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Received another custom. (Rodney Neep)

It's happened again! Another nice custom brush has arrived with a beautiful handle not frequently seen. This time around from an artist who doesn't see as much talk as he should, Rodney Neep.

What I've got for you all today is a custom shaped Extra Silver Tip badger brush with a Kingfisher Burl handle. What that means is the handle is a burl wood which has been bonded to an iridescent resin. Many know I have a weakness for blue brushes, so despite having a few choices, I went with the Kingfisher which is a beautiful combination of blues and purples.

Now, I actually ordered a 26mm, and wanted a loft that could be both face and bowl lathered, but I also gave Rod creative license, and it seems he went a bit bigger. The invoice is listed as 28mm, but I'm measuring 29.25mm at the top of the handle by about 54mm in loft. This brush came out extremely soft, but the surprising part is, it's not too floppy. It's got some good backbone, probably due to the large sized knot. It's a big brush, my biggest knot I've ever had. (Though I do have a 28mm M&F custom on it's way.)

The handle measures in at approximately 60mm tall and 36mm wide. We were trying something new with the shape, almost like a vase, but I wanted it a little different, so we put in a thicker base. It's obviously a ymmv on the looks, but I'm happy with how it turned out. It's EXTREMELY comfortable to hold in different types of grips and is not too big or small. It should fit anybodies hand.

It took about 5-6 weeks from an idea to me receiving the brush, and although the wait really built up the excitement, I still was surprised at what I received. If you haven't checked out Rod's work, do it! He makes some fabulous custom pieces and goes out of his way to make sure his customers are happy!

Here's a sneak peak at the brush, pre use obviously. (Large pics for detail)

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Great handle! I have a resin ivory from him - beautiful! However, the "extra silvertip" is no match to Rooney, Thäter, shavemac silvertip.
 
German, I'm going to be test lathering this tonight. What soaps have you used with your neep? I want to try something tricky with it and see if it can hang with the big boys. It's definitely a soft knot, but yes a slightly different animal than the major brush makers.
 
Thank you, Gene!



For everyone else, I went ahead and test lathered it. Here's a quick copy/paste from my post on that other board so I don't have to retype the entire thing.

First test lather was face lathering with some MWF. MWF is a rather hard soap, so I figured it would be a total pain in the butt to load the brush. I loaded for approximately 30 seconds. I wanted to load it short because I know bigger brushes require more product. After those 30 seconds, I looked at the brush and it seemed like there was a good amount loaded in the center of the brush, and a small amount around the outside. Alright whatever, I wasn't shaving, just applying, so lets see what happens.

The first thing I noticed was how much water this brush holds. I soaked it for 2 minutes in a mug and I swear, a good half the amount I filled was gone, the brush drank it up. Had to give it around 3-4 good shakes to be able to get to work. So then we went on to loading as I explained above, and then bam, straight to the barely wet face.

Second thing I noticed? The brush is HUGE. I mean, it's bigger than anything I've used before. I've got a relatively small face, I'm not a huge guy, but it basically applied lather in 4 sections and I was done. Left cheek, Right cheek, neck, and mouth/chin. It's that big, and this lather was some GOOD stuff! Didn't have to add any water.

Washed the soap off and went for another 2 passes. After 3 I was satisfied. This thing was soft but made some CRAZY lather. It's not going to win any exfoliation awards, but that's to be expected with a soft brush this big. It just gets right to the point and gets the job done. And to be honest, it had enough lather still in the brush for another 2 passes or so. VERY surprised. The flow through was excellent, probably because of the softness. I was a little shocked that such little load time on such a hard soap resulted in so much lather.

Test number 2 was one I figured it would be fine with. Arko. Why not, right? So I used the stick on my face, light coat, and went to work. Same results as the MWF. No exfoliation (which is fine, my face is too sensitive for much of that anyways.) and again, 4 sections and I'm good to go.

This time around I added a little water to the base of the brush just to see what would happen. Only positive things but it didn't really need it. There was already so much water that it could use, but my lather was still perfect, slick, and had great cushion.

I'm really happy with the brush so far. I've got way too many new brushes right now, so I'm not really sure how often it'll see use, which kind of sucks. =( But with so many new Simpsons, custom M&F's on their way, Shavemac Horns, etc... It's just one in the list of many that are always going in and out of my den.

So, again, the offer stands. If anyone wants to give this thing a deeper review than I have right now, They are welcome. Just be warned, it's a big soft brush and despite that, still produced an excellent face lather! I'm sure it'll do the same in a bowl, perhaps with a bit more product needed!
 
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I just contacted Rodney Neep and mine is being made at this moment. Incredible value and quite unique. Thanks for sharing yours!
I know you are really looking forwards to it.... Here is a sneak preview for you :biggrin1:
Your item, posted on 10/08/12 with reference LY181603783GB has been received at our international mail centre and is being made ready for despatch overseas.

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