Which Kent would be right for me?

[mwhitcraft]

I currently own three brushes: a Thater silvertip badger (4125/2), a SOC boar (well broken in) and a Vie-Long J.L. Petree in horse. I have tried with all my might to like the Thater and the Semogue, but both are simply too soft for me, and both seem to "hold on" to lather rather than applying it to my face.

I absolutely love the Vie-Long horse, except for the fact that it is too small. It is very scrubby (the loft is 50 mm), has tons of backbone and the lather it makes is more yogurty that fluffy. Best of all, it seems to apply much more of the lather it creates to my face rather than absorbing it like the Thater and SOC do.

All that said, I am in the market to try a different grade of badger hair (the three badger brushes I have owned have all been silvertips) and I fell in love with Kent brushes the first time I saw them. I have been tentatively thinking about the H8 as a brush that would perform more like my Vie-Long, but maybe would have a little less scritch.

I am a face-lathering-scuttle-user. (I just whip the soap around the scuttle enough to make sure that it gets nice and warm, but truly build that lather on my face.)

Well, what do you think? Would an H8 be good for me? Is it nice and stiff and scrubby? Would another Kent brush be better for me? Another badger brush from a different maker?

Thank you in advance!

 

[mwhitcraft]

Bump....come on guys, I need a little help here!

 

[cooltide]

check out shavemac do1 24x50 great for face or bowl, plenty of back bone and scrubby without the scritch

 

[edgerunner]

I think you will be disappointed from Kent. I would suggest SOC Finest, Shavemac Finest or D01 2-band, or TGN regular Silvertip.

 

[ajc347]

The H8 and the BK2 are the scritchiest Kent's I've used (and they don't have much scritch tbh).

The BK4, 8 and 12 have very little, if any, scritch at all.

 

[mwhitcraft]

I think you will be disappointed from Kent. I would suggest SOC Finest, Shavemac Finest or D01 2-band, or TGN regular Silvertip.

Out of curiosity, why do you think I would be disappointed with Kent?

Shavemac keeps coming up, I think I need to take a closer look at them.

 

[edgerunner]

Out of curiosity, why do you think I would be disappointed with Kent?

Shavemac keeps coming up, I think I need to take a closer look at them.

I can come up with at least four reasons:

1. Thäter is too soft for you; Kent is almost as soft, and even H8 should be at least as soft as Semogue boar.

2. Thäter holds on lather for you; Thäter has one of the best flow through, it means you don't load it enough, and Kent likes a lot of soap.

3. The softness and hair properties of horse brushes tell me you would like the light scritch of some 2-band Finest.

4. Simpsons Best brushes feel like what would like but they hold lather; the 2-band Finest are not that dense and have good lather release.

 

[sarimento1]

Kent is known for the softness of their badger brushes.
you seem to be sold on your Vie Long, why not get a different model of their horsehair?

 

[Kooze]

I too recommend checking out the shavemac finest- its one of the few brushes I regret selling.

the Semogue soc 2012 SE is a great mixed-knot brush, with all of the best qualities of boar and badger

 

[mwhitcraft]

Kent is known for the softness of their badger brushes.
you seem to be sold on your Vie Long, why not get a different model of their horsehair?

I've already tried different models of Vie-Long horsehair. The two main reasons I want to try another badger, is 1) I would like a bigger brush (Vie-Longs are all 24 mm or smaller) and 2) I'm curious what a scrubier badger knot would be like, since I've only owned very soft silvertip badger brushes.

 

[Ollie4ISU]

I would recommend the SOC two band as edgerunner suggested. It is stiff and scrubby, but not really scritchy in my opinion. I have one in cherry. I also have a Kent BK8. They are totally different brushes. Both are fairly large, but the Kent feels HUGE in comparison because it doesn't have nearly the backbone of the SOC so it seems like it splays more and covers more area.

 

[Rufus]

If you want a brush with soft tips and great backbone you should consider a New Forest 2-band super. I'm a face latherer exclusively and use creams predominantly and I find the New Forest Tubby 2 2-band super ideal. The other brush that has similar qualities is the Simpson Colonel best badger. Both brushes are very well priced.

 

[brucered]

take a long hard look at Boris' (Edgerunner's) comments above, he knows his stuff and has experience with almost every grade and make of brush there is....not just from a collector point of view, but a user. if he says a brush will have scritch, it will has scritch. if he says it will have scrub, it will have scrub. luckily, we share similar tastes in brushes and I have yet to be disappointed with any of his suggestions or thoughts on brushes.

I have gotten together with him a few times and seen his collection and often refer to him and his posts, thoughts and opinions before even thinking of ordering a brush.

As he stated above, the SOC or Shavemac Finest are great choices and will likely fit the bill for you in a name-brand brush and the TGN Silvertip in a custom or restore brush.

 

[mwhitcraft]

take a long hard look at Boris' (Edgerunner's) comments above, he knows his stuff and has experience with almost every grade and make of brush there is....not just from a collector point of view, but a user. if he says a brush will have scritch, it will has scritch. if he says it will have scrub, it will have scrub. luckily, we share similar tastes in brushes and I have yet to be disappointed with any of his suggestions or thoughts on brushes.

I have gotten together with him a few times and seen his collection and often refer to him and his posts, thoughts and opinions before even thinking of ordering a brush.

As he stated above, the SOC or Shavemac Finest are great choices and will likely fit the bill for you in a name-brand brush and the TGN Silvertip in a custom or restore brush.

I am sure you are correct. I will certainly be looking into both the SOC and the Shavemac finest.

 

[Jeff_H]

As has already been stated, the Kent brushes are known for their softness. That's not to say that people can't and don't face lather with them, because they do. Several people have told me that their Kent BK8's are their favorite face lathering brush. I have not tried to face lather with mine yet. My BK8 is one of the softest things I can imagine putting on my face. Like the inner thigh hair of vestal virgins.

I bowl lather exclusively, so for me it wasn't an issue, but there is really no scritch to a Kent, at least the BK8 and BK12. Maybe the BK2 might have a bit more scritch, but it may be getting smaller than what you want. With all that said, the Kent is a fantastic brush and I can't imagine anything nicer. It may be the only brush I ever buy, that's how much I like it.

 

[oldtrout]

I think you will be disappointed from Kent. I would suggest SOC Finest, Shavemac Finest or D01 2-band, or TGN regular Silvertip.

+2 The SOC two band sounds perfect for you.

 

[mwhitcraft]

+2 The SOC two band sounds perfect for you.

That Semogue is looking more and more like the way for me to go. The Shavemac certainly looks nicer to me, but for the price, I think I had better make sure I can find a badger that I like before I dish out that kind of money.

 

[mwhitcraft]

Does anyone have an opinion about the Semogue 2020? Would that suit my needs? What is the difference in the knot between the SOC Super Badger and the 2020?

 

[mwhitcraft]

I think I've decided to go with the SOC, but before I go any further, I wanted to ask about a Simpsons in best, or a WD pure black. Would either of these be good choices for my needs?

 

[rahgnar.s]

I personally love my Kent BK2. As someone else has mentioned they are very soft brushes though.