Synthetic Shaving Brush Pass Around

[dfoulk]

I'm new to de shaving and very interested in this pass. In fact, I'm looking at having a brush made for me right now not knowing what I'm going to get basically.


As a cigar enthusiast, I know all about humidity control.

You can go to any pet store and buy the kitty litter clear crystals. They are cheap and will pull the moisture from the brushes.


My question is this......


How will they be shipped?

Each in its own plastic baggy?

If so, you will need to put some kitty litter in with each brush.

Don't worry, they have no scent. Many people use them for keeping cigars.


Let me know if I can help.

I'd just have each person keep the box for an extra day before packing it up to ensure that the last brush used is completely dry. Some kind of tubes could be used to hold each brush. I've used medicine bottles for travel brushes though they likely won't work for every size brush.

The cat litter thing freaks me out, please don't.

 

[bobmsp]

I'd just have each person keep the box for an extra day before packing it up to ensure that the last brush used is completely dry. Some kind of tubes could be used to hold each brush. I've used medicine bottles for travel brushes though they likely won't work for every size brush.

The cat litter thing freaks me out, please don't.

I hereby volunteer to spend $3 to have some silica packets drop shipped to Don. They're less than that for a hundred of them. I'd stick a couple of them with each brush.

 

[dfoulk]

I hereby volunteer to spend $3 to have some silica packets drop shipped to Don. They're less than that for a hundred of them. I'd stick a couple of them with each brush.

That's a good idea.

 

[huskers]

I'd just have each person keep the box for an extra day before packing it up to ensure that the last brush used is completely dry. Some kind of tubes could be used to hold each brush. I've used medicine bottles for travel brushes though they likely won't work for every size brush.

The cat litter thing freaks me out, please don't.

Exact same thing as silica packets basically.

We have guys that protect thousands of dollars worth of cigars with the kitty litter.

It's not what you think it is

 

[mightyeskimo]

This is an excellent idea. I think different sizes is a very good idea. I will have to see if I have anything different to contribute other than the ones mentioned above. I have a knot from AMACK (that I haven't even had time to glue into a handle) so I can't comment personally yet, but these also get pretty good reviews. Otherwise Stirling, Whipped Dog, Shave Rev, Plisson, Razorock, Maggards would all be great.
I did see the sub-$25 price mentioned above...though if someone wanted to loan out a Simpson Ch2 synth or a Muhle V2.0, I wouldn't object.

Thank you sir!

 

[mightyeskimo]

I've been going crazy these past few weeks trying to decide on the right brush for me. I started out with a Maggard synthetic that had way too much backbone and then I went for a Plissoft, which is actually the same exact knot and feels almost exactly the same.

I'm seconding NickMach's list as for the brushes that would make good candidates - Stirling Kong, Shave Revolution Evo, RazoRock Plissoft, and Maggard. I'm most interested in Whipped Dog right now but I'd like to point out that there are two synthetic Whipped Dog knots: the old Ubersoft knot and the newer unnamed knot. I think that this is a really important distinction. I'd also like to propose a few more brushes that I've had suggested to me in other threads, so here is my full list:

-Fine Angel Hair
-The Purest Satin Tip
-Stirling Kong
-RazoRock Plissoft
-Maggard
-Shave Revolution Evo
-old Whipped Dog "Ubersoft"
-new Whipped Dog

Those should all be sub $25.

As for moisture, will silica gel crystals help at all? Synthetics dry fairly quickly so maybe make a rule that all brushes must be allowed one full day to dry before shipping. Also use a drip stand or stand the brushes up in a bowl, otherwise the moisture will just gather at the base of the brush.

24mm seems like a popular middle ground size. Obviously some brushes like the Stirling Kong will fall outside this size.

I'm still too new to partake in pass arounds but I'm intensely on the hunt for the ideal affordable synthetic, and I really want to hear some opinions on the new Whipped Dog versus the Plissoft. This pass around couldn't have come at a better time for me assuming we'll be able to start seeing some reviews some time this year.

This is a great list! Thank you sir. Can you provide not sizes for the brushes on this list? Also I think the silica packets are a great idea. I think that's what I'm going to plan on using.

 

[mightyeskimo]

XL, extra large knot size 25mm.

Excellent! That gets us right up into the biggie range.

 

[mightyeskimo]

I'm new to de shaving and very interested in this pass. In fact, I'm looking at having a brush made for me right now not knowing what I'm going to get basically.


As a cigar enthusiast, I know all about humidity control.

You can go to any pet store and buy the kitty litter clear crystals. They are cheap and will pull the moisture from the brushes.


My question is this......


How will they be shipped?

Each in its own plastic baggy?

If so, you will need to put some kitty litter in with each brush.

