Is the hair breaking or just the glue?
Thater Premium Boar
- Thread starter Chan Eil Whiskers
- Start date
My mother ran a corner store in this city for 22 years. I started working at 15 in high pressure door to door sales for home improvements and have been in that business ever since. The first thing I was taught was to always make sure your customers are happy. If they arent, you wont survive.
I think when the glue is set, the bristles absorb it the same as they do water. It would seem to me the glue is either too brittle, too soft or both and when its worked enough the flexing just increases and weakens the whole knot, but what do I know. I've never made a shave brush.
- Thread starter
- #123
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I'm assuming BullGoose notified Thater of the problem. I have no evidence of that, but why wouldn't they?
Thater, on the other hand, has certainly not "reached out" to me. Assuming BullGoose notified them, you'd think Thater would want to determine if the brush they made failed because of a problem they should address in their production process, but no.
I've read elsewhere of customers complaining about the so called Thater Premium Boar brush and what a lousy brush it is. It's not just me. If you got a good one, congratulations.
I have received no further communications from BullGoose or Thater. I haven't given up hope that Thater will get in touch to let me know they stand behind their products, but it's a live and learn world.
What I've learned so far: Thater makes crummy brushes and has bad customer service.
What else? It's not the end of the world.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Still no resolution, hmmm.
That's too bad. You would think a company like Thater that has a reputation to keep would at least contact you.
I know I tried one of their badger brushes that a lot of guys raved about and I did not like it at all. I sold it right away. That was a $124.00 brush.
I know I tried one of their badger brushes that a lot of guys raved about and I did not like it at all. I sold it right away. That was a $124.00 brush.
- Thread starter
- #126
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
- Thread starter
- #127
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Here is the email address of Thater to which I sent a complaint as copied below.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Sirs:
Some months ago, 25 January 2018, I purchased from BullGoose in the US a Thater Premium Boar brush. This brush was unsatisfactory from the beginning other than having a lovely handle. It was floppy. It lacked backbone. It did not load properly. It was scritchy and scratched my skin. It never broke in or improved.
Finally the brush broke in half. I am enclosing a photograph of the brush. I know of at least three other Thater boars which have had similar issues.
In my opinion, your brushes are poorly made. Yours is the worst shaving brush I've purchased and by far the most expensive of my boars.
Phil at BullGoose told me he would inform your company of the brush's failure. It was his impression that you might get back to me, but perhaps his message to you was misplaced or misunderstood.
I will be sure to let my friends in the wet shaving community know of my experience with the Thater brush.
Sincerely,
Some months ago, 25 January 2018, I purchased from BullGoose in the US a Thater Premium Boar brush. This brush was unsatisfactory from the beginning other than having a lovely handle. It was floppy. It lacked backbone. It did not load properly. It was scritchy and scratched my skin. It never broke in or improved.
Finally the brush broke in half. I am enclosing a photograph of the brush. I know of at least three other Thater boars which have had similar issues.
In my opinion, your brushes are poorly made. Yours is the worst shaving brush I've purchased and by far the most expensive of my boars.
Phil at BullGoose told me he would inform your company of the brush's failure. It was his impression that you might get back to me, but perhaps his message to you was misplaced or misunderstood.
I will be sure to let my friends in the wet shaving community know of my experience with the Thater brush.
Sincerely,
In all honesty, I wouldn't expect too much, if you can't get help from Bullgoose. Thäter will probably be of very little help if the current experience of some German wet shavers is any indicator.
Maybe in a bit more detail: now that the Thäter boar brushes are available in Germany (product launch was only quite a few months after the US launch, which seemingly had been given priority...) a few guys from a German forum ordered their brushes. However when they finally received them, they soon noticed that the quality was not, what they had expected. There were a couple of extremely thick and scratchy hairs in their knots which showed no signs of breaking in even after extended use. The experience was so unpleasant that three of them returned their brushes to Thäter.
After a while Thäter sent them back, claiming they had "fixed" the problem. Also, Thäter told them, that this is to be expected and that a Semogue OC (which is half the price btw. ...) showed the same amount of thick hairs when examined closely. Only extremely sensitive people would notice this anyway and there were no further complaints so far...
