Start with an amount of soap/cream that is repeatable as you learn their varying characteristics. I do use a small spoon we had laying around so I didn't have to buy one. I start with that almond shaped size dollop of soap/cream you hear/read so much about. ( I learned the other day, this has an actual name, i.e., a snurdle.... thx, Invicta: Does your TOBS wear out as fast as mine? - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/does-your-tobs-wear-out-as-fast-as-mine.623767/#post-11739910

Start semi-dry... add additional water in small increments, same as your face lathering technique. As long as I didn't forget to smoosh the soap/cream into a thin layer on the bottom of my bowl, I get nice lather.

I do like the softer feeling I get from a couple of my synth brushes. I'm not opposed to using a badger brush. I had one but gave it to the son who got me into TWShaving after I used my ESC Ultimate G4 synth a couple times. I got a couple other synth brushes because I wanted a less expensive travel brush. I don't like them as much as my Ultimate but they were very cost effective. I still don't really know if I'm missing anything significant by not owning an excellent badger brush. The one I had was a Vulfix "super badger" bulb design. I got it at a drug store back in the 1990, I think, so I'm sure it wasn't the top of the line.

I really do want to know what I might be missing by not using a badger brush. I'm not sure if anyone can explain that in a way I can grasp. Is it one of those things you can't really understand until you try a good one? I know it's subjective, but I also know, some things are almost impossible to describe. How do you describe what something tastes like to someone who has never tasted the food or fruit? How can you get someone to understand what a mango tastes like without them actually trying one? Is using a badger brush like that or is there any way you could explain to me what I'm can't get from a non-badger brush?

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I read your suggestions...... sounds good. I don't face lather for one simple reason: soap in general makes my face break out into little red bumps because of the effects psoriatic arthritis has on my skin. I try to keep keep the time the lather is on my face to a minimum as a result.

But I do the same thing with making lather in my shaving bowl. Start with an amount of soap/cream that is repeatable as you learn their varying characteristics. I do use a small spoon we had laying around so I didn't have to buy one. I start with that almond shaped size dollop of soap/cream you hear/read so much about. ( I learned the other day, this has an actual name, i.e., a snurdle.... thx, Invicta: Does your TOBS wear out as fast as mine? - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/does-your-tobs-wear-out-as-fast-as-mine.623767/#post-11739910

Start semi-dry... add additional water in small increments, same as your face lathering technique. As long as I didn't forget to smoosh the soap/cream into a thin layer on the bottom of my bowl, I get nice lather.

I do like the softer feeling I get from a couple of my synth brushes. I'm not opposed to using a badger brush. I had one but gave it to the son who got me into TWShaving after I used my ESC Ultimate G4 synth a couple times. I got a couple other synth brushes because I wanted a less expensive travel brush. I don't like them as much as my Ultimate but they were very cost effective. I still don't really know if I'm missing anything significant by not owning an excellent badger brush. The one I had was a Vulfix "super badger" bulb design. I got it at a drug store back in the 1990, I think, so I'm sure it wasn't the top of the line.

I really do want to know what I might be missing by not using a badger brush. I'm not sure if anyone can explain that in a way I can grasp. Is it one of those things you can't really understand until you try a good one? I know it's subjective, but I also know, some things are almost impossible to describe. How do you describe what something tastes like to someone who has never tasted the food or fruit? How can you get someone to understand what a mango tastes like without them actually trying one? Is using a badger brush like that or is there any way you could explain to me what I'm can't get from a non-badger brush?

I have and use only one synthetic along with a lot of badgers and boars.

My synthetic is very much like a three band silvertip in all its characteristics. That's not to say other synthetics are the same.

The Evo feels almost exactly like a good albeit not terribly dense silvertip three band. It loads and lathers the same or so close I can't tell enough difference to shake a stick at. It also holds the heat so it can deliver a warm lather. (They say synthetics don't usually do that.) I suspect its at the top of the synthetic knot heap, but my knowledge of synthetics is limited.

Yes, I've tried a couple of other synthetics. They were not the same as this one.

This one synthetic is, to me, not enough different, if it's any different, from a badger to matter.

I'd say the lather it produces is very slightly different in having perhaps a finer texture (sorry, can't define that better), but that difference is terribly minor and certainly of no practical consequence to me.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Phoenixkh]

I have and use only one synthetic along with a lot of badgers and boars.


View attachment 1447553


My synthetic is very much like a three band silvertip in all its characteristics. That's not to say other synthetics are the same.

The Evo feels almost exactly like a good albeit not terribly dense silvertip three band. It loads and lathers the same or so close I can't tell enough difference to shake a stick at. It also holds the heat so it can deliver a warm lather. (They say synthetics don't usually do that.) I suspect its at the top of the synthetic knot heap, but my knowledge of synthetics is limited.

Yes, I've tried a couple of other synthetics. They were not the same as this one.

This one synthetic is, to me, not enough different, if it's any different, from a badger to matter.

