The B&B Guide to Shaving Brushes

[josephfrye]

Excellent Thread for a newbie like myself!! Thank you!

 

[Tkocloser]

Agreed, terrific thread, thanks for the resources!

 

[kbuzbee]

A good place to add a link to a recent discussion on density:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=200581


Ken

 

[RFT64]

Thanks for this guide. I haven't gone through it all yet, but I already know it will save me a lot of $$$. I am in the process of trying to find a shaving brush I will enjoy using.

Presently, I am using my Dad's old Ever-Ready 100T. It's over 45 years old and since I started using it in the past year (tried out some macca root shave cream from the Body Shop and I find it totally superior to anything I've tried before) the bristles are starting to come out in clumps. It's time to put it back on the shelf.

So far I realize, I don't have to have the brush with the biggest knot and I may not need to have silver tip either... Good news, as I don't want to have to dip into my daughter's college fund to buy a brush... and I'm sure that's just the beginning.

Added a few photos of my sad old brush

 

[beginish]

Welcome to B&B! You can rehab your Dad's brush yourself (check out the restoration sub-forum) or have one of our vendor craftsmen do it for you.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Chris:

with this Thread...can't wait for your other two installments to come out!!!

"Laughter is the [shaving] brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart." Mort Walker

 

[kiwichris]

Great thread Chris, keep up the good work!

 

[sparco]

Great collection of write-ups. Thank you!

 

[rcmii]

One of the most frequently asked questions here at B&B is “What brush should I get?”

This guide, which will be posted in three parts will help you answer this question. The goal of the guide is to explain how the various characteristics of a shaving brush impact its performance/feel so that you can decide what type of brush is best for you.

In short, a brush’s performance is a function of the characteristics of the knot – an understanding of how each characteristic affects performance, combined with the knowledge of you personal preferences will help you pick the brush (or brushes!) that are best for you.

The key characteristics of a knot are:

1) Diameter (generally referred to as the size of the knot);

Discussion: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=585447#post585447

2) Handle size/shape;

Discussion: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=585454#post585454

3) Bristle height (generally referred to as the loft);

Discussion: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=850831#post850831

4) Bristle density (how much hair is packed into the knot);

Discussion to follow.

5) Type of bristle (the specific characteristics of the bristle itself).

See Joel's excellent thread on the subject:http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2355&highlight=difference+grades

Also, see Bjorn's synthetic brush round up.

Please feel free to post comments in the relevant thread(s).

Hope you find this useful.

Either it's my browser or links 1 - 3 are invalid.