Don't worry, they have no scent. Many people use them for keeping cigars.


Let me know if I can help.

Thanks Josh! I think I'm leaning towards packaging each brush in an individual prescription bottle. And then having holes drilled into the top and the bottom for ventilation. I think I'm also going to go with silica packets rather than the clear kitty litter crystals.

 

[NickMach007]

This is a great list! Thank you sir. Can you provide not sizes for the brushes on this list? Also I think the silica packets are a great idea. I think that's what I'm going to plan on using.

Re silica, the little packets probably won't help. They absorb moisture, then do nothing once saturated. But you can get bulk silica that can be "recharged" by baking in the oven (it just dries it out). I have some I put in mesh bags and use in my camera bags when I travel. It changes color from blue (ready to absorb moisture) to orange (needs to be dried in the oven). Not hard, but this may be asking too much for all participants. More realistically, just let the brushes dry a full 24 hours and don't ship them in anything air tight ought to be fine, IMO.

 

[NickMach007]

Why are vendor donated items frowned upon. It's not going to bias the passaround participants and keep their reviews from being honest. All reviews need to be completely honest and I've never found this to be anything but the case with passarounds.

I would absolutely ask vendors for synthetic brushes. It's an opportunity for people to try their brushes and almost free advertising for them that we're overseeing and managing for them. You're asking for a brush for advertising purposes so why donate your own? Think about it, if you do the passaround and like the brush will you buy one? You absolutely would, so why not ask for a demo brush. Do I owe them a glowing review just because they donated a brush, absolutely not. As the passaround moderator, I might say "this one's not for me" instead of completely slamming it, but to the rest of the participants, slam away if you hate it. Bring the honesty in your reviews.

If you're a vendor selling shaving supplies how do you advertise your products to your target market. Think about it how effective would a mailer be (it wouldn't), fliers on cars (nope), mass emails (everybody hates those). Most people don't even know what wet shaving is. The best place for them to get noticed is this forum and outside of a Vendor tag there's no way to advertise to the 60,000 plus members here. All they can do is wait and hope for a positive review to be posted by one of our members. They are pretty helpless from an advertising standpoint. Same deal with the other forums, it's all word of mouth. So a $10 brush for them is a chance that a product might catch on and sell. Then maybe you guys will buy some soap or aftershave along with the brush.

That $10 brush will be tried by 50 or more people and the reviews they post will be read by thousands more. Can you think of a better use of $10 for them. If I were a vendor I'd do this in a second. I rarely get ignored when I ask for soap for the soap sample passaround. I've asked around thirty vendors and only four didn't respond. Most responded quickly with an "Absolutely, I'm in" and that's because it makes sense for them to do it. You're actually doing them a favor by asking them.

With the soap sample passaround. All of the soaps are kept separate from my own because they are property of the passaround and not mine. I show no favoritism to any of the vendors because they donated soap, they didn't donate it to me they donated it to the passaround in the hopes that someone posts a favorable review and they sell some soap. They're appreciative that I asked but contrary to what some think I don't get sent a ton of free stuff. I ask for soap for the passaround and that's what they send me, soap for the passaround. I review some of them and comment on the ones I really like.

As long as you do it this way the ethical thing only comes into play when the passaround finally ends because of lack of interest. Then what happens to the donated brushes? Easy solution, you send them to Georg and they get donated to active military guys (I've already done this with some passaround soap). I sent the vendor an email letting them know and they were thrilled. Or maybe they go to forum members in need of a brush via a PIF. If Simpson donated a high end synthetic brush for us to try, I'd donate it to the Sue Moore Auction once the passaround was over. I look at it as if the donated stuff isn't mine to keep, it's just lent to us to try so when it's served its purpose it'll move to someone that needs it more than I do.

Asking for a $10 brush for this is no big deal, however asking for a $200 badger brush is likely a different story because the return they'd need is much higher to justify it. I wouldn't ask a vendor for a $200 item and I don't see them being very responsive to the idea either.

I'd think a high end badger brush passaround might work with user owned brushes but it would have to be a small select group of established members as participants. Outside of that I don't see it happening as the risk is too high.

Boar brushes might work as well for a passaround but I'd see how the synthetic one went first.

The forum members that are kind enough to donate brushes to this should know ahead of time that they are going to get used, dropped, chipped, and possibly lost. So don't donate anything you expect to get back in the same condition.

I agree with this. Well thought out, reasonable, eloquently written. Thank you.

 

[mightyeskimo]

Why are vendor donated items frowned upon. It's not going to bias the passaround participants and keep their reviews from being honest. All reviews need to be completely honest and I've never found this to be anything but the case with passarounds.

