Why the need for multiple brushes?

[SyntheticEvil13]

Some just like different styles of handles. I only have two and I think that's enough. A silvertip Whipped Dog and a SOC 2 band. The silvertip is soft and works great for creams and pretty good with soaps. The 2 band is stiffer and works better with soaps. It just depends on what I'm using that day.

 

[l0pht]

With all respect, 6 months is simply not long enough for a long term perspective, imho. Take it from someone who wetshaved for 30 years. You need at least two brushes.

24 hours is not always enough to fully dry a brush, especially a boar! Using the same (boar) brush each day may shorten its lifespan considerably.

My first brush was boar, it dried in less than 24 hours. Depends on where you live and how much humidity is in your house. YMMV

 

[captaincaveman]

Marketers have always viewed men as suckers for believing in the value of product features that offer subtle, if any differentiation. We fall for whatever line of BS they feed us. We buy scores of products that are essentially the same and we "trade up" for product features that offer diminishing returns. This is our weakness.

Brushes are comical in this regard. If you're using any of the commonly recommended ones here, another will do nothing to improve your shave.

Just wondering. For those of you old enough to have Dad's that shaved regularly with DEs, did he have 20 razors and 20 brushes and a drawer full of soaps and aftershaves?

I'm not sure why you think this is limited to men. Especially in the bathroom, women are notorious for that effect, and not just hobbyists like us with shaving. Perhaps with women it's not a ratcheting upgrade approach but just a buy this buy that approach?

Comparing to dads who DE-shaved regularly is an effective way to point out need vs. want. They didn't have a collection; they didn't use a forum either. They weren't hobbyists. How many humidors did my dad have? Zero, he just bought an occasional cigar and smoked it. I'm an IT professional; ask me how many fans blow on my video card: Zero. A hobbyist/gamer will have 3. Ask a camera hobbyist how many lenses his dad had; his dad just had a point-and-shoot.

Someone just looking to get rid of stubble needs zero brushes. Barbasol (unlike other aerosols) is actually pretty decent, as are some non-aerosol brushless creams, and even a few soaps lather just fine by hand (such as Arko). Hobbysists may want more equipment anyway.

With all respect, 6 months is simply not long enough for a long term perspective, imho. Take it from someone who wetshaved for 30 years. You need at least two brushes.

24 hours is not always enough to fully dry a brush, especially a boar! Using the same (boar) brush each day may shorten its lifespan considerably.

I usually don't shave every day but I'll try to remember that and use my other brush when shaving the next day. However, as far as I can tell, my boar brush is bone-dry within 8 hours, and I live in RI where humidity rarely dips below 90%.

 

[Eeyore]

My first brush was boar, it dried in less than 24 hours. Depends on where you live and how much humidity is in your house. YMMV

Fair point indeed. I stand corrected

My experience, in our climate, and our typical houses is that it's best to rotate between brushes.

And why take the risk? Having a nicely soft aged boar suddenly shed the center of the knot is not a nice sight.

 

[JFurlong]

Good thread. I was wondering the same myself, well as far as if you needed to have different brushes to accommodate different types of shaving soaps/ creams. I'm going to assume the consensus is no you don't, but you most likely will want to anyway. Makes perfect sense to me! Off to the B/S/T...

 

[UnCL3]

All symptoms of the Acquisition Disorder. One of my shavingbrushes recently and unexpectedly expired. I bought 3 to replace it.

I'll have to remember that next time The War Department queries my purchases.
Cheers!

 

[UnCL3]

This, sir, is no longer a daily "chore". It is a hobby, an experience, a PLEASANT experience. To FULLY enjoy the daily ritual, variety must be employed.

 

[Klovgren]

Alrighty, not Al Bundy. Should have said, perhaps, that I am a lady, woman, girl, female, and I don't have a problem with having too many black patent leather shoes. I have them all.

 

[Bula]

For me, it was more of an experiment to see which I liked best. Started with a Best Badger, then into a few Omega Boars, then a nice Kent Silvertip, and most recently a synthetic. I use every single one, and I think I'm done with brushes, at least for now...