How do you hold your brush?

[peacefrog]

In one of Mantic's videos he specifically says to hold the brush by its bristles not by the handle. Why? I seem to get better results holding it by the handle.

[Twilliger]

I wondered about that myself. I use a rather large brush and usually I grip it in my fist such that my thumb and index finger are actually around the hairs. this makes the brush more dense and it feels like I am really working the lather into the whiskers. When I am smoothing things out, I hold it by the handle and paint and twist a bit.

perhaps mantic will chime in on this for us.

[rtaylor61]

Mark suggests holding the brush at the base of the bristles. Doing so automatically provides a very light pressure that pushes the lather up from the middle of the brush. Also, but holding the brush this way, the bristles will not flair out as much, providing more of a scrubbing sensation and possible exfoliation from the brush itself.

Randy

[joel]

Not to create too much contreversy - but there is a lot of things in Marks videos I don't agree with - or feel isn't really "correct." I would look at them as more of a resource/guide to HELP you, not as a step by step instruction of how you should do things.

Great videos that are really helping a lot of fellas..... but I wouldn't say I would recommend them as a step by step.

[JoeKidd]

I saw the video and wondered about that also. I tried it and didn't like it....I want the lather on my face, not my hand. My grip is with fingertips on the handle and varies according to which brush I'm using.

[scagooch]

I also wonder about the brush recommendation. It feels more natural to me to hold it at the bottom. Considering how my brushes have bloomed badly a little more brush training would have been needed. I hope I don't destroy the B&B brush when it becomes available.

[acoldspoon]

I grip the brush by the.....well... well, by the grip. I find holding a brush by the handle to be comfortable and intuitive. Gripping by the hair is just plain awkward for me. The fact that I have small hands doesn't help.

[mpisarcik]

I like the handle for the creation of lather in the bowl- but love holding the bristles when spreading/scrubbing/working the lather into my beard. My fingers hurt after too much of holding that small handle on the C&E Best Badger Brush. :smile:

[mantic]

In one of Mantic's videos he specifically says to hold the brush by its bristles not by the handle. Why? I seem to get better results holding it by the handle.

Mark suggests holding the brush at the base of the bristles. Doing so automatically provides a very light pressure that pushes the lather up from the middle of the brush. Also, but holding the brush this way, the bristles will not flair out as much, providing more of a scrubbing sensation and possible exfoliation from the brush itself.
This is precisely my reasoning. :thumbup1: It also has the benefit of holding the inside of the brush closed, so it doesn't start drying up so fast.

I would look at them as more of a resource/guide to HELP you, not as a step by step instruction of how you should do things.
Also precisely correct. :thumbup:

--Mark

[kuzmo]

IMHO this is the same like asking which is better: rotating clockwise or anti-clockwise when lathering in a bowl. Do it in the way which suits you most...

[tim8557]

I'm a handle gripper, though I have tried it Mantic's way.....I just find myself automatically going to the handle again.

[TraderJoe]

I hold my brushes by the hanlde, works well.

The handle is just that...a "handle".

Otherwise, why not just use a badger blank? Probably cheaper.

[_JP_]

IMHO this is the same like asking which is better: rotating clockwise or anti-clockwise when lathering in a bowl. Do it in the way which suits you most...

Or which way to hang the toilet paper.

Me, I grab the brush with a death defying grip and then... actually, I never gave it any thought. I just pick it up.

[Kyle]

I leave the brush on the counter top and just mash my face into it.:w00t:

[TraderJoe]

I leave the brush on the counter top and just mash my face into it.:w00t:

http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/confused013.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

why didn't i think of that?:laugh:

[Scotto]

The handle works just fine for me. That is what it is there for, after all.

[ouch]

I whittled down the handle of my C&E best to fit into my cordless Milwaukee 1/2" drill. The keyless chuck makes it a snap.:thumbup1:

Whips up enormous mounds of lather right on the old mug, and no problems so far, except when I accidentally set it to "hammer" mode.:tongue_sm

[catatonic]

I hold it by the handle.

Imagine I am resting a brush upright in my palm, then I close my hand just enough that when I turn my hand, the brush does not fall out, but instead loosely falls so that the flare of the handle's end rests in my hand.

That's the grip i use, and use a pretty aggressive lathering motion...this allows me the fastest brush movement, plus an easy way to shift my grip when it comes time to apply the lather.

If I want a scrubbier feel lathering, I buy a brush that offers this. Just my opinion, but I prefer long bristle brushes for the way they just effortlessly apply lather....I really don't want to affect that in any way.