I would absolutely ask vendors for synthetic brushes. It's an opportunity for people to try their brushes and almost free advertising for them that we're overseeing and managing for them. You're asking for a brush for advertising purposes so why donate your own? Think about it, if you do the passaround and like the brush will you buy one? You absolutely would, so why not ask for a demo brush. Do I owe them a glowing review just because they donated a brush, absolutely not. As the passaround moderator, I might say "this one's not for me" instead of completely slamming it, but to the rest of the participants, slam away if you hate it. Bring the honesty in your reviews.

If you're a vendor selling shaving supplies how do you advertise your products to your target market. Think about it how effective would a mailer be (it wouldn't), fliers on cars (nope), mass emails (everybody hates those). Most people don't even know what wet shaving is. The best place for them to get noticed is this forum and outside of a Vendor tag there's no way to advertise to the 60,000 plus members here. All they can do is wait and hope for a positive review to be posted by one of our members. They are pretty helpless from an advertising standpoint. Same deal with the other forums, it's all word of mouth. So a $10 brush for them is a chance that a product might catch on and sell. Then maybe you guys will buy some soap or aftershave along with the brush.

That $10 brush will be tried by 50 or more people and the reviews they post will be read by thousands more. Can you think of a better use of $10 for them. If I were a vendor I'd do this in a second. I rarely get ignored when I ask for soap for the soap sample passaround. I've asked around thirty vendors and only four didn't respond. Most responded quickly with an "Absolutely, I'm in" and that's because it makes sense for them to do it. You're actually doing them a favor by asking them.

With the soap sample passaround. All of the soaps are kept separate from my own because they are property of the passaround and not mine. I show no favoritism to any of the vendors because they donated soap, they didn't donate it to me they donated it to the passaround in the hopes that someone posts a favorable review and they sell some soap. They're appreciative that I asked but contrary to what some think I don't get sent a ton of free stuff. I ask for soap for the passaround and that's what they send me, soap for the passaround. I review some of them and comment on the ones I really like.

As long as you do it this way the ethical thing only comes into play when the passaround finally ends because of lack of interest. Then what happens to the donated brushes? Easy solution, you send them to Georg and they get donated to active military guys (I've already done this with some passaround soap). I sent the vendor an email letting them know and they were thrilled. Or maybe they go to forum members in need of a brush via a PIF. If Simpson donated a high end synthetic brush for us to try, I'd donate it to the Sue Moore Auction once the passaround was over. I look at it as if the donated stuff isn't mine to keep, it's just lent to us to try so when it's served its purpose it'll move to someone that needs it more than I do.

Asking for a $10 brush for this is no big deal, however asking for a $200 badger brush is likely a different story because the return they'd need is much higher to justify it. I wouldn't ask a vendor for a $200 item and I don't see them being very responsive to the idea either.

I'd think a high end badger brush passaround might work with user owned brushes but it would have to be a small select group of established members as participants. Outside of that I don't see it happening as the risk is too high.

Boar brushes might work as well for a passaround but I'd see how the synthetic one went first.

The forum members that are kind enough to donate brushes to this should know ahead of time that they are going to get used, dropped, chipped, and possibly lost. So don't donate anything you expect to get back in the same condition.

Thanks David! I agree with every one of your points. My reluctance to ask vendors for brushes for a pass around box may just be my inexperience with these things.

It originally just struck me as being in poor taste to ask for a free brush. I've read so many stories about vendors having poor experiences with people contacting them asking them for free merchandise for them to review. As you point out though, this is something different.

I'd like to hear the input of more than a few moderators on this before moving forward.

 

[dpm802]

Thank you sir! Can you list the sizes on those brushes as well please?

PAA Checkmate: 26mm / loft unknown http://phoenixartisanaccoutrements....ave-26mm-synthetic-shaving-brush-faux-ox-horn
Omega Hi-Brush: 24mm / 56mm http://www.shaving.ie/products/omega-synthetic-hi-brush-0146138.html
Stirling KONG: 26mm / 63mm https://www.stirlingsoap.com/synthetic-shave-brush-26mm-x-63mm-kong/

Twist my arm a little bit, I might include a Whipped Dog 30mm with Butterscotch handle. This was the most recent synthetic I purchased, but by no means the last one I get. This is a HUGE brush. Very dense knot with a lot of backbone. It holds a lot of water.

Another one I have is a Body Shop synthetic. This was the first synthetic I ever tried, and I didn't like it at all. Splays out too much and feels hollow in the middle. The one time I tried this brush turned my off to synthetics for many years.

I'm holding on to my two other synthetics. A RazoRock Plissoft and a Fine STOUT. At 24mm knots, these are at the sweet spot for face-lathering.