By the way, they "fixed" the brushes by removing the offending hairs. Well, that's what they claimed anyway. In truth they just clipped them a bit shorter than the other hairs in the knot. The three guys reported that the hairs are still extremely noticeable and that the brushes feel at least as bad as before if not worse...
The general opinion of the Thäter boars and especially their customer service is a bit low over there at the moment, as you might be able to imagine...
Maybe in a bit more detail: now that the Thäter boar brushes are available in Germany (product launch was only quite a few months after the US launch, which seemingly had been given priority...) a few guys from a German forum ordered their brushes. However when they finally received them, they soon noticed that the quality was not, what they had expected. There were a couple of extremely thick and scratchy hairs in their knots which showed no signs of breaking in even after extended use. The experience was so unpleasant that three of them returned their brushes to Thäter.
After a while Thäter sent them back, claiming they had "fixed" the problem. Also, Thäter told them, that this is to be expected and that a Semogue OC (which is half the price btw. ...) showed the same amount of thick hairs when examined closely. Only extremely sensitive people would notice this anyway and there were no further complaints so far...
By the way, they "fixed" the brushes by removing the offending hairs. Well, that's what they claimed anyway. In truth they just clipped them a bit shorter than the other hairs in the knot. The three guys reported that the hairs are still extremely noticeable and that the brushes feel at least as bad as before if not worse...
The general opinion of the Thäter boars and especially their customer service is a bit low over there at the moment, as you might be able to imagine...
- Thread starter
- #129
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I will give a detailed reply later, but Thater has offered to repair my brush.
Jim
Jim
Wow. What a shame.In all honesty, I wouldn't expect too much, if you can't get help from Bullgoose. Thäter will probably be of very little help if the current experience of some German wet shavers is any indicator.
Maybe in a bit more detail: now that the Thäter boar brushes are available in Germany (product launch was only quite a few months after the US launch, which seemingly had been given priority...) a few guys from a German forum ordered their brushes. However when they finally received them, they soon noticed that the quality was not, what they had expected. There were a couple of extremely thick and scratchy hairs in their knots which showed no signs of breaking in even after extended use. The experience was so unpleasant that three of them returned their brushes to Thäter.
After a while Thäter sent them back, claiming they had "fixed" the problem. Also, Thäter told them, that this is to be expected and that a Semogue OC (which is half the price btw. ...) showed the same amount of thick hairs when examined closely. Only extremely sensitive people would notice this anyway and there were no further complaints so far...
By the way, they "fixed" the brushes by removing the offending hairs. Well, that's what they claimed anyway. In truth they just clipped them a bit shorter than the other hairs in the knot. The three guys reported that the hairs are still extremely noticeable and that the brushes feel at least as bad as before if not worse...
The general opinion of the Thäter boars and especially their customer service is a bit low over there at the moment, as you might be able to imagine...
You can't spell Thater without hater.
The pictures in this thread alone has turned me completely off the company. In the meantime I'm still using a four or five year old $14 Omega (I even drilled a hole through the handle to pass a cord to hang it out of the way in the bathroom pantry) and it it still looks great.
The Thater Haters...coming this fall, check local listings!
The pictures in this thread alone has turned me completely off the company. In the meantime I'm still using a four or five year old $14 Omega (I even drilled a hole through the handle to pass a cord to hang it out of the way in the bathroom pantry) and it it still looks great.
By repair do they mean gluing the half that came out back in or a brand new knot lol? Guy's around here re-knot handles all the time. Anyone can do that. Frankly, I'd be a little ticked at anything less than a new knot or a replacement brush. There are so many boar brushes that cost a fraction of a Thater that actually hold up. You scared me away from Thater awhile back before this travesty.
Lets hope they're not planning on gluing the broken bits back to the broken knot lol.
Why they wouldnt just send out a replacement I cannot understand.
I'm with you. I'm with you about the Omega brushes too. It should be very nicely broken in by now.
Travesty. Good word, accurate too.
Yup, I consciously chose the word travesty. If Thater wants to be a premium brush company their product and customer service should reflect that. The competition for brushes is getting pretty stiff out there. Yaqi produces most of the knots out there anyways, and their brushes are better than good. They can produce more perfectly acceptable quality brushes in one month than Thater can probably do in our lifetime. All this and at a price that can't be beat. If you want a top tier brush Simpson, Kent, Muhle, Plisson all deliver...let alone Shavemac and others. Thater may end up irrelevant.
