Got my Finest Horn and have had a chance to use it several times now. Mine held only the lightest hint of badger. Not floppy at all, and mine even manages to have a little pleasant scrubbiness to it, probably due to the extra hair. So round, so firm, so fully packed! Very, very nice! I was a little worried about how the finest badger hair would hold up to my shameful vice of using pre-shave oils. I am happy to say it seems unaffected...but then I only apply the oil before the first lathering, lather 2-3 more times between passes, then let my brush soak in lathery hot water in the mug until I am done in the bathroom. Between the latherings and soaking the oils don't stand a chance.
Discussion Thread - 2006 Badger & Blade EJ Brush - Horn Handle in Finest Badger
- Thread starter Tinzien
- Start date
Guys i know that the time expired to get this brush but I'm just wondering where everyone ordered it from. Which forum board or store? I want to keep an eye out if this opportunity ever presents itself again.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Ryan,
The next time we roll out a brush, you'll know. Announcements will come in the form of a sticky in the General forum.
-Nick
The next time we roll out a brush, you'll know. Announcements will come in the form of a sticky in the General forum.
-Nick
Nick,
Thanks. If only i would have stumbled upon this awesome forum 2 days earlier i could have gotten one. I'll keep my eye out. I hear there might not be another opportunity till later in 2007?
Thanks again for the help!
Thanks. If only i would have stumbled upon this awesome forum 2 days earlier i could have gotten one. I'll keep my eye out. I hear there might not be another opportunity till later in 2007?
Thanks again for the help!
Basically, B&B-members had to send a PM to John (letterk) who would then respond with the necessary links to place an order. If you're after more detail, this thread contains links to all the pertinent info regarding the B&B brush and the ordering process.
These brushes were completely custom and made to order, so it's highly unlikely that you'll ever be able to order them brand new again. Bottom line, as Mike pointed out earlier, your best bet for obtaining one now would be the For Sale/Trade forum. You'll have to be patient though, since they're currently in the process of shipping all the orders.
Hi folks. Here's my take as of the 2nd use:
I love it, but it's not *remotely* as soft as my Shavemac.
There. I said it.
I'm happy with it, but my first impression was "this is my soap brush, the Shavemac is my cream brush". It's lovely, has a nice flop when you force it, but is still firm and delivers loads more lather _onto my face_ (which is the point!) than my Shavemac. My Shavemac greedily hangs on to the lather and doesn't want to part with it.
However, there's quite a lot more trimmed hair on the edges, hair that is not a tip in any way (dark and obviously clipped off). That stuff is what makes it much more scratchy than I had expected with "finest" badger. If it were softer I would never use the Shavemac again. As it stands, I'll be alternating, probably leaning more towards the Shavemac.
Does mine have more trimmed hair than most?
I love it, but it's not *remotely* as soft as my Shavemac.
There. I said it.
I'm happy with it, but my first impression was "this is my soap brush, the Shavemac is my cream brush". It's lovely, has a nice flop when you force it, but is still firm and delivers loads more lather _onto my face_ (which is the point!) than my Shavemac. My Shavemac greedily hangs on to the lather and doesn't want to part with it.
However, there's quite a lot more trimmed hair on the edges, hair that is not a tip in any way (dark and obviously clipped off). That stuff is what makes it much more scratchy than I had expected with "finest" badger. If it were softer I would never use the Shavemac again. As it stands, I'll be alternating, probably leaning more towards the Shavemac.
Does mine have more trimmed hair than most?
Well Kenneth, that's a great question.. I would hope that there are NO, as in absolutely NONE, trimmed (as in CUT) hairs. Assuming that this is a handmade, FINEST SILVERTIP* brush, there should be no cut hair at all.. The length of the hair is adjusted in the shaping box... Only the bottom, not the tip of a handmade brush is cut. Now some could have been broken, but let us hope not cut...
*Finest Is this merely another name of the marketplace? I am assuming from all of the chatter in the various threads that this is this supreme quality that is unbleached, etc providing the optimum in resilience and the pinacle of badger hair tip quality..
What would you guess the actual price of to be this brush if it were sold in an online store?
Just wondering!
Just wondering!
What would you guess the actual price of to be this brush if it were sold in an online store?
Just wondering!
Who knows? According to Joel, the only other brush with the same rare grade of hair costs in excess of $400.
It's probably safe to say that the price would be greater than the $110 price tag of the B&B brush though, since that was a group-buy and supposedly included a pretty slim profit margin.
I don't know what the EXACT price would be.... but consider just a STANDARD EJ Silvertip brush from TESC with LESS handle material, and a NON custom chrome base is like $40-50 more for a brush with the same size knot.... I'd say the "retail" would be considerably more than the standard EJ offering (which is "mass" produced without custom logos, etc etc). I can't give an exact quote, but I can say this, the manufacturing specs for OUR brush are as costly as the carbon fiber version, so I have safely assumed it is at least around the price of of the Carbon Fiber version - however based on the 20% increased density, i'd have to say it'd be quite a bit more $. Based on the information we have to work with, I'd say its "retail value" is somewhere between $400-500 USD.
