I have read on the Kent web site that one should not use only a circular motion when bowl lathering because this will ultimately tangle the bristles. I have never seen that advice anywhere else. Has anybody else seen it?
Taking care of a badger brush
- Thread starter Adelio
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I'll be interested to see the responses you get.
I don't bowl lather anymore, but when I did, I used only circular motions, although I alternated directions (clockwise, counterclockwise) several times while lathering, as much because my wrist got tires as because I thought it might be better for the brush.
I use mostly boars but do have a pure black and a finest badger. I only use a bowl with creams and always lather creams with the black badger and sometimes use the finest with a cream. I also use a circular motion when face lathering no matter what the brush. Im not saying it cant happen but ive never had a tangling problem.
Some times I think that if you followed very recommendation for what not to do with a shaving brush you would simply not use it. It's a tool. Use it to get the job done.
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- #5
Here is the advice: "The definitive way to whip up a thick lather and protect the life of your shaving brush is to flick your brush back and forth across the soap bowl. Do not be tempted to only go around in circles! Bristle is very fine, badger bristle even more so, and if you whip up a lather by going round and round in circles everyday, week after week and month after month the individual strands of bristle will get wound tighter and tighter. Eventually this would cause them to snap and fall out. So if you are to take away one crucial piece of advice on prolonging the life of a shaving brush it would be this - whip up a lather by flicking the brush head up and down or side to side and occasionally in circles but NEVER solely in circles! I guarantee this will aid the life of your brush."
Not saying it's not true, but I've never noticed badger hairs getting wound together on any of my brushes.
I was thinking the same thing. Where does this advice come from?
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- #8
Here's the URL: http://www.kentbrushes.com/advice.asp
Errr... Have never bowl lathered, always face lathered, for over 35 years... not an expert here, of course... but I've been always using circular motions and never ever damaged a brush!
Mostly circles for me but also back and forth motion.
I face lather. Start in circles. Then back-and-forth paint brush motions. Mostly guided by what works best. I've seen hairs split, and I've seen hairs curl/hook, and I've seen hairs split and curl/hook. But I've never seen hairs get all twisted up together.
Seems intuitive to me that the circular motion places more stress/pull on the hairs than the back and forth. Also takes longer to build up a lather so I avoid. Probably why the manufacturer advises against...
I have quite a few brushes that I found at antique shops and the such and often times the center of the knot is all but gone. This seems to be from pushing straight down to much regardless of motion style. So if anything avoid to much force in that direction. As for the circles vs lines debate Im not completely sold either way. I lather with circle motions and my daily brush (SOC) has no issues and rarely sheds even a single hair. People have stated they have used brushes in the circle motion for years with out any issues and people have killed brushes very quickly doing the same thing. What I have found with brushes is that it is more or less hit or miss. Although there is plenty of QC for nice brushed in the end of the day no two badgers are alike and thus no two brushes can truly be alike. the key seems to be gentle with them, dry them on a towel after use and keep soap crud from building up in them. I always go into a brush knowing it will lose some hair over time that is the nature of the beast and why re-knoting is so common.
Regards
Dave
Regards
Dave
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Doesn't to me, at least not if the circular motions aren't very tight. That would result in continuous motion, which from the perspective of the hairs would simply be an arc rather than a straight line. When I reverse direction while using circular motion, I lift the brush completely off the surface, whether that of the bowl or my face.
I'd never thought about it before, but when I reverse direction using back-and-forth motions, I sometimes don't lift the brush away from my face. I would expect that to place more stress on the hairs during transition than continuous motion.
Generally +1
I also think different users apply pressure differently, and suspect that has more to do with developing problems than direction (linear vs. arcing) of motion.
I don't buy it, myself. Below is a photo of a brush I bought in the 1970s. It's a brush that was sold by Hoffritz and which I have been told was made by Rooney. Until 2010 when I joined B&B it was one of three brushes I owned and was the oldest brush. I have used that brush continuously for 40+ years and have used a circular motion to load the soap and put lather on my face. Most of those years I bowled lathered again using a circular motion. The brush is in excellent shape and has not suffered any issues and has never lost any hairs. So, circular motions may be a problem with Kent brushes but not with any of mine.
Sounds like another of those things, e.g., "plastic lens mount breakage on cameras", that seem like they might be a problem, but in real life usage just aren't.
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
Simpson's (the little flyer in the box with the brush) says "When applying lather, use light to-and-fro strokes, like a paint brush (a heavy circular motion damages the hair of the brush).
I'm not endorsing or denying this admonition, but there are a couple of things they maybe did not say. They never said don't use circular motions when lathering slick soap in a slick surfaced bowl that's unlikely to "grab" brush hair, possibly unlike our beards.
They also did not say to avoid circular strokes, but to avoid heavy circular strokes applying lather to the beard.
Cheers, Steve
I'm not endorsing or denying this admonition, but there are a couple of things they maybe did not say. They never said don't use circular motions when lathering slick soap in a slick surfaced bowl that's unlikely to "grab" brush hair, possibly unlike our beards.
They also did not say to avoid circular strokes, but to avoid heavy circular strokes applying lather to the beard.
Cheers, Steve
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My scuttle is round, the brush is a tool. The tool serves me, I don't serve the tool.
I take care of my stuff, but this is going too far. I've used my Kent BK8 at least 300 times and I lose a hair about every other month.
I guess if it is true I simply don't care.
I take care of my stuff, but this is going too far. I've used my Kent BK8 at least 300 times and I lose a hair about every other month.
I guess if it is true I simply don't care.
