I don't post here often, but I've written a few times about my interest in Japanese brushes. The market's quite different there, but the brushes are invariably interesting and exceptionally well made.
My wife was there a short while ago and, knowing my interest, picked me up a great brush as a gift.
The problem's that I already had it. I'd purchased one on my own about 9 months ago. (There's both good and bad to sharing your interest with your mate, but sparing them all the geeky details.) I was going to keep the brush for the future, but I've got eight brushes now, and to date, only one face. You know the story. Nevertheless, if I sell this one there's a good chance I'll immediately buy another brush with the money when I'm in Japan this fall...
Anyway, the brush is unusual. I don't think there are many quite like it in the western shaving brush world. It may be comparable to a mostly mane horsehair brush in its configuration and the fact that it holds water beautifully, though I lack sufficient experience with those to comment. It is indeed floppy by any measure, but the composition is unique, and I'd venture to suggest that it uses its floppiness to best advantage (thus, the sobriquet "King Floppy").
I'll do my best to describe it, but please write with any questions that occur to you.
Composition (What's "water badger"?): One finds uniquely in the Japanese market that the most commonly advertised high-end fiber is "water badger" [[FONT=&]ウォーターバジャー[/FONT]]. It's a favorite in brushes of all sorts there, but if you ask the manufacturers about it (in Japanese) they really have no clue what it is. It's just sort of accepted as "gospel" that "water badger" is the thing to have. You can find a few sort of piecemeal descriptions, but they are mostly nonsense, passed along by marketing people who don't know what they're talking about. It took nearly a year of research to finally get to the bottom of this mystery.
In short, "water badger" isn't badger at all. It's mongoose, specifically a variety known as "kanikui" or crab-eating mongoose [[FONT=&]カニクイマングース[/FONT] / Herpestes urva] It's a species that lives on land but spends a lot of time in water, and its fur has adapted by being more resilient, yet soft and aerated, despite constant wet/dry cycles. (I've learned that this is why mongoose brushes are popular with watercolorists and calligraphers.)
I've yet to try a 100% WB brush, but the conventional wisdom is that mixing the fibers with other synthetic and natural fibers makes for better backbone and more controlled flow-through. I have a few mixed water badger brushes, both synthetic and natural combinations. This brush is 70% water badger, 30% "badger" - and here's the second naming issue. Japanese manufacturers don't use the pure-better-super designations for badger. They're pretty much all "anonymous" mixes, and you have to know the manufacturer to know the relative quality of the badger fibers. The good news is that the caliber is generally very high. I'd say that all of the badger in most good-quality brushes is in the upper "best" region. I have this Edwin Jagger best badger brush and to my untrained senses the badger quality is nearly identical: http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Edwin-Jagger-Best-Badger-Shaving-Brush-Medium-Black_p_1572.html
Its the 70% water badger that you feel, though, and the badger just gives the brush more backbone. Water badger has an interesting feel because the top of the shaft is quite thick, while the end tapers to a fine point. Ive had it described to me (in Japanese) as wedge-shaped. The points are noticeable, though the overall feeling is soft as a cloud. I would say that the brush has a stimulating rather than scratchy feel. You sense the pointed shafts of water badger fur, but they are strangely pleasant.
Size and shape: Theres a Japanese site that gives quite a good picture of the overall size http://chikuhodo.com/product/sh_02.html
[Heres the site of a U.S. agent that sells the brush, although the description is minimal: http://www.visageusa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14&products_id=18 ]
Another unusual thing about the Japanese brush market is that manufacturers dont give knot sizes(!) Gauging the brush by eye Id say its a thick 21~22 mm knot, and as you can see, the loft is 60 mm. That alone will give a clear picture to many here of the performance profile.
If youre interested in obtaining a stand for it (recommended) the company was kind enough to share one of their own in-house tech charts with me, which Ive posted here:
Use description: This is a tough one. Im a face-latherer, and have never used this brush with a bowl, where I suspect it would shine. It is _incredibly_ easy to whip up a lather with this brush on the face, however. Because of the loft of the fibers, the lather sits in the tips and it almost feels like youre spooning it onto your face. The fibers splay out very generously, and theres a feeling that the brush is much fatter (has a much larger diameter knot) than it is. As is often advised with a high-lofted horsehair brush, youre lathering with the tips here, not applying any appreciable pressure. The tips feel extremely soft.
If I have to give a character to this brush, it may sound odd, but this is my fun brush. Its simply fun to use. If my best and biggest silver tip makes me feel like Im on a shaving mission, this feels more like Im out for a good time and to see what happens. Im not sure that makes sense, but this is a most enjoyable brush, fun to use, an amazing latherer, and guaranteed not to be quite like others in your collection.
If I havent answered your questions about it please let me know. You cant buy this brush directly from Japan, but if you could it would be a bit under $110 USD plus shipping. The U.S. agent for the company (a guy in southern CA) charges $125, including shipping. What Ill ask is $105 including standard USPS shipping.
