WSP Stubby Manchurian Mountain Badger

[Teddyboy]

I have received this brush about 8 days ago. Since then, I have face-lathered 6 times and palm-lathered another 3 times. This is an excellent brush, having good backbone and soft tips (not any scritch IMHO). It provides excellent lather from croaps or hard soaps. The handle is nice-looking and feels good in the hand. No glue bumps that I can detect.

One thing irked me - the shedding problem that this brush has been known for. The first palm lather released 10-15 hairs. The second about 6. Face lathering and subsequent palm lathering yield 1-3 hairs being shed. As of last night's shave, no hairs were shed. This concerned me at first because my other quality brushes,e.g., Shavemac and Rooney, and even most Simpsons, do not shed at all. Therefore the state of non-shedding in the WSP Stubby Manchurian is very welcome, indeed. I just retired a wonderful Duke 2 in best because it started to shed continuously.

My latest approach was to comb the brush using a very, very broad comb (i.e., huge spaces between teeth)to accelerate the approach to non-shedding normalcy.

I wanted to add to the body of information regarding this brush since there had been posts expressing doubts about the quality of the brush. For me it's a winner, in the class of the Simpsons 2-bands...as long as it does not shed.

Thanks for listening.

 

[rexcarolus]

Thanks for adding to the collective wisdom on this brush, Ted. I used mine just yesterday and had two hairs come loose. Things have definitely calmed down shedding-wise. I have a nice broad Kent comb that I use for combing in the manner you describe.

After pulling the brush out following the soak and giving it a shake and a squeeze, I felt that the tips had that "soapy" or "gel" feeling. On the face, the brush really was "gel-like" in the manner that Lee described in another thread: "like rubbing a microfiber gel pillow on your face." That really is the sensation with these soft, smooth tips and plenty of backbone. I don't have another brush like it.

Thanks to Celestino for pointing me to the WSP Superfine 2 band. I haven't ordered one yet, but it sounds like the perfect knot for my next project.

 

[Curious Adventurer]

Appreciate the encouraging words. I ordered mine yesterday with a delivery due between 4 and 9 October. I agonized a bit about excess shedding as I followed an earlier thread about this brush before I finally placed the order. So, I spoke with Lee and kept reading the posts until I wasn't so alarmed. Apparently, this brush has initial shedding as many brushes do, but it seems to dissipate after a few shaves. If it continues to shed enormous amounts, I am confident Lee will replace it. There was another issue of bleaching and what it might mean to the longevity of the brush, but that seems to be commonplace in the industry.

 

[Teddyboy]

Enjoy the brush. Today it shed a few, but it was after a rather vigorous combing. I should not be so passionate. However, I am not distressed by this.