Everything is in the title.....
Tam
Tam
When is a brush "worn out"?
- Thread starter TAM340R
- Start date
When it becomes unusable...
[youtube]3e1ubIBuZxU[/youtube]
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When it will not easily make a decent cream lather. I bought at a yard sale this last summer an Ever-Ready 1000 badger hair brush that was on its last legs. The knot was worn down to about half it's original size. I got it home and cleaned it up intending to just drill out the old pure badger knot. After I washed it out with dishwashing soap, I thought "What kind of lather will this make?" I had a cake of Old Spice mug soap that I had not used for several months. I filled some hot water in the Old Spice mug to soften the soap. After waiting a few minutes I poured off the water and attempted to build up a cream lather. It took quite a bit of work, but I finally got enough lather. It would have been shaveable, but in my estimation took to long to make the lather. Just not enough badger hair left to do the job efficiently. I remove the knot and now a TGN 22mm Finest, short knot, badger now resides in the handle. It is one of my best brushes. I have also tried to build a lather with worn out boars and experienced the same problem.
IMO boar brushes are out of this topic. My fathers Omega boar which he has been using 15 years regularly it is the best tool when he uses in face lathering. He just uses badger brush at weekends.
Have to disagree. I used an Omega 31064 daily for 6 months. By the fifth month it had become so floppy it was quite difficult to use. It was also shedding at least 1-2 hairs per shave. It was still, strictly speaking, usable, but that's my only real experience with brushes becoming worn out.
15 years is nothing. Any brush that is properly made should last you well beyond that. One user on here (forgot his name) restored a badger brush after 30 years of use.
I have restored brushes that were used daily for 30+ years, sure they missed a lot of hair, but still worked. One of my customers showed me a brush he used for 30 years and it had hardly any hairs lost. So, I would say at least 25 years....
I say when it becomes unusable...to you. Everyone will have their own tolerance level. I have an old badger whose hairs are so floppy, that it takes a lot of effort to get satisfactory lather. Some guys wouldn't put up with that. I may not for much longer either.
B
buyandhold2018
My Father in-law tells me that when he was a barber in Italy, he use to shave 10-12 people a day and a boar brush would last him about 2 years. After that, the hairs would be half the size and it was time to buy a new one for a buck or two
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Matthew, I know but I forgot to say he does not rinse the brush(his boar routine) after the shave which is always loaded lather.
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I used two badgers and two boars for over 40 years. The badgers developed holes in their knots and the boars became verrrry floppy. They were worn out.
Then I discovered B&B. I now have three badgers and four boars. I have three more boars on order and am considering a few other brushes. I don't anticipate wearing out another brush.
Thank you B&B!
Then I discovered B&B. I now have three badgers and four boars. I have three more boars on order and am considering a few other brushes. I don't anticipate wearing out another brush.
Thank you B&B!
That would be my 30 year Simpson Eagle G3 and boy I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo before the restoration.
It had lost about half its loft. Was just about usable, if you had to.
It did very well when you consider it was my only brush and used most days for prob 28 of those years.
It has a TGN Uk 21mm Silvertip knot now and may very well outlast me.
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The general 'rule of thumb' that I have heard lots of times is that a brush will last you ten years.
... give or take, burnWood's mileage may vary, and of course this assumes one daily use. If you alternate between two brushes you should have twenty years .... &c.
Of course, almost all of us here haven't been at it long enough to say if this is true or not.
(None of my brushes have worn out since 2007. 
)
That says everything ... and nothing.
(and was exactly what I was going to post, if he hadn't beat me to it.)
This seems to support the general "brush = decade" rule of thumb.
... give or take, burnWood's mileage may vary, and of course this assumes one daily use. If you alternate between two brushes you should have twenty years .... &c.
Of course, almost all of us here haven't been at it long enough to say if this is true or not.
(None of my brushes have worn out since 2007. )That says everything ... and nothing.
(and was exactly what I was going to post, if he hadn't beat me to it.
)This seems to support the general "brush = decade" rule of thumb.
when it go's bold
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