The next badger: Size? Best or Silver-tip? Fan or Bulb?

[thrown.clear]

I remember telling my girlfriend that SBAD wouldn’t be a problem because;
A. they were so darned expensive.
And;
B. What fun are brushes anyway?

Well, I admit it. That was a stupid thing to say. Brushes are really fun. It is now six months later and I’m looking to buy my fifth brush. I’m amazed at how quickly I can squirrel away $100 when I remind myself that the money is going into the “brush fund.”

I’m looking to buy a nice, large badger-brush. I’m not sure if I want to go best-badger or silver-tip.

I mostly bowl lather creams (I love my Semogue 830 for soaps), so I’m not looking for a face-lathering, soap-brush.

Currently the largest brush I own is an Omega Pro 48 (I think it’s a 28mm knot, 70mm loft) and while I love the fact that it covers a soft-ball sized area of my face with a single splat, it’s not very dense – it sort of flattens out into a large paint-brush rectangle when used.

I’ve been looking at the Shavemacs. I like how customizable they are, and they seem reasonable price-wise, and most of the reviews are pretty good.

I’m looking for a big, dense brush that will turn into a big, round, puffy, lathery pillow when I start to lather my face… but I have a couple of questions.

How big do I need to go? I see that Shavemac makes knot sizes all the way up to 30mm, but I haven’t seen one that big reviewed. I want a big brush, but I don’t want to go crazy and end up with something that isn’t practical.

What is the difference between “fan” and “bulb” shape? I guess I can visualize a brush of each type, but what’s the difference in how they perform?

Do I need to go Silvertip? Right now, I have one “pure-badger” (my first brush from an AOS starter set) and one “black-badger” (this Edwin Jagger, not sure of its size – I love this brush, but would like to try something larger). I want something soft, but I don’t mind a little bit of scritch, and I like a little exfoliating action.

Thanks in advance for all the help!

 

[mblakele]

I went looking for my own "I'll never give in to SBAD" post, and this was the closest I found: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2077513#post2077513

Resist! It won't work, but it does build character. I've managed to keep myself to five brushes for now, and here are my rankings: I face-lather.

Rooney 3/1/F - backbone and softness in an elegant package.
Omega 81052 - almost as good - really!
Omega 10066 - great for travel, great backbone, doesn't hold as much lather as I want.
Penworks STR1-22 - the Rooney makes it seem floppy, but it's a fine brush.
Omega 10049 - backbone like Atlas, but the loft is tricky.

When you compare the costs of these brushes, the badger prices start to look a bit silly. And yet I'm still thinking about an Ehsan, and a Semogue 830....

Since then I've bought at least six brushes. Good luck with your decision. A lot of this seems to be fashion: bigger knots have gone out, and short-loft scrubby knots are in. Or maybe those are out now, because medium-loft silky ultra-dense knots are in. YMMV.

 

[Vlad]

For bowl-lathering pillowy goodness without breaking the bank, I would look at Edwin Jagger Super. They don't get a lot of talk around here, but I love both my EJ's. My Super is a 55mm loft, and so is definitly on the floppy side, though it still works great on soaps and turns into a real pillow. My Silvertip is significantly more dense, but perfectly soft right out of the box.

 

[Loric]

Its nice to see there are some fellow big brush fans out there. "Big" means different for different people so its hard to say how big to go. Other factors really do impact how big a brush feels. Loft and shape impact presieved size as much as knot diameter. A taller loft will bloom bigger than a short loft. Also a fan shape will bloom wider than a bulb. The fan does not have the short support hairs that a bulb does so it will spread out wider. Plus with a fan, more bristles come in contact with your face at any given time. The round shape of a bulb prevents more than a small number of hairs touch your face at any one time. Then oblivious knot size factors in too. So the "biggest brush" will be long loft, fan shaped, 30mm+ knot.

View attachment 127285

Sorry about the the pic having so many brushes, but it is the only one I have handy to illustrate. The numbers are to the bottom left of the brush.

#1 - 30mm 50mm loft bulb shaped TGN Silvertip Grade A.
#2 - 26mm 50mm loft Rooney Heritage Stubby 3.
#3 - 27mm 56mm loft bulb shape Simpson Chubby 2.
#4 - 32mm 58mm loft fan Stubby 3.

As you can see brush 1 and 3 are both bulbs but the 27mm bulb with a high loft looks as big as the 30mm. The same way that brush 2 is 6mm smaller than brush 4 but has just about the same wing span.

That said if you are looking for a big dense brush a Shavemac would be a good choice. I have a D01 and it is in a tie for my second most dense brush (with the Stubby 3 (brush #2)). The build quality is top notch and Bernd is a real pleasure to work with. He can do just about anything you can think of.

Simpson is another name to look at. The Chubby 3 is easily my most decadent brush. Between the fan shape and 32mm knot I literally make one pass across my face and one across my neck to lather up. Plus in the super three band hair, it is the third softest brush I have ever used and easily the most dense. Its more of a brick of badger than a brush Simpson best hair is also very nice. While not quite as soft or as dense as the three band super it is still as soft as most compaines sivertip, and is still very dense.

I also really like the Rooney Heratage Stubby 3. It is almost as dense as the Chubby and ties with the Shavemac, is softer than the Shavemac and close to as soft as the Chubby, and with the fan shape feels very big on the face. Though dollar per mm is more expensive than the Simpson and Shavemac.

Another option is a large knot from TGN. Brush #1 was only $85 (half the price of the other 3) it is softer than Simpson Best hair, and at the short loft the backbone is close to the Simpson. The only place that it falls behind is in the density. It is still a dense brush, especialy at a 50mm loft, it is just not the density monster the Simpson, Rooney, or D01 are.

I hope my rambling has made some sense to you. Good luck with your big brush!


