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- #61
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Quite possibly!
Trying a few Manx (Simpson & Vulfix) small brushes
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Quite possibly!
Considering that Simpson have been making Wee Scots for (probably) over 100 years, it's shocking that they didn't get the loft/knot ratio correct (or upgrade it to Al's specifications).
Joking aside, a more robust hair than what's in yours would no doubt make it a superb little lather monster with ample backbone. To get brush manufacturers to alter the loft/knot ratio specifically to suit each batch of badger hair they receive would be a brilliant idea for us detail freaks... but probably kinda unrealistic.
That's just your pedantic friend's tuppence worth, Al.
Agreed. I think the Wee Scot in super Badger would be a terrific brush. A two band with that short loft might be overkill but could work. Best Badger is a second tier Badger hair with low flexibility that generally shines in denser brushes like the Classic or the Chubby 2, where you almost feel that the knot as a whole moves in unison around your face when facelathering
Anyway, if you have a toddler I’m sure he/she will love to play around with the Wee Scot
Anyway, if you have a toddler I’m sure he/she will love to play around with the Wee Scot
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- #64
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Considering that Simpson have been making Wee Scots for (probably) over 100 years, it's shocking that they didn't get the loft/knot ratio correct (or upgrade it to Al's specifications).
Joking aside, a more robust hair than what's in yours would no doubt make it a superb little lather monster with ample backbone. To get brush manufacturers to alter the loft/knot ratio specifically to suit each batch of badger hair they receive would be a brilliant idea for us detail freaks... but probably kinda unrealistic.
That's just your pedantic friend's tuppence worth, Al.
It sounds like you were quite fortunate to get bristles that worked better at that width/height ratio, even if that does mean accepting a little more scritch than @macintoshBR and I seem to have received.
Mine is a cute little brush, and setting the loft a little shorter, could have made it sublime in use. If the knot diameter wasn't so much smaller than the largest handle diameter, an O Ring at the base of the knot (or two) might significantly improve it, but I'm not sure such a small ring (1/2" ish?) would "recover" and be tight enough after such a big stretch.
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- #65
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Wilkinson Sword Classic razor
Wilkinson Sword blade (shave 44)
Edwin Jagger Aloe Vera mug soap
Simpson Case Best Badger
Second shave on this brush, and I think this is probably the best of this bunch. Good scrub, negligible scritch, and nice and precise too. Thankfully, it's slowed down on the shedding too, although it hasn't stopped altogether.
Wilkinson Sword blade (shave 44)
Edwin Jagger Aloe Vera mug soap
Simpson Case Best Badger
Second shave on this brush, and I think this is probably the best of this bunch. Good scrub, negligible scritch, and nice and precise too. Thankfully, it's slowed down on the shedding too, although it hasn't stopped altogether.
Here is the Simfix that arrived a few moments ago.
This thread is fully responsible for the purchase
This thread is fully responsible for the purchase
Considering that Simpson have been making Wee Scots for (probably) over 100 years, it's shocking that they didn't get the loft/knot ratio correct (or upgrade it to Al's specifications).
Joking aside, a more robust hair than what's in yours would no doubt make it a superb little lather monster with ample backbone. To get brush manufacturers to alter the loft/knot ratio specifically to suit each batch of badger hair they receive would be a brilliant idea for us detail freaks... but probably kinda unrealistic.
That's just your pedantic friend's tuppence worth, Al.
+1! With just a minor change in loft, the Wee Scot would be in my everyday rotation. Still great as my ‘travel’ brush!
Every time that I have used my Weescot (that i canrecall), I have used it with a shave stick. It has always performed well for me.
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- #69
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Second shave with the Piccadilly brush today. It worked great. More scritch than the Best Badger Case, but still a pleasant and effective brush. All those new brushes have now had at least to shaves. All with Edwin Jagger Aloe Vera mug soap. Time to give my St James of London Black Pepper and Lime cream a try with them instead.