I'm hoping that someone will include a Simpson Classic 1 ... I'd love to try a Gen4 knot. I think Muhle uses a Gen4 also, but I don't expect anyone to pop an expensive brush like that (or a Chubby2S) into a passaround box. The Classic 1 is much more affordable and shareable, though.

 

[mightyeskimo]

I'd just have each person keep the box for an extra day before packing it up to ensure that the last brush used is completely dry. Some kind of tubes could be used to hold each brush. I've used medicine bottles for travel brushes though they likely won't work for every size brush.

The cat litter thing freaks me out, please don't.

This is another great idea David! I think having the brushes set out for a full 24 hour period without being used before sending the box on to the next person is a good idea.

 

[dpm802]

With my brushes, I can include a few extra golf-ball tubes.
These will fit everything except the KONG. I will ship that in a toilet-paper tube crimped at the ends.

 

[mightyeskimo]

I hereby volunteer to spend $3 to have some silica packets drop shipped to Don. They're less than that for a hundred of them. I'd stick a couple of them with each brush.

Thank you Bob! As I start to put things together I'll be PM'ing out my address to each one of you.

 

[mightyeskimo]

PAA Checkmate: 26mm / loft unknown http://phoenixartisanaccoutrements....ave-26mm-synthetic-shaving-brush-faux-ox-horn
Omega Hi-Brush: 24mm / 56mm http://www.shaving.ie/products/omega-synthetic-hi-brush-0146138.html
Stirling KONG: 26mm / 63mm https://www.stirlingsoap.com/synthetic-shave-brush-26mm-x-63mm-kong/

Twist my arm a little bit, I might include a Whipped Dog 30mm with Butterscotch handle. This was the most recent synthetic I purchased, but by no means the last one I get. This is a HUGE brush. Very dense knot with a lot of backbone. It holds a lot of water.

Another one I have is a Body Shop synthetic. This was the first synthetic I ever tried, and I didn't like it at all. Splays out too much and feels hollow in the middle. The one time I tried this brush turned my off to synthetics for many years.

I'm holding on to my two other synthetics. A RazoRock Plissoft and a Fine STOUT. At 24mm knots, these are at the sweet spot for face-lathering.

I'm hoping that someone will include a Simpson Classic 1 ... I'd love to try a Gen4 knot. I think Muhle uses a Gen4 also, but I don't expect anyone to pop an expensive brush like that (or a Chubby2S) into a passaround box. The Classic 1 is much more affordable and shareable, though.

Wow man! That is unbelievably awesome! That would certainly cover the largest brush size possible. If you're willing to put that in of course. That is one sweet brush and thr butterscotch handle is really stunning. It's just so classic old school. I certainly won't twist your arm. Think it over. And I just might drop ship you a couple cases of beer if you decide to do it. LOL.

 

[bobmsp]

Don - are you planning on compiling a list of the various brushes that will be in the pass-around? I only ask because it seems like there is a lot of duplication of knots among the various vendors. I've looked for a list of the various breeds of brushes (e.g., Brands A, B, & C use the "Plissoft" knot, Brands I, J, and K are "Ubersoft", Brands R and S are Silvertip Fibre v1, Brand x is Silvertip Fibre v2, etc.)

Also - if someone is soliciting new brushes from vendors, we should probably try to avoid duplication.

I'll also say - and this is a personal preference - that I prefer to have passarounds contain mostly currently-available items. It's not much fun to get your heart set on something that you'd never be able to buy. (For instance, I don't try Strop Shoppe soaps in passaround boxes for this reason.)

 

[NickMach007]

This is an awesome response! I just wanted to say thanks to everyone in advance no matter what happens. You can feel the enthusiasm here.

 

[mightyeskimo]

Don - are you planning on compiling a list of the various brushes that will be in the pass-around? I only ask because it seems like there is a lot of duplication of knots among the various vendors. I've looked for a list of the various breeds of brushes (e.g., Brands A, B, & C use the "Plissoft" knot, Brands I, J, and K are "Ubersoft", Brands R and S are Silvertip Fibre v1, Brand x is Silvertip Fibre v2, etc.)

Also - if someone is soliciting new brushes from vendors, we should probably try to avoid duplication.

I'll also say - and this is a personal preference - that I prefer to have passarounds contain mostly currently-available items. It's not much fun to get your heart set on something that you'd never be able to buy. (For instance, I don't try Strop Shoppe soaps in passaround boxes for this reason.)

Yes Bob. My plan here in the near future is to try and post a compilation for makes, models and sizes. Certainly to avoid duplication.

 

[fast shaver]

That is one huge brush & will give shavers a taste of Whipped Dog brushes. I am afraid it might use my whole puck of soap though.