*EDIT*

Sometimes I feel like I kill brush posts with my overly long responses....

 

[Vlad]

Its nice to see there are some fellow big brush fans out there. "Big" means different for different people so its hard to say how big to go. Other factors really do impact how big a brush feels. Loft and shape impact presieved size as much as knot diameter. A taller loft will bloom bigger than a short loft. Also a fan shape will bloom wider than a bulb. The fan does not have the short support hairs that a bulb does so it will spread out wider. Plus with a fan, more bristles come in contact with your face at any given them. The round shape of a bulb prevents more than a small number of hairs touch your face at any one time. Then oblivious knot size factors in too. So the "biggest brush" will be long loft, fan shaped, 30mm+ knot.

View attachment 127285

Sorry about the the pic having so many brushes, but it is the only one I have handy to illustrate. The numbers are to the bottom left of the brush.

#1 - 30mm 50mm loft bulb shaped TGN Silvertip Grade A.
#2 - 26mm 50mm loft Rooney Heritage Stubby 3.
#3 - 27mm 56mm loft bulb shape Simpson Chubby 2.
#4 - 32mm 58mm loft fan Stubby 3.

As you can see brush 1 and 3 are both bulbs but the 27mm bulb with a high loft looks as big as the 30mm. The same way that brush 2 is 6mm smaller than brush 4 but has just about the same wing span.

That said if you are looking for a big dense brush a Shavemac would be a good choice. I have a D01 and it is in a tie for my second most dense brush (with the Stubby 3 (brush #2)). The build quality is top notch and Bernd is a real pleasure to work with. He can do just about anything you can think of.

Simpson is another name to look at. The Chubby 3 is easily my most decadent brush. Between the fan shape and 32mm knot I literally make one pass across my face and one across my neck to lather up. Plus in the super three band hair, it is the third softest brush I have ever used and easily the most dense. Its more of a brick of badger than a brush Simpson best hair is also very nice. While not quite as soft or as dense as the three band super it is still as soft as most compaines sivertip, and is still very dense.

I also really like the Rooney Heratage Stubby 3. It is almost as dense as the Chubby and ties with the Shavemac, is softer than the Shavemac and close to as soft as the Chubby, and with the fan shape feels very big on the face. Though dollar per mm is more expensive than the Simpson and Shavemac.

Another option is a large knot from TGN. Brush #1 was only $85 (half the price of the other 3) it is softer than Simpson Best hair, and at the short loft the backbone is close to the Simpson. The only place that it falls behind is in the density. It is still a dense brush, especialy at a 50mm loft, it is just not the density monster the Simpson, Rooney, or D01 are.

I hope my rambling has made some sense to you. Good luck with your big brush!


*EDIT*

Sometimes I feel like I kill brush posts with my overly long responses....

More, more, more! With bigger pictures!

 

[Loric]

More, more, more! With bigger pictures!

I wont be home till tomorrow night to take bigger pictures, but if you had questions I can answer them today. What else would you like to know?

*Edit*
I did find a picture with 3 of the 4 brushes listed.

Another outstanding brush thread to supplement mine.

 

[haagiboy]

Loric, what brushes are on the far left and right? Is it any nice for applying lather to your face? Never seen that shape before!

EDIT: In your post with ALL your brushes

 

[Loric]

Loric, what brushes are on the far left and right? Is it any nice for applying lather to your face? Never seen that shape before!

A flat top brush is more or less a dedicated soap brush. The flat top is made to keep every hair in contact with the soap (and your face) when you load up your brush. This notably cuts down on load time. The shape feels very unique on your face too. It is literally a wall of hair It is great for getting that massaging feeling as you face lather. I do have to admit that I slightly prefer a traditional fan for face feel, but having the variety is wonderful to me.

The brush on the far left in the first picture is an Omega 31064 with a flat top knot. The brush is ok, but I have to admit I am a bigger badger fan than boar fan. The Omega was originally had a loft that was to high and floppy for my tastes so I cut ~8mm off the top and it preforms much better. The flat top rips soap off the puck, so it is even better for soaps now. Though after cutting it is a touch more skritchy than it was originally though as it breaks in this going away with every use.

The brush on the far right in that first picture is my Shavemac 24mm D01 Two Band Flat top brush. Again this thing picks up soap like crazy has great density and is the silkiest/softest two band I have. There have been several other forum posts and reviews on the Shavemac flat top, it might be worth it for you to do a search on the matter.



In the second picture the far left brush is a Vintage Rooney handle with a TGN 22mm UK Silvertip set at a high 40's loft. It is wonderfully soft, has great backbone, and is very dense. It is very similar to my Simpson Eagle G3, except for the tips are notably softer. The handle is actually very comfortable too, I have big hands so the large meaty handle does very well for me. I am sad to admit this is only a loner brush though. The more knowledgeable and painfully generous SliceOfLife has lent it to me, as I had been pestering him about the quality of the now extinct UK Silvertip knots at TGN.

 

[haagiboy]

Nice, you are just feeding my BAD Loric!

THANKS! :/

 

[thrown.clear]

Loric, Thanks so much for all the information! I'm taking notes, and I feel like I'm getting closer to being able to make an informed decision.

 

[Crixus]

this is only a loner brush though. The more knowledgeable and painfully generous SliceOfLife has lent it to me

Does this mean you won't sell it to me? Slice has probably forgotten about it.

Can I get a maybe?

 

[Loric]

Does this mean you won't sell it to me? Slice has probably forgotten about it.

Can I get a maybe?

When hell freezes over and he forgets your second in line after me

 

[tm3]

>I’m looking for a big, dense brush that will turn into a big, round, puffy, lathery pillow when I start to lather my face<

this describes my Savile Row 3226 from QED