New brush break in and care

[Ratso]

TLDR: My preferred break-in process is through continued use with accelerated drying.

I recently acquired a Zenith unbleached boar and today I used it for the first time. There was no special break-in ritual. I took it out of the box, soaked the bristles in a cup of water (cold tap) while getting ready for the day, thoroughly rinsed and gently squeezed out most of the water, and took it to the puck.

After the shave, I placed it in front of a fan (an electric fan should be standard issue in Texas) so the bristles would be dry before tomorrow's shave. I happen to agree with the "You want the brush completely dry to encourage the split ends to happen as quick as possible." statement from @GoodShave (and others) and wanted to accelerate the drying time. I weighed the brush when it first arrived so I already knew the dry weight. After less than 8 hours in front of the fan, it was back to its original weight and ready for tomorrow.

Great idea. I never thought of weighing the brush.
Reminds me of what my wife told me. She told me to go on a diet and get back to my original weight. 8lbs. 13 ozs. Hmmmm.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Great idea. I never thought of weighing the brush.
Reminds me of what my wife told me. She told me to go on a diet and get back to my original weight. 8lbs. 13 ozs. Hmmmm.

She said that did she? I can see how that could make you easier to handle for sure. HEHE

 

[bjm]

Great idea. I never thought of weighing the brush.
Reminds me of what my wife told me. She told me to go on a diet and get back to my original weight. 8lbs. 13 ozs. Hmmmm.

I also weigh my soaps to determine average usage per shave and the empty loading bowl so I know how much soap is remaining. Maybe a bit obsessive, but it works for me and helps to eliminate guessing.

 

[BanjoCowboyMartaTobes]

Question: So to clarify, rinse badger/boar in warm yet not hot water and squeeze several times, leaving hair side up to dry in openish air is all I gotta do? Do you recommend alternating brushes for daily shaving, maybe like at least a quiver of 30 brushes minimum?

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Question: So to clarify, rinse badger/boar in warm yet not hot water and squeeze several times, leaving hair side up to dry in openish air is all I gotta do? Do you recommend alternating brushes for daily shaving, maybe like at least a quiver of 30 brushes minimum?

This is what I do!

(1) Rinse brush out fully until you can see nothing but clear water draining from the brush
(2) Shake brush several times to get excess water out from the brush
(3) I go an extra step and dry my badger 30 knot brush with a hair dryer on low heat (Not Required)
(4) Once I got it fairly dry, and cooled via cool mode for last bit, I hang it up on the stand

 

[GoodShave]

Question: So to clarify, rinse badger/boar in warm yet not hot water and squeeze several times, leaving hair side up to dry in openish air is all I gotta do? Do you recommend alternating brushes for daily shaving, maybe like at least a quiver of 30 brushes minimum?

I wouldn't worry about using warm water. Any water temp will work fine but I would stay away from hot water which could loosen the glue not. I rinse the brush well in water and gently squeeze the ends. If I see some lather on the tips, I will run water directly down the breach of the brush and repeat the squeeze. Once I see no lather on the tips, I will take a towel and 'paint' it with the brush like I was painting on lather to get more water out. Then I set the brush on the counter to dry bristles up (though you could use a stand and do it bristles down if you like).

If you have more than one brush, alternating brushes would work if you are a daily shaver. If you shave every other day (or longer), no need to alternate brushes.