Thater Premium Boar

[RayClem]

1. the first brush had a defect with glue above the level of the handle - the manufacturer recognized and replaced
2. the second brush broke after 2 or 3 months - the manufacturer replaced
3. the third brush came with a defect (glue is higher than the handle and there is no logo). I refuse to use it and ask for a refund. In less than a year I have visited 3 brushes with a defect, do I have the right to a refund?

If Thater replaced two brushes and you continued to complain about the third one, I can understand why they are reluctant to keep shipping you additional brushes or refund your money.

However, I also understand that after paying $90 for a premium boar brush as opposed to $10-20 for a standard boar brush, you expected the brush to be perfect. I suspect that the third brush would have worked well for building a lather in spite of the excess glue, but I also know that you would never be happy with the brush. Omitting the logo was just sloppy and perhaps an indication of their frustration.

I spent half my career dealing with customer complaints. I always looked for win-win solutions whenever possible. However, in this situation, that was never going to happen. In the end, you, Thater, and Bullgoose were all losers.

 

[MrSmith83]

1. the first brush had a defect with glue above the level of the handle - the manufacturer recognized and replaced
2. the second brush broke after 2 or 3 months - the manufacturer replaced
3. the third brush came with a defect (glue is higher than the handle and there is no logo). I refuse to use it and ask for a refund. In less than a year I have visited 3 brushes with a defect, do I have the right to a refund?

Consider yourself 'lucky' - I bought a Thater badger with the metallic base, which didn't fit into the handle.. a faulty brush out of the box. Thater and the vendor basically told me where to go. I bought the brush from the US and Thater are in Germany. I'm in neither country so perusing it would have cost more than it was worth. Lesson learned.

 

[evnpar]

Just curious, do you face lather or bowl lather?

I face lather almost exclusively, except for handful of times in the winter when I might use a scuttle.

 

[evnpar]

Consider yourself 'lucky' - I bought a Thater badger with the metallic base, which didn't fit into the handle.. a faulty brush out of the box. Thater and the vendor basically told me where to go. I bought the brush from the US and Thater are in Germany. I'm in neither country so perusing it would have cost more than it was worth. Lesson learned.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience. I don't consider my self lucky, as i've had nothing but excellent results with using Thäter 2-band Silvertip brushes for well over 10 years, although I use boar brushes 2/3 of the time. I do understand that since you have to order from a vendor, you cannot go directly to the brush maker for customer service, and that it could be a problem. I do like the beehive handles from Thäter as they fit my hand well, but when I've wanted a custom boar brush I've also used a 27mm Omega knot that I removed from it's handle and glued it into a custom made handle. That would solve your issue of having to deal with a vendor for a problem with a brush.

 

[Cino]

I agree that Thater 2-band silvertips are very fine brushes.

 

[ajduplessis]

I'm a bit confused.

View attachment 924636

Dipping the tips isn't gonna fix this.

The handle seem good, I would reknot the handle with something better. At least this way its not a complete waste.

$85 is a lot of money, at least to me. Sorry about your experience

 

[snowman]

Sigh

This is so disappointing to see these issues continue.

Over the decades I've had a couple Thater badgers that were simply excellent. I also picked up a Thater boar from one of the early batches and have had nothing but good luck with it. Its a great boar. Having said that....after reading the numerous problems encountered here and on other forums it seems clear that Thater has a problem with the boar knots. They simply need to make this right.

I'm disappointed because back in the day Thater made onehelluva fine brush. The equal to all of the high end badgers. Sorry to see them slip.

I also find Bullgooses part in this to be disappointing. I've had a number of excellent transaction with Bullgoose over the years and cant understand the reluctance to facilitate a solution all can be happy with.

Very disappointing.

 

[RayClem]

Sigh

This is so disappointing to see these issues continue.

Over the decades I've had a couple Thater badgers that were simply excellent. I also picked up a Thater boar from one of the early batches and have had nothing but good luck with it. Its a great boar. Having said that....after reading the numerous problems encountered here and on other forums it seems clear that Thater has a problem with the boar knots. They simply need to make this right.

