I'm very grateful to have a place where I can go on about this and people will get it.
My wife is Japanese, from Hiroshima. We visit there often, but I can't always make the trip. On those occasions my mother-in-law often sends me back a beautiful gift. She outdid herself with the one my wife just brought me.
For centuries Japan's most celebrated calligraphic brushes came from Kumano in Hiroshima Prefecture. Since fewer people are practicing calligraphy now, Kumano's master brushmakers are finding new ways to express their artistry. For instance, they're well known to top-level makeup and theater professionals the world over for their coveted makeup brushes. This is my new shaving brush.
I'm amazed because we don't hear a lot about quality brushes from Japan.
Since the company isn't used to the conventions of shaving brushes, they don't provide information we might consider relevant. Here's what I know. The composition is a mix of what is conventionally referred to in Japanese as "water badger" and synthetic. (There are different varieties of badger on every continent, and I think that when they say "water badger" it's the European badger, although that's also the dominant variety in China). I don't know the proportion, but I've now used it a few times, and it's blooming beautifully, so I suspect the ratio of badger is over half. Don't know what quality, but it's as soft as my finest silvertip. I measured the knot (roughly) at 23~ mm.
Handle length is 55 mm and the hair loft is 43 mm. One of these pictures gives the impression that the handle is two-toned, but it is a single, gorgeously grained block of hand-turned ebony. None of my pictures does it full justice. It feels great in the hand. An interesting feature of the brush is the bulb shape. Has anyone here ever seen a "divot" like that in the center? It turns out to have a function, more about that in a moment.
Performance: I was concerned that a company that makes calligraphy and professional makeup brushes would make a sort of perversely misguided interpretation of a shaving brush. But the moment I used it, it was clear that when they committed to making a brush with this function they studied the way others work. This turns out to be a MONSTER face latherer (my preference), possibly the best I've owned. That indent makes the difference. The thing is as dense as can be. So dense that it feels like all backbone. But the raised torus shape at the end of the bulb causes it to splay along that border, whereupon the shorter hairs at the center take over to continue aerating the soap surface. You don't have to apply much pressure to get a ton of substance. Unsurprisingly (to me) it hasn't lost a single hair, as many brushes do at the very beginning.
This is the web page for it, but it doesn't offer much of the sort of information those here would be interested in: http://tinyurl.com/ks4kbx3
Two notes on the page that came with it (Japanese) gave me pause. They essentially tell you to go easy on the soap loading. They're vague about what they mean but imply that you shouldn't whip the knot like an enraged brute. They also suggest that it should give you 1-2 years of good service, which seems like too short a period, but maybe they're just keeping expectations low. I'd love to keep using this brush for years.
Thanks for letting me share. DGI
My wife is Japanese, from Hiroshima. We visit there often, but I can't always make the trip. On those occasions my mother-in-law often sends me back a beautiful gift. She outdid herself with the one my wife just brought me.
For centuries Japan's most celebrated calligraphic brushes came from Kumano in Hiroshima Prefecture. Since fewer people are practicing calligraphy now, Kumano's master brushmakers are finding new ways to express their artistry. For instance, they're well known to top-level makeup and theater professionals the world over for their coveted makeup brushes. This is my new shaving brush.
I'm amazed because we don't hear a lot about quality brushes from Japan.
Since the company isn't used to the conventions of shaving brushes, they don't provide information we might consider relevant. Here's what I know. The composition is a mix of what is conventionally referred to in Japanese as "water badger" and synthetic. (There are different varieties of badger on every continent, and I think that when they say "water badger" it's the European badger, although that's also the dominant variety in China). I don't know the proportion, but I've now used it a few times, and it's blooming beautifully, so I suspect the ratio of badger is over half. Don't know what quality, but it's as soft as my finest silvertip. I measured the knot (roughly) at 23~ mm.
Handle length is 55 mm and the hair loft is 43 mm. One of these pictures gives the impression that the handle is two-toned, but it is a single, gorgeously grained block of hand-turned ebony. None of my pictures does it full justice. It feels great in the hand. An interesting feature of the brush is the bulb shape. Has anyone here ever seen a "divot" like that in the center? It turns out to have a function, more about that in a moment.
Performance: I was concerned that a company that makes calligraphy and professional makeup brushes would make a sort of perversely misguided interpretation of a shaving brush. But the moment I used it, it was clear that when they committed to making a brush with this function they studied the way others work. This turns out to be a MONSTER face latherer (my preference), possibly the best I've owned. That indent makes the difference. The thing is as dense as can be. So dense that it feels like all backbone. But the raised torus shape at the end of the bulb causes it to splay along that border, whereupon the shorter hairs at the center take over to continue aerating the soap surface. You don't have to apply much pressure to get a ton of substance. Unsurprisingly (to me) it hasn't lost a single hair, as many brushes do at the very beginning.
This is the web page for it, but it doesn't offer much of the sort of information those here would be interested in: http://tinyurl.com/ks4kbx3
Two notes on the page that came with it (Japanese) gave me pause. They essentially tell you to go easy on the soap loading. They're vague about what they mean but imply that you shouldn't whip the knot like an enraged brute. They also suggest that it should give you 1-2 years of good service, which seems like too short a period, but maybe they're just keeping expectations low. I'd love to keep using this brush for years.
Thanks for letting me share. DGI
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