Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Just for the record I don't know anything about horsehair brushes. I know a little something about my one horsehair brush but maybe it's unusual.
Not too long ago I thought anyone using a horsehair brush was ignorant. Everybody said horsehair brushes tangle like crazy.
There's even a thread on how to untangle horsehair brushes.
This is my very favorite piece-of-advice posting because it sums up what seems to be generally believed about horsehair brushes.
People say.
Not to mention Anthrax!
No, I'm not kidding about Anthrax. Here's a link.
The good thing was I already had a very nice pet comb for brushes. Tangles would flee when I carried this baby from China which cost me $1.67 including shipping. Stainless steel it is. Click it.
Sometime in May I read a post which convinced me the Zenith extra soft horsehair brush might be worth a spin. I've looked for the post, but can't find it, and apologize to the member for not crediting him here.
I ordered my Zenith from Spain after deciding on a handle shape I'd been wanting to try.
The knot in real life is black and goes great with the beautiful ergonomic handle. It might be my favorite handle.
I've found the knot to be amazingly fun to use and loaded with paradox. It is floppy, but somehow it has a lot of scrub when I mash it into my face. Swirled on the puck it doesn't look like it's picking up much soap, but it lathers like crazy. It's great for painting, but it's also wonderful splayed to make lather foamy and creamy. It'll hold a lot of water, but releases water perfectly. It is very much a lather monster, but not a lather hog.
It also has a little bit of what I call good scritch, but that disappears when I mash the brush into my skin. I do not baby the brush at all. Actually, I'm hard on it like I am with all brushes; it is dried by mashing it into a towel in the same way I dry all brushes, etc.
Yes, my brush smelled a little funky before I washed it once or twice. Big deal? Not at all.
Will the Zenith extra soft horsehair brush replace my boars and badgers? No. It is simply another option, but it's an option I like a lot. In fact, I'm finding myself reaching for it much too often for the good of my rotation. In other words, it has very quickly found a place in the small group of brushes I most favor.
Perhaps I'll buy another horse, but why? It would be simply out of curiosity or to get a better handle. I don't think there is a better handle and I'm not curious about other horses. The one I have would be very hard to beat I think so why bother?
I might perhaps consider a Zenith horse in a copper handle to go with my boar and Manchurian, but that would not be because that's a favorite handle. It's not. I like the copper handle fine, but I like the black handle on the horse better.
Are all horsehair brushes as great as mine? I doubt it. Very seriously doubt it. Gentlemen writing negative things about horse brushes are not getting paid to badmouth them!
I'm going to hold my breath until Zenith sends me a nice fat check for my review.
Once again, my entire experience with horsehair brushes is limited to one Zenith brush, but you asked a question. Perhaps other guys who know something about horsehair brushes, particularly these Zeniths, will chime in.
I'll be happy to tell you more, but I'm not sure what else there it. It's a good brush, but I'm not saying anyone needs one. You know me. I'm into brushes.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Not too long ago I thought anyone using a horsehair brush was ignorant. Everybody said horsehair brushes tangle like crazy.
There's even a thread on how to untangle horsehair brushes.
This is my very favorite piece-of-advice posting because it sums up what seems to be generally believed about horsehair brushes.
People say.
- They're floppy.
- They have no backbone.
- They are worse than anything if you swirl on the puck, or swirl in a bowl, or face-lather.
- They shed.
- They tangle.
- They get knots in the knot.
- Worse, they smell bad!
- They're sort of between boars and badgers but more floppy than either and not soft.
Not to mention Anthrax!
No, I'm not kidding about Anthrax. Here's a link.
The good thing was I already had a very nice pet comb for brushes. Tangles would flee when I carried this baby from China which cost me $1.67 including shipping. Stainless steel it is. Click it.
Sometime in May I read a post which convinced me the Zenith extra soft horsehair brush might be worth a spin. I've looked for the post, but can't find it, and apologize to the member for not crediting him here.
I ordered my Zenith from Spain after deciding on a handle shape I'd been wanting to try.
The knot in real life is black and goes great with the beautiful ergonomic handle. It might be my favorite handle.
I've found the knot to be amazingly fun to use and loaded with paradox. It is floppy, but somehow it has a lot of scrub when I mash it into my face. Swirled on the puck it doesn't look like it's picking up much soap, but it lathers like crazy. It's great for painting, but it's also wonderful splayed to make lather foamy and creamy. It'll hold a lot of water, but releases water perfectly. It is very much a lather monster, but not a lather hog.
It also has a little bit of what I call good scritch, but that disappears when I mash the brush into my skin. I do not baby the brush at all. Actually, I'm hard on it like I am with all brushes; it is dried by mashing it into a towel in the same way I dry all brushes, etc.
Yes, my brush smelled a little funky before I washed it once or twice. Big deal? Not at all.
Will the Zenith extra soft horsehair brush replace my boars and badgers? No. It is simply another option, but it's an option I like a lot. In fact, I'm finding myself reaching for it much too often for the good of my rotation. In other words, it has very quickly found a place in the small group of brushes I most favor.
Perhaps I'll buy another horse, but why? It would be simply out of curiosity or to get a better handle. I don't think there is a better handle and I'm not curious about other horses. The one I have would be very hard to beat I think so why bother?
I might perhaps consider a Zenith horse in a copper handle to go with my boar and Manchurian, but that would not be because that's a favorite handle. It's not. I like the copper handle fine, but I like the black handle on the horse better.
Are all horsehair brushes as great as mine? I doubt it. Very seriously doubt it. Gentlemen writing negative things about horse brushes are not getting paid to badmouth them!
I'm going to hold my breath until Zenith sends me a nice fat check for my review.
Once again, my entire experience with horsehair brushes is limited to one Zenith brush, but you asked a question. Perhaps other guys who know something about horsehair brushes, particularly these Zeniths, will chime in.
I'll be happy to tell you more, but I'm not sure what else there it. It's a good brush, but I'm not saying anyone needs one. You know me. I'm into brushes.
Happy shaves,
Jim
