The issue of quality control is one that I'm cognizant of in various aspects of my consumer life, but I've noticed it quite clearly with a couple of my shaving brushes.
I've owned 2 Omega 49 brushes, and acquired a 3rd one that I cleaned and broke in before giving it as a gift. All of these were acquired from different sources at different times. Of the three, two seemed to be more-or-less identical. The thickness and stiffness of the bristles were similar. There was a slight variation in the shape of the knot, but both did a fine job once they were broken in.
The third seemed to have finer, thinner bristles, and whipped up lather noticeably better than the other two right out of the box. After break-in it was a real lather monster, performing noticeably better than the other two overall, and a real pleasure to use.
I also noticed this in two other identical model Omega travel boar brushes I own. The both look identical, but one has slightly stiffer, thicker bristles that don't lather up quite as well as the other. This one performs OK, but is not up to the standard of the other, which is a real pleasure to use.
I can only make this observation with my particular Omega brushes, as these are the only ones I've had multiples of. Has anyone noticed these kinds differences in identical model brushes they own? I wonder how prevalent this phenomena is, and if getting a truly great brush is more than a matter of selecting a well regarded model.
We've all experienced variations in knot shape, amounts of badger and boar stench, and shedding in identical model brushes, so I wouldn't be surprised if variations in hair quality, even within their nominal grade, and the resulting performance of "identical" brushes wouldn't also vary by a notable, and even substantial, margin.
What's your experience?
I've owned 2 Omega 49 brushes, and acquired a 3rd one that I cleaned and broke in before giving it as a gift. All of these were acquired from different sources at different times. Of the three, two seemed to be more-or-less identical. The thickness and stiffness of the bristles were similar. There was a slight variation in the shape of the knot, but both did a fine job once they were broken in.
The third seemed to have finer, thinner bristles, and whipped up lather noticeably better than the other two right out of the box. After break-in it was a real lather monster, performing noticeably better than the other two overall, and a real pleasure to use.
I also noticed this in two other identical model Omega travel boar brushes I own. The both look identical, but one has slightly stiffer, thicker bristles that don't lather up quite as well as the other. This one performs OK, but is not up to the standard of the other, which is a real pleasure to use.
I can only make this observation with my particular Omega brushes, as these are the only ones I've had multiples of. Has anyone noticed these kinds differences in identical model brushes they own? I wonder how prevalent this phenomena is, and if getting a truly great brush is more than a matter of selecting a well regarded model.
We've all experienced variations in knot shape, amounts of badger and boar stench, and shedding in identical model brushes, so I wouldn't be surprised if variations in hair quality, even within their nominal grade, and the resulting performance of "identical" brushes wouldn't also vary by a notable, and even substantial, margin.
What's your experience?
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