[slcsteve]

I work the lather up while holding the handle, of course. Here's where I change my method of applying lather to my face: I tightly squeeze the hair, ejecting all the lather. I then gather the lather in my opposite hand and apply it to my face with the hand holding the lather. Unorthodox I know, but it really doesn't work. Next comes the shaving itself, using visegrips and razor....but more on that later.

[fuerein]

I whittled down the handle of my C&E best to fit into my cordless Milwaukee 1/2" drill. The keyless chuck makes it a snap.:thumbup1:

Whips up enormous mounds of lather right on the old mug, and no problems so far, except when I accidentally set it to "hammer" mode.:tongue_sm

Um, do you use that to help "apply in a circular motion" as well?

[zachster]

I tried Mantic's method, and it works nicely for my big floppy brush, in that it gives me more control. For the smaller brushes, I still use the handle.

[MJB]

I use the handle and brush it pretty aggressively against my face with fairly rapid motion. I don't completely mass it but it's not a dauber in my case. To me the face massage with the frangrance is of the the greatest pleasures of a good wet shave. No way I could do the same with holding the bristles.

[Limey]

I work up the lather holding the grip but then follow the Mantic method of bristle holding. For me this works well as my brush is kind of floppy.

[Nick75]

I hold it by the base of the bristles, as advised by Mantic in his video. And I find this makes perfect sense, as it helps to give more of a 'scrubbing' sensation, with the bristles being kept from splaying out too much as the lather is being applied to the face. I find that, with the super grade badger brush I use, I can hardly feel anything when I apply the lather to my face by simply holding the brush by it's handle. Personally I don't like that, and I find Mantic's advice helps a lot in this regard. In saying this, maybe I would be more suited to a 'best' or even a 'pure' badger hair brush, who knows (?), but I find that I need to at least feel some kind of a scrubbing sensation on my face when applying the lather. Otherwise it simply wouldn't be as much fun :biggrin:

And that's why I think the silvertips would be a waste of money. The mid range & possibly even the cheaper brushes would do the job better in my opinion, and also, (at least in theory) they would provide a thicker & less watery (as in 'too watery' maybe??..;-)) lather than that of the ridiculously expensive silvertips. In the case of a 'pure' grade brush, maybe there would be drawbacks, in the sense that they may not be able to hold enough water, and so on..

At the moment though I'm actually looking to purchase a 'best' grade brush as I think that would *possibly* offer me the optimal shaving experience that I'm looking for in relation to what I've said above..

that's my 2 cents anyhow.

[TraderJoe]

And that's why I think the silvertips would be a waste of money. The mid range & possibly even the cheaper brushes would do the job better in my opinion, and also, (at least in theory) they would provide a thicker & less watery (as in 'too watery' maybe??..;-)) lather than that of the ridiculously expensive silvertips. In the case of a 'pure' grade brush, maybe there would be drawbacks, in the sense that they may not be able to hold enough water, and so on..

At the moment though I'm actually looking to purchase a 'best' grade brush as I think that would *possibly* offer me the optimal shaving experience that I'm looking for in relation to what I've said above..

that's my 2 cents anyhow.

Silvertip brushes, the good ones at least, have soft tips but stiff bristle-shafts. Giving you a more luxurious srubbing action.

That said, best & pure badger brushes are also superb scrubbers. They work well when using shave sticks, or when applylying lather directly to face.

[bordeaaj]

Maybe the following excerpt summarized from an old barbering manual from Kyles post on "How-to: Pre-Shave Prep" illustrates where that technique became the standard.

The STANDARDIZED TEXTBOOK OF BARBERING states:
* Apply the lather to the face with a rotary movement of the brush with the first two fingers of the hand dipped into the bristles. The purpose of this is to control the bristles, thus avoiding getting soap in the patron’s nostrils, ears, and mouth.

[TimmyBoston]

I hold all of my brushes by the handle. It works great for me.

[vespergo]

handle, though if i need extra lather then i do use mantic's tip on squeezing the lather from the base upwards, works great.

[_JP_]

I whittled down the handle of my C&E best to fit into my cordless Milwaukee 1/2" drill. The keyless chuck makes it a snap.:thumbup1:

Whips up enormous mounds of lather right on the old mug, and no problems so far, except when I accidentally set it to "hammer" mode.:tongue_sm

Try a cordless Dremel, it's far lighter and easier to handle. :biggrin: