Pleasantly surprised by Parker’s "Black Badger" brush

Hi folks,

I have only recently begun to get into DE shaving again and in the course of doing so I have bought a number of things that I can look back on now as being more or less worth my time and money. Two of the best inexpensive items I have purchased so far have been THIS STAND and this Parker brush. The pictures you see below were taken after both bruses had been in used for about 1 week.

Now, do I prefer the Simpson Commodore X2 (my only other brush)? In a word – Yes. However, I think the value one gets from this brush (~ $25 shipped from Amazon) is pretty incredible.

No, it is not as soft as my Commodore, but as you can see this Parker has very good volume and density. I have found it to be a great soap and face-leathering brush. Also, the handle is comfortable and made from a nice “faux ivory” colored plastic – no need to worry about it swelling of cracking due to moisture. Sure the label is about to come off (it started to the first day), but this is of no concern to me.

I use creams and soaps about equally often and I have been rotating these brushes every day (this allows each one time to fully dry). Again, I rate the Simpson higher and I am fully believed it too is well worth $50-60. Yet, I also wanted to let my fellows who are new to the world of bush lathering that one can find a very good brush for $25.

Black badger makes for a nice brush. I have not tried the Paker but my TGN is a really nice brush (if a little to skritchy) for the money.

I had two Pakers (Pure and Silvertip) and both labels washed off in the first lather or two. I just assumed they were intended to wash off.

My wonderful wife just gifted me one of these, but mine has a wooden handle painted a pretty shade of blue - really a very nice looking brush. I look forward to trying it out tomorrow.

I bought a black badger knot from TGN for a laugh. I'm looking for just the right handle for it. I'd like to have a skritchy brush for a change of pace from all the silvertips and supers.

warriorsociologist said:

Hi folks,

I have only recently begun to get into DE shaving again and in the course of doing so I have bought a number of things that I can look back on now as being more or less worth my time and money. Two of the best inexpensive items I have purchased so far have been THIS STAND and this Parker brush. The pictures you see below were taken after both bruses had been in used for about 1 week.

Now, do I prefer the Simpson Commodore X2 (my only other brush)? In a word – Yes. However, I think the value one gets from this brush (~ $25 shipped from Amazon) is pretty incredible.

No, it is not as soft as my Commodore, but as you can see this Parker has very good volume and density. I have found it to be a great soap and face-leathering brush. Also, the handle is comfortable and made from a nice “faux ivory” colored plastic – no need to worry about it swelling of cracking due to moisture. Sure the label is about to come off (it started to the first day), but this is of no concern to me.

I use creams and soaps about equally often and I have been rotating these brushes every day (this allows each one time to fully dry). Again, I rate the Simpson higher and I am fully believed it too is well worth $50-60. Yet, I also wanted to let my fellows who are new to the world of bush lathering that one can find a very good brush for $25.

Click to expand...

Chris:
I 2nd your opinion of this Brush

I found that this Brush:

Price: Rating 6
Moderate price for $25.88 for the Brush w/ free shipping and ‘stand’ from their Website (http://www.amazon.com/Parker-Safety-.../dp/B002ET10S6)

Quality: Rating 8
Keeping in mind it's a Pure Black Badger Hair Brush…it is altogether a very well made brush. The dark ‘tan’ / black knot is tight, dense with ‘coarse’ moderately fine hairs. The Mock Ivory handle is also well made, but, the cheaply applied ‘Parker’ stamp that has already worn-off (just use alcohol…once…trust me). But hey…it does not in any way detract away from effectiveness.

Density: Rating 8
Again, the dark ‘tan’ / black knot is (in my opinion), tight, ‘coarse’ with moderately fine and dense hair and it hasn't shed many hairs in many months of use thus far.

Stiffness of Tips: Rating 7
These tips are ‘supple’ to the touch and the large, developed ’bloom’ neatly resembles a beautiful ‘bulb’ shape which was trimmed by Parker to form the final shape of the brush loft. Compared to my Caswell-Massey (C-M), Pure Badger Brush, which has quite soft tips, the Parker is in a class by itself. ‘Stiff’ might be too strong a word, but I would classify the Parker as ‘firm’ but ‘flexible’…a pure ‘joy’ to run one’s hand through the ‘bloom’. Also, it gives a ‘springier’, ‘scratchier’ and ‘exfoliating’ sensation on my face which I find quite pleasing and look forward to in my brush rotation.

Softness of Tips: Rating 6
The bristles are ‘dark tan / black’, ‘coarse’ with moderately fine and quite bushy hair. The knot is made (in my opinion), to keep this Brush from being ‘soft’. With all things being ‘equal, the Parker is so much ‘firmer’ ‘and ‘springier’ than my C-M Brush.

Ergonomic: Rating 8
This Med Brush has a good sized ‘medium’ loft knot and looks even better ‘in bloom’. The Mock Ivory handle on this Brush is a ‘solid-just-the-right-size’ in view of my carpal tunnel disability in both wrists, I’ve noticed that certain brushes (and razors for that matter), are not very comfortable in my hands, but this brush is a 'dream' to use, the handle is well made and easy to hold, has good heft and I feel very 'pampered' every time I lather-up.

Total length of handle and knot : 4 ¼ in

Latherability: Rating 9
OMG… this Brush really generates a lot of lather. The courser texture of this Brush I find also makes it very useful for lathering shaving soap (I use Chelsea’s [artisan], Unscented Shave Soap), because of its ability to ‘work up’ the surface of the soap very easily. I believe this Brush can be particularly adept at lifting any embedded whiskers that can cause ingrown hairs and razor bumps. Water retention of this Brush ‘is-what-it-is’ for a Black Badger and produced a rich and dense 'stiff peak' lather even though I would categorize this brush as ‘firm’, but, wow, what a feeling on my face .

In closing, I really 'like' my Parker Black Badger and although I have owned this Brush for many months and that even the hair has slightly ‘soften’, however, I believe it may never be as soft on my face as higher grades of badger hair and in my opinion...it is the best Black Badger Brush for your money.

Christopher

I just used mine to lather modern Williams, albeit grated Williams. Lather was decent, not great but good enough to get by. I blame the mediocrity of the lather on me and my soap, not the brush.

Even grated, if this brush out of the box can grind up enough Williams to produce a usable lather, its got something going for it, imo.

My only concern at this point is that I lost about a dozen hairs. But I was working the heck out of the soap, so maybe it is just break-in pains, or a protest to my soap choice.