Stratos seemed to be the better handle for bowl lathering.
No issue at all whipping up a special lather with this knot.
No issue at all whipping up a special lather with this knot.
Wald A1 Synthetic Brush
- Thread starter Mr. Shavington
- Start date
Becoming one of the best brushes in my cabinet!!
Ti Blackbird / Minora / Shave MD / Wald Calyx / Proraso Green
Ti Blackbird / Minora / Shave MD / Wald Calyx / Proraso Green
IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
I’ve been using a Calyx lately and love it. Very nice. Bit floppy, but performs very well.
I was thinking, on mine anyway, there's not enough loft for it to be floppy!! It sure is soft though and I love using it.
Ti Blackbird / Bic CP / Frozen Tundra / Wald Calyx / Proraso Green
IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
It’s kind of a different type of flop on mine, loft looks the same. My A1 holds water really well, and when wet the weight of the water can make it seem “floppish.” Just a bit, not really the usual idea of what floppy is.
- Thread starter
- #886
I think I follow what you mean, and isn’t it this characteristic that makes the Wald splay better than other synthetics? That’s an important advantage of the A1 knot for me and I find when the knot is full of water and lather it splays about as well as a two-band badger. Three-band badgers are still the best for easy splay but I can live with an A1 as easily as I can with any artisan badger brush I have.
Never had this problem as my knot it just about damp only when loading and not much wetter when building the lather. Stirling soap doesn't need much water to lather is what I've found since using it for almost 7yrs now...
IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
Stirling is excellent. I’ve been out for a while and should get more.
When I say floppy/floppish, I don’t mean it critically. I mean it more in comparison to things like Muhle and Simpson’s Platinum, which take more pressure to splay. It’s about describing the characteristics of the brush, not a criticism. I honestly find the A1 to be my favorite performing synthetic to date.
I thought this technique to be unusual when I was learning how to load my Oumo ST1 knot a few months ago.
I believe we're doing the same or similar thing, and if so, I suppose I "completed" my training for my first Wald. If I may (and for clarification), here's what I arrived at with the ST 1 (for face lathering).
- Fill a bowl with about 12mm of water (the depth of the fingernail on my index finger - no ruler is necessary).
- Dip the brush and load for a bit. The soap will appear pretty dry, as if you're not loading much.
- Dip again (but not to the full depth of the water), or drizzle a few drops on the brush and load some more.
- Repeat dip or drizzle and load one more time if necessary.
If I start the above process by first soaking the knot and shaking it out as much as possible, I find water running down my arm, so starting off dry works best for me.
... Thom
I would highly suggest to wring the knot after soaking it, not shaking in out. Shaking never gets enough water out of the brush. That is what has worked best for me but once I start loading I have never had to dip the tips while loading ever, once I get the initial load started on my face and neck I usually dip the tips 1-2 more times to get a very sufficient lather.
A new addition to the brush drawer, and I am so delighted to have it!
This is my second Wald, the first being a Calyx I last fall. I am looking forward to learning how best to load this brush. Today I started damp, and it seemed too dry, so I dipped the tips about 1/4" and that was almost too wet! But I was able to get a great lather built and the smooth softness of this brush is amazing. Many thanks to the member who sold me this one!
This is my second Wald, the first being a Calyx I last fall. I am looking forward to learning how best to load this brush. Today I started damp, and it seemed too dry, so I dipped the tips about 1/4" and that was almost too wet! But I was able to get a great lather built and the smooth softness of this brush is amazing. Many thanks to the member who sold me this one!
I also own the calyx and I consider getting an A1. Really curious of your feedback on how these two brushes compare.
I'd suggest splay the brush in the sink, wring or squeeze the water out of the brush, splay the brush in the tub your getting ready to load from to release whats left in the brush, then start swirling to load...
The Calyx does have an A1 knot but its 27mm. The original A1 is 29mm in the Nimbus and Stratos.
I dispensed with a soak and shake and went to a shallow dip with a dry brush. This has worked fine. Certainly, the "ideal soak" would be better (no secondary dipping required).
Out of curiosity however, I'll geek out and weigh my shaken out brush, followed by, and squeezing it in a towel and weighing again (Yes! an @APBinNCA level of geekery, I realize
).I have trouble expecting more than .5ml difference - this, with the Oumo and my STF. The A1 knot experiment will have to wait (until I cave in and buy one).
Shaking ... it's all in the wrist
Even if I find a large weight difference, "wringing" a knot just seems wrong to me - perhaps as abusive as mashing a knot does. Perhaps you meant to say squeezing/blotting. When I hear "wringing" I think of a twisting motion.
... Thom
Yeah your right, wringing does consist of a twist so I should've said squeeze, but then again with the exception of the Wald I put all my other brushes together and if I was to twist a knot out I know what to do to put it back in the way it was so I'm not really worried...
Yup, I'd "wring" $30 brush, but not a Wald
Speaking of geekery, I'll bet that the moisture window we're discussing is perhaps +/- 1 ml. I'm curious about this and will get a scale out to measure how much more water I can remove by squeezing/blotting after having shaken vigorously.
This won't be with a Wald (I only wish), but it may provide a data point.
Somewhere in this forum @APBinNCA went through one of these measuring exercises. I can't recall which brush and soap he was dialing in.
I'll report back.
... Thom
I don't own a brush that is remotely close to $30 but I have no problem treating them like I own them as the saying goes!! At the end of the day its just a brush!! I have on occasion found myself twisting as I was squeezing when I wasn't paying attention, as I said earlier, what's the worse thing that could happen? The knot comes out, just clean it up and put it back in... The last time I spent under $100 for a brush was about 6yrs ago and those brushes are long gone now!!Yup, I'd "wring" $30 brush, but not a Wald
Ti Blackbird / Minora / Frozen Tundra / Wald Calyx / Proraso Green
- Thread starter
- #900
For me, yes, easily. For you, who knows? I have no problems carrying enough lather in my tiny 13mm Simpsons Wee Scott for a 3-pass shave. It depends on what you do.