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- #70
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Edwin Jagger DE3D14 razor
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 1)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Simpson Wee Scot
Well, the good news is that the Wee Scot worked significantly better with this cream, than it did with the mug soap. The bad news being that the improvement was not enough to save this brush from my negative opinions of it. It simply does not have enough backbone to be an effective brush, in my opinion. If I need another piece of good news to turn this into a positive post, it is that this is the only brush out of the six in this thread, that I am truly disappointed with.
The Special in Best Badger has the next lowest backbone, but does have enough to be an effective face latherer (I don't bowl lather, it adds far too much air). I would like a little more, but good enough is good enough. Good enough for daily shaves that is, although I would still reach for a different brush if I wanted some good scrub from a brush, to free a trapped hair for example. Five out of six is not a bad win ratio though, and even if I write off the Wee Scot cost wise (dividing the cost of all six brushes by the five I'm happy with), they still average out at under £30 each. None have prohibitive scritch like the Omega Mixed Scritchet does.
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 1)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Simpson Wee Scot
Well, the good news is that the Wee Scot worked significantly better with this cream, than it did with the mug soap. The bad news being that the improvement was not enough to save this brush from my negative opinions of it. It simply does not have enough backbone to be an effective brush, in my opinion. If I need another piece of good news to turn this into a positive post, it is that this is the only brush out of the six in this thread, that I am truly disappointed with.
The Special in Best Badger has the next lowest backbone, but does have enough to be an effective face latherer (I don't bowl lather, it adds far too much air). I would like a little more, but good enough is good enough. Good enough for daily shaves that is, although I would still reach for a different brush if I wanted some good scrub from a brush, to free a trapped hair for example. Five out of six is not a bad win ratio though, and even if I write off the Wee Scot cost wise (dividing the cost of all six brushes by the five I'm happy with), they still average out at under £30 each. None have prohibitive scritch like the Omega Mixed Scritchet does.
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- #71
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Edwin Jagger DE3D14 razor
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 2)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Vulfix 513b Piccadilly (pure badger)
Moving to this cream yesterday, led to an improvement with the Wee Scot, but the Piccadilly felt a lot more scritchy today, compared to when I was using it with the mug soap. Still not as bad as the Omega Mixed Midget, but certainly very noticeable.
The lather produced was excellent, but interspersed with an unwelcome prickliness, although not continuously. Maybe it was more noticeable having directly followed the Wee Scot, or maybe it was all due to the change in lather product. It was tolerable, but I certainly wouldn't want it any worse, nor would I be willing to put up with that level of scritch everyday.
This is only the third shave (I think) on this brush, so there is plenty of scope for change. However, it may be that I need to limit this brush to hard soaps until it beds in. I might do another shave with cream first though, before making that call.
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 2)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Vulfix 513b Piccadilly (pure badger)
Moving to this cream yesterday, led to an improvement with the Wee Scot, but the Piccadilly felt a lot more scritchy today, compared to when I was using it with the mug soap. Still not as bad as the Omega Mixed Midget, but certainly very noticeable.
The lather produced was excellent, but interspersed with an unwelcome prickliness, although not continuously. Maybe it was more noticeable having directly followed the Wee Scot, or maybe it was all due to the change in lather product. It was tolerable, but I certainly wouldn't want it any worse, nor would I be willing to put up with that level of scritch everyday.
This is only the third shave (I think) on this brush, so there is plenty of scope for change. However, it may be that I need to limit this brush to hard soaps until it beds in. I might do another shave with cream first though, before making that call.
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- #72
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Edwin Jagger DE3D14 razor
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 3)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Simpson Case (Best Badger)
Another excellent performance from this brush. No stray hairs noticed this time either. This one certainly seems to be the cream of the crop - pardon the pun.
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 3)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Simpson Case (Best Badger)
Another excellent performance from this brush. No stray hairs noticed this time either. This one certainly seems to be the cream of the crop - pardon the pun.
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- #73
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I've been giving more thought to this. I'm now wondering if it feels more scritchy, because It's starting to break in.
I know that might sound counter-intuitive, but think of how a bed of nails supports a person by spreading the load across them all, then imagine how much more those nails would dig in, if most of them started to soften. I'm thinking along similar lines with that brush. lots of hairs settling in, with just a few rogue ones, maybe sat shallower than the rest, which haven't softened as quickly.
