I think you're correct but I may email them
In defence of pure badger
- Thread starter AimlessWanderer
- Start date
Anyone want to explain the difference between backbone and stiffness? Seems like 2 different words explaining the same thing.
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I have only two pure badger brushes and use them when I look for some more massage effect, most of my brushes being softer Best, Super or Silvertip badger grades, synthetics or boars.
One is a Pure Badger the other a brush that was sold as Pure Grey Badger.
I prefer the latter, as the former has a tendency to shed hairs of various lengths, which according to one Internet source is not unusual for brushes that are made from hair that is (also) trimmed at the top. The scritch of the Pure Grey Badger is also more to my liking than the Pure Badger one.
I am not sure what the Pure Grey Badger hair quality refers to, as there is little information on this grade.
Kent used to make them and Semogue (Pharos C3) still does. I found one reference that claimed Grey Badger hair is solely from the neck area of the badger, but that was the only reference that said so. As my Pure Grey Badger is Chinese made, I believe it is safe to rule out Russian or European grey badger.
So for me these two Pure Badgers have a secure spot in my rotation, but if anyone has some more information on the Pure Grey Badger grade I would appreciate it.
B.,
One is a Pure Badger the other a brush that was sold as Pure Grey Badger.
I prefer the latter, as the former has a tendency to shed hairs of various lengths, which according to one Internet source is not unusual for brushes that are made from hair that is (also) trimmed at the top. The scritch of the Pure Grey Badger is also more to my liking than the Pure Badger one.
I am not sure what the Pure Grey Badger hair quality refers to, as there is little information on this grade.
Kent used to make them and Semogue (Pharos C3) still does. I found one reference that claimed Grey Badger hair is solely from the neck area of the badger, but that was the only reference that said so. As my Pure Grey Badger is Chinese made, I believe it is safe to rule out Russian or European grey badger.
So for me these two Pure Badgers have a secure spot in my rotation, but if anyone has some more information on the Pure Grey Badger grade I would appreciate it.
B.,
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The Pure is only listed in the Knot Configurator. They used to have an excellent three band pure, bands were not so strong differentiated like a three band silvertip. I think they are ones still shown on the knot configurator. They were very nice and not so "pure" at all, they were quite like a Best grade from a different maker. One of my earliest personal brushes was a Lignum Vitae handle with this pure knot.
They also used this grade to mix with three band silvertip to make the "Finest" grade. Reason was to get a strongter backbone as the three band ST has not that much backbone alone. One could hardly differentiate between the three band ST and the Finest by looking at them at this time.
The latest pure I got, maybe two or so years ago, are more uniform darker colored.
I will take a stab at it as I understand it. I could be completely wrong.
Backbone is a function of knot density, loft or stiffness of the hair type.
In general:
Dense knots = firmer backbone
Low loft = firmer backbone
Stiff hair/fiber/bristle = firmer backbone
One of the first badgers I bought this year for BADGERary was the Pharos Pure Grey Badger and Pure Black badger from Semogue. They were stupid cheap like $13 or $18 each. They work pretty decent for a small knot. Kind of like s perfect travel size brush.
I have one of the uniformly grey Pure and a brand new Finest. With both brushes I went with the suggested loft. There is no scritch but both could have more backbone/lower loft for my liking. On the other hand I shouldn’t measure them against my D01-2Bands…
Finest
Pure - It was quite dark and oily when I received it and is now a good deal lighter in color
I have recently taken a shine to simpler, slightly stiffer badger hair qualities than Silvertips and, hoping for something along the lines of Simpsons’ Best grade, wanted to order two Shavemacs in their Finest hair grade before the Configurator is closed down.
With an approximate ⅔ Silvertip and ⅓ Pure Badger split for Shavemac Finest, logic would dictate that the Finest grade should have more backbone.
Oddly enough, looking at the table (https://shavemac.com/en/content/9-hair-qualities)* Shavemac gives the Silvertip grade a higher backbone rating (6) than their Finest (5).