Looking forward to the rest of the story.
You are exactly right.
Those 10,000,000 units were all badger shaving brushes too. You pick the handle, knot size (24mm- 26mm) and shape (bulb or fan) add your logo, place your order and boom, you're in business.
The information at hand is surprising once you look around DHgate and do some research on the companies that manufacture shaving brushes.
I havent seen a Yaqi brush fail yet.
This^, meanwhile perhaps some deep breaths.
- Thread starter
- #139
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
This is the email I received from Thater. I'd sent them an email complaining about the brush.
Heinrich L. Thäter GmbH, Albertstr. 8, D-90478 Nuremberg
www.dachs-rasierpinsel.de
Tax ID No .: DE133519498
Seat of the company: Nuremberg
Registered: Nuremberg District Court, HRB No. 4491
Managing Director: Harald Schuldes
I'll look more.
You'd think the would have included the mailing address, but they did not as far as I can find, or maybe that is the mailing address and I just don't understand the German system.
This is the Google Maps address I think.
HL Thäter GmbH
Albertstrasse 8
90478 Nuremberg
Tel: +49 91146 51 80
That won't get it to Germany from here I suspect. I'll look more.
Dear Jim,
there is no need to bash a manufacturer the way you do.
It is true that some of our boar bristle brushes broke in half, which we very much regret.
However this incident was not caused by "poor" manufacturing skills.
All these defects are kind of a chemical reaction of the glue we use.
The brush heads are applied with glue twice, we call it the first and the second grouting which
is done by hand. On very rare occasions the grouting does not build an absolutely solid compound.
Unfortunately the defect appears only at the use of the brush.
Defectives of that kind are always covered by our warranty (see below); we will renew the brush head at our cost.
Manufacturer Warranty
- All Thäter brushes are warranted against workmanship and
material defects for 1 year after the date of purchase.
- This warranty does not cover misuse or normal wear and tear.
- The warranty allows Thäter to either repair or replace the product
as Thäter chooses.
- In order to ensure that your claim is processed quickly, please
enclose your receipt.
So, please send us your defective brush by economic mail and we will renew the brush head and, of course we
will cover your expenses.
Sincerely,
Harald Schuldes
I'm trying to find their mailing address. I can find information (translation by Mr. Google):there is no need to bash a manufacturer the way you do.
It is true that some of our boar bristle brushes broke in half, which we very much regret.
However this incident was not caused by "poor" manufacturing skills.
All these defects are kind of a chemical reaction of the glue we use.
The brush heads are applied with glue twice, we call it the first and the second grouting which
is done by hand. On very rare occasions the grouting does not build an absolutely solid compound.
Unfortunately the defect appears only at the use of the brush.
Defectives of that kind are always covered by our warranty (see below); we will renew the brush head at our cost.
Manufacturer Warranty
- All Thäter brushes are warranted against workmanship and
material defects for 1 year after the date of purchase.
- This warranty does not cover misuse or normal wear and tear.
- The warranty allows Thäter to either repair or replace the product
as Thäter chooses.
- In order to ensure that your claim is processed quickly, please
enclose your receipt.
So, please send us your defective brush by economic mail and we will renew the brush head and, of course we
will cover your expenses.
Sincerely,
Harald Schuldes
Heinrich L. Thäter GmbH, Albertstr. 8, D-90478 Nuremberg
www.dachs-rasierpinsel.de
Tax ID No .: DE133519498
Seat of the company: Nuremberg
Registered: Nuremberg District Court, HRB No. 4491
Managing Director: Harald Schuldes
I'll look more.
You'd think the would have included the mailing address, but they did not as far as I can find, or maybe that is the mailing address and I just don't understand the German system.
This is the Google Maps address I think.
HL Thäter GmbH
Albertstrasse 8
90478 Nuremberg
Tel: +49 91146 51 80
That won't get it to Germany from here I suspect. I'll look more.
Last edited:
My advice is to be the bigger man, Jim, and simply say "Thank you" and send them the brush for repair/replacement.
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