Of course, I may be completely wrong, but that's kind of how it feels to have changed so far.
I have also started giving thought to which of these six brushes to leave in circulation, and which to stow away as spares. At the moment, I am leaning towards the mixed hair Vulfix Mayfair, and just one of the five badgers staying out, along with two of my three synthetics, and the big DS Cosmetic two band brush. Still very much a work in progress though, that thought process.
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- #74
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Edwin Jagger DE3D14 razor
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 4)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Vulfix 403 Mayfair (boar/badger mix)
This brush works great with hard soaps. Not so well with creams though. Not yet, anyway. Although it might just need more cream to produce the same lather as the synthetics and small badgers. This is good for me to know, so that I know what brush to pair it with. The Trafalgar T2 might be an excellent running mate for it. That brush handles everything well, and will be certain to perform on anything the Mayfair doesn't excel with.
I think pairing this brush with a synthetic, and pairing one of the badgers with a synthetic too, would be a good way to keep my daily options at the level I want. Two brushes! Two pairs of synth and natural, and just swap between the pairs when I get bored. The rest stowed away as spares, for when something expires... or if I get annoyed with whichever badger I decided to leave out.
My DS Cosmetic two-band stands apart from everything else, both in terms of scrub and face feel, and also in terms of the size of the knot. It's not a brush I will leave out for daily use, but it is absolutely a brush I want readily available to call upon, should I need it. That's two brushes in the bathroom, one natural and one synth, and three left out in the bedroom, the alternate pair, and the two-band. The rest can all be packed away with the stockpile of soap.
I just need to decide which of those five badgers to run with now, so I know which of the other two synths would be the best bedfellow. Floppy or scrubby? Soft or scritchy? Most favourite, or least? I have tried three of them with cream once, so I'll give the remaining two a go with the cream next, and see how they fare.
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 4)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Vulfix 403 Mayfair (boar/badger mix)
This brush works great with hard soaps. Not so well with creams though. Not yet, anyway. Although it might just need more cream to produce the same lather as the synthetics and small badgers. This is good for me to know, so that I know what brush to pair it with. The Trafalgar T2 might be an excellent running mate for it. That brush handles everything well, and will be certain to perform on anything the Mayfair doesn't excel with.
I think pairing this brush with a synthetic, and pairing one of the badgers with a synthetic too, would be a good way to keep my daily options at the level I want. Two brushes! Two pairs of synth and natural, and just swap between the pairs when I get bored. The rest stowed away as spares, for when something expires... or if I get annoyed with whichever badger I decided to leave out.
My DS Cosmetic two-band stands apart from everything else, both in terms of scrub and face feel, and also in terms of the size of the knot. It's not a brush I will leave out for daily use, but it is absolutely a brush I want readily available to call upon, should I need it. That's two brushes in the bathroom, one natural and one synth, and three left out in the bedroom, the alternate pair, and the two-band. The rest can all be packed away with the stockpile of soap.
I just need to decide which of those five badgers to run with now, so I know which of the other two synths would be the best bedfellow. Floppy or scrubby? Soft or scritchy? Most favourite, or least? I have tried three of them with cream once, so I'll give the remaining two a go with the cream next, and see how they fare.
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- #75
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
To put that in pictures...
I need to decide which two of these...
... to pair with which two of these. (The one in the tube, is my lather flinger, that's reserved for when I'm in some other bathroom
)
The two on the right should make a good pair, and the one on the left will always be kept available.
Now, I need to pick one of the remaining five badgers, and decide which of the two remaining synths would work best with it. Then it's sleepy time for everything else.
I need to decide which two of these...
... to pair with which two of these. (The one in the tube, is my lather flinger, that's reserved for when I'm in some other bathroom
)The two on the right should make a good pair, and the one on the left will always be kept available.
Now, I need to pick one of the remaining five badgers, and decide which of the two remaining synths would work best with it. Then it's sleepy time for everything else.
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- #76
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
If I was to summarise this exploration so far.... I would say that I feel conflicted.