Thanks! David G. Imber
My wife was there a short while ago and, knowing my interest, picked me up a great brush as a gift.
The problem's that I already had it. I'd purchased one on my own about 9 months ago. (There's both good and bad to sharing your interest with your mate, but sparing them all the geeky details.) I was going to keep the brush for the future, but I've got eight brushes now, and to date, only one face. You know the story. Nevertheless, if I sell this one there's a good chance I'll immediately buy another brush with the money when I'm in Japan this fall...
Anyway, the brush is unusual. I don't think there are many quite like it in the western shaving brush world. It may be comparable to a mostly mane horsehair brush in its configuration and the fact that it holds water beautifully, though I lack sufficient experience with those to comment. It is indeed floppy by any measure, but the composition is unique, and I'd venture to suggest that it uses its floppiness to best advantage (thus, the sobriquet "King Floppy").
I'll do my best to describe it, but please write with any questions that occur to you.
Composition (What's "water badger"?): One finds uniquely in the Japanese market that the most commonly advertised high-end fiber is "water badger" [[FONT=&]ウォーターバジャー[/FONT]]. It's a favorite in brushes of all sorts there, but if you ask the manufacturers about it (in Japanese) they really have no clue what it is. It's just sort of accepted as "gospel" that "water badger" is the thing to have. You can find a few sort of piecemeal descriptions, but they are mostly nonsense, passed along by marketing people who don't know what they're talking about. It took nearly a year of research to finally get to the bottom of this mystery.
In short, "water badger" isn't badger at all. It's mongoose, specifically a variety known as "kanikui" or crab-eating mongoose [[FONT=&]カニクイマングース[/FONT] / Herpestes urva] It's a species that lives on land but spends a lot of time in water, and its fur has adapted by being more resilient, yet soft and aerated, despite constant wet/dry cycles. (I've learned that this is why mongoose brushes are popular with watercolorists and calligraphers.)
I've yet to try a 100% WB brush, but the conventional wisdom is that mixing the fibers with other synthetic and natural fibers makes for better backbone and more controlled flow-through. I have a few mixed water badger brushes, both synthetic and natural combinations. This brush is 70% water badger, 30% "badger" - and here's the second naming issue. Japanese manufacturers don't use the pure-better-super designations for badger. They're pretty much all "anonymous" mixes, and you have to know the manufacturer to know the relative quality of the badger fibers. The good news is that the caliber is generally very high. I'd say that all of the badger in most good-quality brushes is in the upper "best" region. I have this Edwin Jagger best badger brush and to my untrained senses the badger quality is nearly identical: http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Edwin-Jagger-Best-Badger-Shaving-Brush-Medium-Black_p_1572.html
Its the 70% water badger that you feel, though, and the badger just gives the brush more backbone. Water badger has an interesting feel because the top of the shaft is quite thick, while the end tapers to a fine point. Ive had it described to me (in Japanese) as wedge-shaped. The points are noticeable, though the overall feeling is soft as a cloud. I would say that the brush has a stimulating rather than scratchy feel. You sense the pointed shafts of water badger fur, but they are strangely pleasant.
Size and shape: Theres a Japanese site that gives quite a good picture of the overall size http://chikuhodo.com/product/sh_02.html
[Heres the site of a U.S. agent that sells the brush, although the description is minimal: http://www.visageusa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14&products_id=18 ]
Another unusual thing about the Japanese brush market is that manufacturers dont give knot sizes(!) Gauging the brush by eye Id say its a thick 21~22 mm knot, and as you can see, the loft is 60 mm. That alone will give a clear picture to many here of the performance profile.
If youre interested in obtaining a stand for it (recommended) the company was kind enough to share one of their own in-house tech charts with me, which Ive posted here:
Use description: This is a tough one. Im a face-latherer, and have never used this brush with a bowl, where I suspect it would shine. It is _incredibly_ easy to whip up a lather with this brush on the face, however. Because of the loft of the fibers, the lather sits in the tips and it almost feels like youre spooning it onto your face. The fibers splay out very generously, and theres a feeling that the brush is much fatter (has a much larger diameter knot) than it is. As is often advised with a high-lofted horsehair brush, youre lathering with the tips here, not applying any appreciable pressure. The tips feel extremely soft.
If I have to give a character to this brush, it may sound odd, but this is my fun brush. Its simply fun to use. If my best and biggest silver tip makes me feel like Im on a shaving mission, this feels more like Im out for a good time and to see what happens. Im not sure that makes sense, but this is a most enjoyable brush, fun to use, an amazing latherer, and guaranteed not to be quite like others in your collection.
If I havent answered your questions about it please let me know. You cant buy this brush directly from Japan, but if you could it would be a bit under $110 USD plus shipping. The U.S. agent for the company (a guy in southern CA) charges $125, including shipping. What Ill ask is $105 including standard USPS shipping.
Thanks! David G. Imber
