The softest and most luxurious brush?

[SubmarinerLV]

The title pretty much says it all gents, I am wondering after all the discussion on the boards recently about what grades are "soft" exactly and where does "floppy" begin to be an out and out bad thing? So basically my question is what is the most luxurious and soft brush you have used? Then was that your sweet spot or did you then end up going for something a bit more scrubby? So basically what I'm trying to establish here is what is the softest tipped brush out there and is that a good thing for this brush or a bad one? Of course YMMV.

Regards Grant

 

[wimbouman]

Muhle's and TGN's silvertips are both very soft and luxurious.
Haven't tried the really expensive brushes though, so maybe someone here can give some ideas about Plisson or the expensive Simpsons?

Wim

 

[thunderball]

My Shavemac Silvertip is ridiculously soft...so much so that I actually prefer their Finest grade which is considered a step down.

 

[SubmarinerLV]

Muhle's and TGN's silvertips are both very soft and luxurious.
Haven't tried the really expensive brushes though, so maybe someone here can give some ideas about Plisson or the expensive Simpsons?

Wim

Yes, Muhle's are supposed to be very soft but not "floppy" so they're definitely in the running. I have a Simpsons 3-band CH1 which is soft at the tips but it's density makes it very "scrubby" on the face.

Regards Grant

 

[drandall]

some popular contenders....shavemac finest, kent BK4, saville row, plisson in high-mountain white

 

[xriley]

I'll add Simpson's 2-band to the list. My emperor 2 in 2 band is both soft and luxurious.

 

[Aaron622]

Vie-Long 16510 is the softest, plushest brush I've used. If you want a little more backbone, I'd say a Savile Row, but I think they are a little less luxurious with the shortened loft.

 

[SubmarinerLV]

some popular contenders....shavemac finest, kent BK4, saville row, plisson in high-mountain white

Ok good list of contenders. A few questions though is the Shavemac finest softer than the Silvertip. Is it only the kent BK4 that is extremely soft or are the other BK lines as soft? Also how soft is the HMW I thought it was more Scritchy, but obviously haven't used them?

Regards Grant

 

[msandoval858]

I've used a few brushes that really fit in to this category. The Vulfix #40, Kent BK4 and BK8 definately come to mind.

The one that really wins out for me is the Simpsons Polo 14 Super. Mine is an original Somerset made model from several years ago. This brush is an absolute monster and not something I use very often, but the hair on this one is absolute perfection. It's like lathering your face with a warm pillow (about as big as one too!) and nothing else feels quite like it. Unfortunately, it will also put a big dent in a tub of cream and make enough lather to shave your face, your wife's legs, your head, and maybe a couple of your friends

 

[blantyre]

Rooney heritage Emillion or Victorian - get the original "3-band" bristle - softest face contact I've ever felt. The Kent BKs are a close second but the price of softness there is some floppiness.

 

[Perished]

Kent BK8 or Shavemac... Both really soft. Mind you, they're the only two I've tried
I think my Shavemac JUST nicks it, not sure though, only just breaking in the Kent.

 

[sucuri]

Shavemac

 

[SubmarinerLV]

Ok some really interesting things coming through here, I think that the Polo 14 is kind of a moot point since it is almost impossible to come by in original form nowadays (although I would dearly like to own one) and also it's frankly insane size. So now I am wondering how the Rooney heritage line compares to the Kent BK line, on a side note I am interested in this review : http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=R&t=1604 by Joel as it says that a Kent is prickly compared to this Rooney. However this does render us with a slight problem as Rooney has 5 count 'em 5 different "silvertips" here's a list 1: Silvertip 2:Super silvertip 3:Finest 4:Heritage Silvertip 5: Heritage 2-band Silvertip. All of these presumably are different in their characteristics so which one is the really soft one mentioned?

Regards Grant

 

[blantyre]

Ok some really interesting things coming through here, I think that the Polo 14 is kind of a moot point since it is almost impossible to come by in original form nowadays (although I would dearly like to own one) and also it's frankly insane size. So now I am wondering how the Rooney heritage line compares to the Kent BK line, on a side note I am interested in this review : http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=R&t=1604 by Joel as it says that a Kent is prickly compared to this Rooney. However this does render us with a slight problem as Rooney has 5 count 'em 5 different "silvertips" here's a list 1: Silvertip 2:Super silvertip 3:Finest 4:Heritage Silvertip 5: Heritage 2-band Silvertip. All of these presumably are different in their characteristics so which one is the really soft one mentioned?

Regards Grant

You want the heritage which has its own special extra dense high grade silvertip -it's fantastic. There are a few 2-band heritage around but you want the original version.

 

[SubmarinerLV]

You want the heritage which has its own special extra dense high grade silvertip -it's fantastic. There are a few 2-band heritage around but you want the original version.

Right good so a Heritage 3 band Rooney will be the Softest brush out? That seems to be the direction this discussion is heading in.

Regards Grant

 

[Sieges]

The softest brush I have tried is the B&B 2006 LE.
Other softies I would mention is the Kent BK 2/4/8/12 and Mühle brushes....

 

[Thebigspendur]

You guys should try a Thater Silvertip. Has all the qualities of a two band without the scratchyness but has no floppyness at all and is quite resilient and is silky soft on the face.

 

[JPDyson]

The softest brush I own right now is actually my B&B Essential - we don't know who made it, but I have all ideas the name rhymes with Kent. Wait, I think I did that wrong... Anyway the BK4 is probably right up your alley.

The word on Shavemac is that the tips are very soft. Can't speak to that myself.

 

[RetroGrouch]

I've owned a ton of brushes -- including expensive ones by Simpson, Rooney, et al -- but when I'm in the mood for a soft and luxurious feel, nothing tops my Shavemac silvertip. Pillow soft, yet not floppy.

 

[lsbrodsky]

Shavemac Custom D01, but waiting for my new B&B
Larry