I am still glad I stocked up on these brushes, but I must admit, they have also reaffirmed my appreciation for the no nonsense simplicity of synthetics. When I decide upon those pairings, it will be interesting to see how often I end up reaching for the natural option, and how often I reach for the synthetic.
As with pure and best badger, backbone can come with scritch, and softness can be at the expense if scrub, with synthetics, they sacrifice a certain feel that only natural hair can bring. But synthetics just work, and the natural hair brushes have... either character or quirkiness, depending on the nature of the individual brush. Neither is really a replacement for the other. I just need to set them side by side in their respective pairs, and see which proves most endearing. I certainly don't feel in immediate danger of tumbling deeper down the rabbit hole.
I am still glad I stocked up on these brushes, but I must admit, they have also reaffirmed my appreciation for the no nonsense simplicity of synthetics. When I decide upon those pairings, it will be interesting to see how often I end up reaching for the natural option, and how often I reach for the synthetic.
As with pure and best badger, backbone can come with scritch, and softness can be at the expense if scrub, with synthetics, they sacrifice a certain feel that only natural hair can bring. But synthetics just work, and the natural hair brushes have... either character or quirkiness, depending on the nature of the individual brush. Neither is really a replacement for the other. I just need to set them side by side in their respective pairs, and see which proves most endearing. I certainly don't feel in immediate danger of tumbling deeper down the rabbit hole.
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- #78
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Having followed this thread so far; I must say I feel exactly the same!
You didn't really expect a coherent linear path, with me at the helm, did you?
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- #79
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Edwin Jagger DE3D14 razor
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 5)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Simpson Special Best Badger
This brush really likes cream! It does work well with soap too, but after this shave, I would say that it appears to prefer cream. However, I may have slightly overloaded it though, so I will use this again next time, and try to use slightly less.
The shave went well, but the lather was perhaps a little on the rich side, particularly on the first pass. It was a good reminder that I am "judging" these brushes, before I have fully gotten to know them, and learned how to get the very best from them. However, just as with razors, I know I won't excel with them, while ever I am bouncing between so many of them (another reason I only want a few in play at any time).
I am getting a vague picture though...
Special in Best prefers cream
Mayfair mixed prefers soap
Case Best seems evenly weighted
Wee Scot prefers just standing there looking cute, rather than doing any work
Etc, etc...
SuperMax Super Stainless blade (shave 5)
St James of London, Black Pepper and Lime cream
Simpson Special Best Badger
This brush really likes cream! It does work well with soap too, but after this shave, I would say that it appears to prefer cream. However, I may have slightly overloaded it though, so I will use this again next time, and try to use slightly less.
The shave went well, but the lather was perhaps a little on the rich side, particularly on the first pass. It was a good reminder that I am "judging" these brushes, before I have fully gotten to know them, and learned how to get the very best from them. However, just as with razors, I know I won't excel with them, while ever I am bouncing between so many of them (another reason I only want a few in play at any time).
I am getting a vague picture though...
Special in Best prefers cream
Mayfair mixed prefers soap
Case Best seems evenly weighted
Wee Scot prefers just standing there looking cute, rather than doing any work
Etc, etc...
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- #80
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Not got a whole lot to shave at the moment, so I decided to do a practice/test lather with the Best Badger Special, by... brace yourselves... bowl lathering. 
I used a little less soap than yesterday, and ended up with a humongous amount of super glossy lather. Completely unusable lather, fluffed up with imperceptibly small air bubbles, but very pretty looking. If I had a PooTube account, and a bizarre urge to film myself in my bathroom, that would have been the perfect lather for a vid.
I thought that maybe, just maybe, such lather occurred in my bowl because of the quicker action of boar and synthetic bristles. But no, badger brushes leads me to that same point of failure too.
I used a little less soap than yesterday, and ended up with a humongous amount of super glossy lather. Completely unusable lather, fluffed up with imperceptibly small air bubbles, but very pretty looking. If I had a PooTube account, and a bizarre urge to film myself in my bathroom, that would have been the perfect lather for a vid.
I thought that maybe, just maybe, such lather occurred in my bowl because of the quicker action of boar and synthetic bristles. But no, badger brushes leads me to that same point of failure too.
