Turkish horse hair no.6

[freeze205]

I bought this brush a while ago and I've put it in my brush rotation since the Christmas restraint began.
Does this brush need a break-in period? I know it's a very cheap brush but it got good reviews everywhere I looked but compared to my ordinary Omega pure badger the produced lather isn't as good.
Was I expecting too much or does it need other technique to produce quality lather?
When facelathering with this brush I do get a creamy lather but it just doens't seem to be as airy as I'm used too with the Omega brush. It also seems that it's harder to transfer the lather to the face, it kinda stays in the brush.

Any thoughts on this? Or just wait untill it's fully broken in, if it needs any breaking in anyway?

 

[Comet]

It will work better when broken in. Try letting it dry a full 48 hrs before reusing. In addition, I find letting the horse hair soak in hot water for a few minutes while I am in the shower helps as well.

 

[celestino]

Be patient as it needs to break in.

 

[Deltaboy]

Just needs a break in.

 

[Oscroft]

Yep, mine needed a break in period too, and it was quite a bit better after a few uses.

I also noticed a few very thick and stiff bristles in mine, and clipping them out about a third of the way down (so it didn't damage the backbone but removed the scritchy tips) made it feel a whole lot better.

 

[jcwit]

As all the others have said, break it in, let it soak a few minuted prior to using, I have one I use as my daily brush, without a doubt it is my favorite out of 12 different brushes.

 

[freeze205]

Cool, patience is key then. I have used it about 5 times now. I hope it improves a bit more in transferring the matter to the face.

 

[GDCarrington]

Cool, patience is key then. I have used it about 5 times now. I hope it improves a bit more in transferring the matter to the face.

You might also want to try an accelerated method.

Here is what I do to speed up things. After I shave, relather the brush and rub it up and down both my forearms. This allows for an additional "two passes" each day without wearing out your face. This will allow the break in action to speed up and it only adds a small portion of time to your shave routine until the brush breaks in completely.

I hope that helps.

 

[freeze205]

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely try that!

 

[DEW]

Used mine twice and it does as good as my badgers 20mm knots, and looks fabulous after putting the Knot in an EverReady handle.

 

[Romeo Bravo]

Mine is a lot less dense than the Omega boar that I used in the past, but over time it gets "seasoned" and produces an OK lather.
I'd rather use an Omega, of course, but the price can't be beat.

 

[mftoms59]

It needs a Break-in... as all Boars do.

 

[freeze205]

Yeah I realised afterwards that this is a boar brush. Doensn't matter to me, it's well broken in by now and it works great!
Whips up a good lather, only thing I still don't like very much is that it hogs the lather somewhat.
In the mean time I've won a Vie-long horse hair brush, so now I have a REAL horsehair brush too.

Still in the hunt for a Silvertip and a Synthetic, then I've covered all the different sorts of brushes.

 

[mftoms59]

Alex you'll love the V-L Horse, it will have some scritch to it so I'd recommend 5-7 Bowl lathers before attempting a face lather. Don't use too much pressure or you'll develop a bit of a gap in the knot, it's nothing to worry about and a gentle combing from the knot base to the tips while damp will correct any gap. With a little practice you'll develop a good feel for how much pressure the brush can handle.

Regular use, ~7-10 lathers, will noticeably soften the tips, and with ~150-200 lathers, they can rival a Finest Badger for softness. You'll discover no matter how soft the tips become, they will not split, after ~20+ V-L Horses I've yet to find one that has.

 

[Lucidor]

My Turkish no 6 has a big hole in the middle, where no bristles are. Did I get a bad brush, or are they all like this? I've been saving one extra for my dad to try, but I'm thinking perhaps I should test lather it before I give it away, to make sure it's acceptable to learn with, before he gets it.

Perhaps an Omega is a safer card?

 

[mftoms59]

The QC with those brushes are minimal at best, just be grateful they're inexpensive. Truthfully if I had to pick one, I'd get the #7 which seemed to be better IME, for a little more go with the Omega.

 

[2fast]

lucidor, mine is the same as yours seems too be under filled in the middle and after 25 shaves have given up on it and I just got the stink out!!

 

[5savages]

My Turkish no 6 has a big hole in the middle, where no bristles are. Did I get a bad brush, or are they all like this? I've been saving one extra for my dad to try, but I'm thinking perhaps I should test lather it before I give it away, to make sure it's acceptable to learn with, before he gets it.

Perhaps an Omega is a safer card?

I had the same problem with mine. It stunk like a horses *** and it wouldn't hold much lather because when the brush got wet, the hairs would all migrate outward.

My Turk #6 was junk and I'm glad it wasn't any more than $2 that I wasted.

 

[Rufust445]

The QC with those brushes are minimal at best, just be grateful they're inexpensive. Truthfully if I had to pick one, I'd get the #7 which seemed to be better IME, for a little more go with the Omega.

+1 on the Nr. 7. I was toying with getting the new version of the Nr. 6 with "Improved Q.C.," but after reading this thread, may just get a backup Nr. 7.

 

[joamo]

I ordered 4 of the #7's to start my sons out with, and none of them came anywhere near the density of bristles in the #6 I have. I would order the #6 again but not the #7's.