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The Duke is Dead

Kind of a sad day today in my shaving journey. The first higher end brush I ever purchased has lost its lathering ability. The brush is a Simpsons Duke 2 best badger that I got almost 6 years ago. It broke in within a week and lathered soaps/creams quickly with bristles that were almost as soft as silvertip. Shedding was an issue for the first few months, but that stopped with only an occasional hair lost after. It became my main brush for a couple years then one I would use once or twice a week.

I hadn't used it for a few weeks when I got it out of the medicine cabinet to lather some Simpsons shaving cream a couple days ago. It produced a decent first pass and an almost nonexistent second. I cleaned it with some Dawn soap later that day and gave it a test lather. However this morning it was more of the same and I think this brush is at the end of its life.

Of course I have other brushes that all perform well so this won't affect my shaving routine. It's just sad to see my oldest brush put out to pasture.

Here's a pic of it this morning after one pass next to my Berkeley after one pass.
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Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Never heard of a shaving brush that dies....it loses maybe the hair over time, or even the whole knot breaks or falls out.
Just clean your brush, there are a few methods mentioned in the wiki. And just use more cream or soap.
I have brushes in use for over 12 years, and never seen this. However, I do clean the brush I use thoroughly after use, and make sure there is no soap/cream residue left inside the knot. I also have soft water (our water here is hard and we have a softener).
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I'm with Rudy on this one. I don't understand the issues people have with brushes "not lathering" because it has never happened to me ever, and I have brushes that are twice the age of the OP.
I very thoroughly rinse out my brush when I'm done shaving, I never use any brush "cleaners", I have had them in both hard and soft water, city and well water, so to me this is a very puzzling phenomenon.
 
Zingari Man shaving brush cleaner contains Borax, ie sodium borate.
PAA brush cleaner contains both Borax and Vinegar.

I use Borax, no drama. A tablespoon in a cup of warm water, 10 minute soak clean up with Dawn and let it dry. The tablespoon takes to long to dissolve into solution so next time I'm going to try a teaspoon and I bet it would work just fine.
 
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This happened to an omega boar I had after using it for 3 months with extremely hard water.

A couple of soaks in 1 tsp citric acid mixed in water will bring the brush back to life.
 
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My Duke is 10 years old and still preforms as though new. I with the rest, a good clean get the soap residue and other possible nastiness off the hair. SWMBO said its possibly silicone, as that's one of the ingredients in shampoo and soap. Leaves the skin feeling softer. UK brands.
 
Here’s my routine: After use, I rinse and squeeze the knot 3-4 times, towel it, and hang it upside down. I use the brush for 2 shaves and then not for a couple of weeks. (I have 10 brushes.)

So far my brushes seem to be holding up. But should I be doing something more?
 
Zingari Man shaving brush cleaner contains Borax, ie sodium borate.
PAA brush cleaner contains both Borax and Vinegar.

I use Borax, no drama. A tablespoon in a cup of warm water, 10 minute soak clean up with Dawn and let it dry. The tablespoon takes to long to dissolve into solution so next time I'm going to try a teaspoon and I bet it would work just fine.
With Borax, I've found it dissolves well in boiling water if you have a glass bottle with a lid to give it a shake for encouragement. Have to let it sit to handle it, but it takes longer to settle back down to the bottom. Hope it helps.
 
With Borax, I've found it dissolves well in boiling water if you have a glass bottle with a lid to give it a shake for encouragement. Have to let it sit to handle it, but it takes longer to settle back down to the bottom. Hope it helps.
Thank you, will give that a try.
 
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