Holy Lord! What a steal of a price we got it at!
Another question. Why arent there more reviews on the B&B brush? There is only two right now.
As would I. I don't know if I should contact EJ about this or get some comparisons here. Can anyone else chime in about how much trimmed hair there is at the tip?
I'm going to take a photo of the tips from the side with a macro lens later, to compare with the Shavemac, so we have something concrete to talk about.
I posted my observations in another thread in reply to a post there about this. After looking at my "Finest" carefully under bright light with and without a magnifying glass I believe that the majority -- if not all of the hairs that make up my brush are sheared off. I do not see any that taper to a fine point. There is no denying that this is a fine brush, but this does take away somewhat from the bespoke quality I thought I was getting. I do not recall reading anywhere during the planning and testing stages whether the brushes would be trimmed or not. I guess I just assumed that this would not be the case.
Live and learn
I posted my observations in another thread in reply to a post there about this. After looking at my "Finest" carefully under bright light with and without a magnifying glass I believe that the majority -- if not all of the hairs that make up my brush are sheared off. I do not see any that taper to a fine point. There is no denying that this is a fine brush, but this does take away somewhat from the bespoke quality I thought I was getting. I do not recall reading anywhere during the planning and testing stages whether the brushes would be trimmed or not. I guess I just assumed that this would not be the case.
Live and learn
While I hope you are wrong about the shearing, I guess I don't understand what that has to do with bespoke. First, one must look at the entire hair shaft to see a taper, not just the tip. Second, whether you recall reading it or not, the base of the tapers are often trimmed prior to knotting to facilitate getting a uniform hair bundle.
I still await receipt of mine, but certainly don't expect to find any trimmed tips. Perhaps I too will echo your last line, but I do not think Edwin Jagger's reputation for quality would stand for such a production.
Hi;
Used the Finest Badger in Horn brush for the first time. I soaked in borax overnight to clean and deodorize; it was a little fragrant but not unbearable. the borax soak really did clean out a lot of junk from the brush, whatever it was.
This is a beautiful brush. J already noted the handle is a little smaller than I expected, but not bad, and is quite a bit heavier than expected. It may be a little short to use in a standard mug, but a larger bowl will work. After soaking and drying, it holds an enormous amount of water,and makes an enormous amount of lather. Bristles are very soft, but enough stiffness to keep from being too flexible, and the knot is very dense. I used it with a large Moss scuttle and when the brush blooms it is plenty big enough to fill up the bowl and touch the bottom and sides. Three full passes of warm lather is sheer luxury. I used cream, and will try it with soap. but I suspect it will work just fine with soap also.
I think we got an extraordinary deal with this brush, both in appearance and performance.
I also got the razor in horn, and as expected it is also as much a showpiece as a high performance razor. The Georgian handle may take a little getting used to, but is actually easy to control and manipulate. Since the head is Merkur, the blade exposure is the same as the Classic razors. Mine seems to be perfectly aligned with no mismatched gaps.
If the set is not heirloom quality, I don't know what would be. I suspect the Ebony sets are equally elegant.
Thanks to the guys who put this together, the wait was well worthwhile.
BobS
Used the Finest Badger in Horn brush for the first time. I soaked in borax overnight to clean and deodorize; it was a little fragrant but not unbearable. the borax soak really did clean out a lot of junk from the brush, whatever it was.
This is a beautiful brush. J already noted the handle is a little smaller than I expected, but not bad, and is quite a bit heavier than expected. It may be a little short to use in a standard mug, but a larger bowl will work. After soaking and drying, it holds an enormous amount of water,and makes an enormous amount of lather. Bristles are very soft, but enough stiffness to keep from being too flexible, and the knot is very dense. I used it with a large Moss scuttle and when the brush blooms it is plenty big enough to fill up the bowl and touch the bottom and sides. Three full passes of warm lather is sheer luxury. I used cream, and will try it with soap. but I suspect it will work just fine with soap also.
I think we got an extraordinary deal with this brush, both in appearance and performance.
I also got the razor in horn, and as expected it is also as much a showpiece as a high performance razor. The Georgian handle may take a little getting used to, but is actually easy to control and manipulate. Since the head is Merkur, the blade exposure is the same as the Classic razors. Mine seems to be perfectly aligned with no mismatched gaps.
If the set is not heirloom quality, I don't know what would be. I suspect the Ebony sets are equally elegant.
Thanks to the guys who put this together, the wait was well worthwhile.
BobS
With any brush you can expect it to shed a few hairs during its inaugural use and potentially during the following 2-3 runs as well. If shedding is excessive or if hair loss continues then you might have some issues.
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