Super Badger vs Silvertip

[slantman]

Thinking about going custom on my next brush and need to know which is better

 

[nmerth]

You will have to get both then..choose which one works best for you..then sell the other one on BST

 

[WhosYerBob]

Soap or cream? Hard or soft? Fan or bulb? Does your skin like being scrubbed or stroked? Your answers will help guide you to a decision.

I had boar for years and years, and lusted after a silvertip badger in the worst way. Now that I have a super, a best and a silvertip, I'm finding that none of them have the scrubbiness that the boar had - and I *miss* it. I'm thinking that I may have to "downgrade" to a boar again just so I can enjoy the morning scrub.

 

[Bertilak]

Super Badger vs Silvertip: Thinking about going custom on my next brush and need to know which is better

"Super" is a term used by Rooney for one of its grades of silvertip so it is not a choice of one over the other (at least in Rooney's case).

The terminology used for badger hair is not well defined so what one manufacturer calls best, finest, super, whatever may not refer to the same thing when used by different manufacturers. I do think "silvertip" might be reasonably well established as a term but there are many grades of silvertip. For example Rooney has five grades: 1-Pure, 2-Best, 3-Silvertip, 4-Super Silvertip, & 5-Finest. Three and up are all silvertip. And "super" is actually divided into two ranges, normal super and the super in the Heritage line. There is one manufacturer (I think) that uses "finest" as a grade just below silvertip.

The Rooney stuff (and more) is very well detailed at Vintage Blades: http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/xcart/home.php?cat=116

 

[andrew98]

Shavemac Finest is the grade below Silvertip.

-Andy

 

[mdunn]

I always considered finest kinda sidways from silvertip. A silvertip option with more backbone, so to speak.

OP: like mitch said, what do you like in a brush?

 

[andrew98]

I always considered finest kinda sidways from silvertip. A silvertip option with more backbone, so to speak.

OP: like mitch said, what do you like in a brush?

That's a great way of thinking about Shavemac's Finest! That's totally been my experience. Thanks!

-Andy

 

[slantman]

So basically there is no standard for grading. Its a sales gimmick more then anything. I guess I will stick to plain vanilla badger as I use soap almost all the time.
I wish to thank everyone for their input

 

[Sueto]

I got a Rooney Heritage Stubby in Pure badger and it is a great soap brush.

 

[andrew98]

So basically there is no standard for grading. Its a sales gimmick more then anything. I guess I will stick to plain vanilla badger as I use soap almost all the time.
I wish to thank everyone for their input

There is no international standard for grading badger hair. There's typically pure, some sort of mid-grade, silvertip, then one or two grades of specialty uber-hair that varies by manufacturer. There is usually a vast difference between pure (what you're calling plain vanilla badger?) and any other grade. You just need to understand each company's grading structure in order to compare brushes from one manufacturer to another. It's not a sales gimmick. Different grades have different qualities (softness of tips and backbone, primarily). How a brush is constructed will also have a massive impact on a brush's qualities. Shavemac Finest, for example, is rather floppy in a brush with a 60mm loft, but it's quite firm (similar to Rooney's Super Silvertip brushes) when it's used in a brush with a 45mm loft. If you're ordering a custom brush, I would advise emailing Bernd with your order instead of just ordering it through Shavemac's custom brush utility on the website. You can't request a certain loft using that.

You never mentioned what brush you already have, what you like or dislike about it, and what manufacturers you're considering. I'm guessing Shavemac since you're talking custom brush(?).

-Andy