I'd say the lather it produces is very slightly different in having perhaps a finer texture (sorry, can't define that better), but that difference is terribly minor and certainly of no practical consequence to me.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Thx, Jim. You are explaining my dilemma exactly. So many of you experienced WTShaving guys have been using badger brushes for years. So when you buy a synth brush, you compare it to your best badger brushes and seem to be looking for something comparable, which only makes sense. I don't have that paradigm. I am only comparing synth to synth, so I don't really understand your jargon, if that makes sense.... "This synthetic brush feels just like a good badger brush.".... I have no idea what that means.

To find out, I'd probably have to buy a good badger brush. The least expensive way to do that is probably to do what Chris did and order one from Maseto. I'll have to ponder this for a while.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Thx, Jim. You are explaining my dilemma exactly. So many of you experienced WTShaving guys have been using badger brushes for years. So when you buy a synth brush, you compare it to your best badger brushes and seem to be looking for something comparable, which only makes sense. I don't have that paradigm. I am only comparing synth to synth, so I don't really understand your jargon, if that makes sense.... "This synthetic brush feels just like a good badger brush.".... I have no idea what that means.

To find out, I'd probably have to buy a good badger brush. The least expensive way to do that is probably to do what Chris did and order one from Maseto. I'll have to ponder this for a while.

You shall go to the Ebay system, there you will meet Maseto. You shall buy a 2-band finest silver tipped badger brush. After a month long wait for your training to begin, Maseto shall instruct you, in the ways of the shaving force.

Buy now, or it will help you not. You shall learn much in the coming month, this I see. May the Maseto be with you

 

[life2short1971]

My Maseto Avatar brush finally arrived in the mail, from a little oh town called TIANJINSHI China! This just came today, so I obviously haven't had a chance to use it yet, just take pics and process them. However, feeling it in the hand, I love how chubby the handle is, it weighs less then my all metal Chrome metal brush. And while my goal was to get a nice big 30 knott brush, I am happy to see that it isn't gargantuan, like some people's pictures make them out to look. The brush overall is an excellent size

I am also the fan of it being a bulb instead of a wide fan. Feeling the hairs with my fingers, this brush hasn't had a chance to break in yet, and it already feels soft! But it also has backbone, this is clear, because my chrome pure badger brush has no backbone to speak of. Its also a silver tipped badger, which overall, is a higher quality brush from the start. Beautiful handle, I am loving it so far! Now I just need to soak this brush in some warm shampoo for the initial breakin.

FYI, I didn't like how much the stand was squeezing the hairs of the brush. So what I did, is I grabbed a pair of pliers, and I widened the fork, which allows me to hold it in the exact same way, except with less squeezing, and more maintaining of the bulb shape. If you guys are looking to get any of these Maseto brushes, look up the seller classicshop2012 on Ebay.

Its a very nice brush and the butterfly outline in the bottom of the handle is cool also! Enjoy!!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thx, Jim. You are explaining my dilemma exactly. So many of you experienced WTShaving guys have been using badger brushes for years. So when you buy a synth brush, you compare it to your best badger brushes and seem to be looking for something comparable, which only makes sense. I don't have that paradigm. I am only comparing synth to synth, so I don't really understand your jargon, if that makes sense.... "This synthetic brush feels just like a good badger brush.".... I have no idea what that means.

To find out, I'd probably have to buy a good badger brush. The least expensive way to do that is probably to do what Chris did and order one from Maseto. I'll have to ponder this for a while.

You're right, but there's only one way to find out how an apple tastes and what its texture is like.

I have little synthetic experience but enough to recommend the Evo. Rave @Raven Koenes has used a fair number of badgers, at least one of them being an excellent Manchurian, and other natural animal hair and/or bristle brushes. He has for a long time only used synthetics. He says the Omega Evo is the World's Best Brush. I don't know if he's right, but I know it is better than the other synthetics I've used (for me), and I like it.

To me, some synthetics are artificial feeling (the Evo is not) and/or too springy and/or don't hold water and heat. I require scrub and the ability to splay nicely. Not all brushes give me that. Some boars and badgers are not to my liking so why should I like all synthetics?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

You're right, but there's only one way to find out how an apple tastes and what its texture is like.

I have little synthetic experience but enough to recommend the Evo. Rave @Raven Koenes has used a fair number of badgers, at least one of them being an excellent Manchurian, and other natural animal hair and/or bristle brushes. He has for a long time only used synthetics. He says the Omega Evo is the World's Best Brush. I don't know if he's right, but I know it is better than the other synthetics I've used (for me), and I like it.

To me, some synthetics are artificial feeling (the Evo is not) and/or too springy and/or don't hold water and heat. I require scrub and the ability to splay nicely. Not all brushes give me that. Some boars and badgers are not to my liking so why should I like all synthetics?

Happy shaves,

Jim

Because I started this journey with a real badger brush, I am afraid to try out synthetic brushes. I think Phoenix might be this way, but in reverse. One thing I find interesting about Yaqi brushes is, you can find plenty of synthetic Yaqi brushes for sale in the US. However, you can't find any Yaqi badger brushes for sale in the US. The only places you can buy them are on Ebay and Aliexpress.

There's a Yaqi brush that I got my eye on that I want, but it would mean another month long wait to get it, as it comes direct from China. Of course, if I can get myself to buy a synthetic instead, there is that option to get a Yaqi brush with the handle I'd like, much quicker. But then I am taking a chance, will I like the synthetic? Or will I hate it?

Hmmmm