Odd…
B.
* unfortunately, Shavemac’s text for the Finest hair quality is even in the English language section in German, which really does not matter much because in the German section the text for Pure and Finest is the same.
The tables for Pure and Finest are different though.
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The overall density in the Silvertip might give it more backbone even though the individual hair is thinner.
I have a 24mm Finest Fan in the standard configuration that has less backbone than I like so you might want to consider lowering the loft (2-4mm).
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My preference in brushes are as follows Badger, boar. Synthetic not going to waste my time or money on them have and I don’t like them. Badger is the best IMHO of course.
I think that this holds true regardless of what grade badger knot you get
All that I'm going to write is the experience of one guy with one brush, so take it with a pinch of salt.
A bit of background. I normally use one brush for prolonged periods of time and I've been using my Simpsons 59 for 90% of my shaves for the last couple of years. I grew a bit tired of the size and reading Al's journal, I got curious about Simpson's pure badger brushes. So, I bought an Eagle 2 in the beginning of January, but refrained from posting here earlier, because I wanted to get more experience with it.
I've been using the Eagle daily for the last month. I used to get brush burn from scrubby and stiff higher grade badger brushes but curiously, not this one. I have to be mindfull not to overdo it, yet once loaded enough soap, the brush is scrubby with just a hint of pleasant scritch. The backbone has relaxed quite a bit, but it is still present. It provides enough exfoliation and combined with a mild razor and a sharp blade, I can get a great shave, day in, day out.
I realise that it's not suited for everyone, but if you like scrubby brushes with good backbone, Simpson's pure might be worth a try. Thank you @AimlessWanderer for reporting your experiences with pure badgers!
A bit of background. I normally use one brush for prolonged periods of time and I've been using my Simpsons 59 for 90% of my shaves for the last couple of years. I grew a bit tired of the size and reading Al's journal, I got curious about Simpson's pure badger brushes. So, I bought an Eagle 2 in the beginning of January, but refrained from posting here earlier, because I wanted to get more experience with it.
I've been using the Eagle daily for the last month. I used to get brush burn from scrubby and stiff higher grade badger brushes but curiously, not this one. I have to be mindfull not to overdo it, yet once loaded enough soap, the brush is scrubby with just a hint of pleasant scritch. The backbone has relaxed quite a bit, but it is still present. It provides enough exfoliation and combined with a mild razor and a sharp blade, I can get a great shave, day in, day out.
I realise that it's not suited for everyone, but if you like scrubby brushes with good backbone, Simpson's pure might be worth a try. Thank you @AimlessWanderer for reporting your experiences with pure badgers!
Ok that triggered me. I’ve had a little burn in the past from my chubby 1 and even my newest Berkeley.
I can face lather with boars like I’m angry. Not with those best badgers. I have to be careful.
Sometimes I feel that those fine badger hairs act like needles on my skin. Maybe with thicker ones this poking feeling is somehow diminished?
I don’t know…
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AimlessWanderer
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Ok that triggered me. I’ve had a little burn in the past from my chubby 1 and even my newest Berkeley.
I can face lather with boars like I’m angry. Not with those best badgers. I have to be careful.
Sometimes I feel that those fine badger hairs act like needles on my skin. Maybe with thicker ones this poking feeling is somehow diminished?
I don’t know…
Yes, my best badger Berkeley is more likely to scrub my face sore than my pure badger Berkeley.
I think the brushes that feel denser, don't always let the bristles flex as freely, as those brushes that feel more open. Or that's what it feels like to me. The less dense brush letting the brushes act individually, rather than the more solid mass of the denser brush. So even if the individual bristles seem stiffer on the pure, they aren't locked in place as much.
I'm not saying that is exactly what's happening, just trying to explain what it feels like the bristles are doing.
Interesting. I may have to add a pure just for science
I have a couple of shaves with this Tulip 3 in Best Badger, and it is a very nice brush. Considerably more splay and softer than Manchurian, but very nice.