I'm disappointed because back in the day Thater made onehelluva fine brush. The equal to all of the high end badgers. Sorry to see them slip.

I also find Bullgooses part in this to be disappointing. I've had a number of excellent transaction with Bullgoose over the years and cant understand the reluctance to facilitate a solution all can be happy with.

Very disappointing.

I suspect that making a badger knot and a boar knot require slightly different techniques. Being an expert in one type of knot does not necessarily make you an expert at all. Thus, I usually get my badger knots from those who specialize in badger brushes. I do have a Semogue Owner's Club two band badger that works well, but not as well as some of my other badgers. I get my boar brushes from Omega and Semogue. I get my horse hair brushes from Vie Long.

 

[naughtilus]

I suspect that making a badger knot and a boar knot require slightly different techniques. Being an expert in one type of knot does not necessarily make you an expert at all. Thus, I usually get my badger knots from those who specialize in badger brushes. I do have a Semogue Owner's Club two band badger that works well, but not as well as some of my other badgers. I get my boar brushes from Omega and Semogue. I get my horse hair brushes from Vie Long.

I think this is the case. Simpsons first attempts at a synthetic chubby brush weren't stellar either. Eventually they dialed it in and the CH2 Synthetic Bristle is a hit. Will Thater dial in the piggies anytime soon, we shall see.

 

[MrSmith83]

Hello, a short story of my acquaintance with Thater
In October 2018, I purchased a premium wild boar, so I got a brush from the Bullgoose store

I contacted Harald Schuldes and sent him a damaged brush, he confirmed the marriage and sent a replacement

a new brush worked for 2 or 3 months and became unusable

this time Harald Schuldes had enough photos and he sent a new brush, though he had to wait. That's what came from him.

and cherry on the cake, Thame noname

I think this is a shame, I have not been able to use a quality product from this company for almost a year, I wrote them a letter asking them to return the money, but Herald replied that he didn’t see the defect, the brush was perfect and they would send a logo. This cannot be considered a premium product. I just want to return the money for this low-quality product, but they do not want to return it.

It just seems so obviously set far too shallow in the handle. I doubt even the good versions of this brush willmhave much longevity.

 

[linty1]

I was looking brushes and came upon this thread... it took me.. 37 minutes to read all the posts. My goodness Jim @Chan Eil Whiskers what a journey. What happened in the bst? Also it seems a search through google, your situation was not unique.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I was looking brushes and came upon this thread... it took me.. 37 minutes to read all the posts. My goodness Jim @Chan Eil Whiskers what a journey. What happened in the bst? Also it seems a search through google, your situation was not unique.

On the BST I traded the new badger so it went to another member. There are within this thread a few posts about all that stuff, but it's long resolved in my mind.

I now have another Thater handle in a different color (given to me by a member) into which I installed a 70/40 knot. It's a really good handle I think. I wouldn't mind having another brush in the same handle in the butterscotch color of my original Thater boar, but haven't come across one that appeals to me. Obviously I am not interested in another Thater boar, just another handle with a knot I like.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[htownmmm]

Now that I've come to the end of this thread, I have a few observations:

1. Although I have wanted a Thater brush, I will pass. Even though the badgers get praise, I will not be the one who gets a 'bad' badger. I liked the look of the Thater boar and was tempted, but never pulled the trigger.

2. Very sad to see one of our own-Phil (Bullgoose) who got his start on this very site devolve into this type of service. I have not had any bad experiences to date, however, this gives me pause- what's done to one, can be done to all. I remember when he kicked around the idea of an upscale site with products to match and the enthusiasm it engendered here and how many of us felt about his success. I'm hoping that time passed has helped in improving his level of customer service which was found lacking in this instance.

3. Jim knows his brushes and although there was a resolution, it wasn't to his satisfaction. That's all any of us want when we buy any product and it fails through no fault of ours. Fortunately, Jim has many other brushes that bring him shave joy.

4. Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but had some time on my hands due to covid isolation protocol.

marty