Morris & Forndran Blonde Badger

I'm stoked I have a 2XL 28/52 Tortoise Fan in Finest (possibly gel tipped Heritage) hopefully arriving from the UK to Brad as I type. I think it's neat that the handle is hand turned by Brad and badger hair hand knotted by Lee. The minutiae regarding the partnering is all white noise to me. From what I see coming out of this partnership looks pretty damn cool.


~Royce

Brad really makes beautiful handles. You'll be very pleased. He has posted up some pictures of his most recent turns for Morris and Forndran and they are stunning.

SCshaver said:

Brad really makes beautiful handles. You'll be very pleased. He has posted up some pictures of his most recent turns for Morris and Forndran and they are stunning.

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He does and so does Lee. I'm looking forward to owning both.


~Royce

SCshaver said:

It is interesting because various "Morris and Forndran" brushes are being produced, without the handle and knot being completed by Lee. I've seen many get custom handles manufactured by various brushmakers, then shipped to Lee for a knot, and he stamps the handles with his Morris and Forndran inscription. I didn't even know this was being done until this year.

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With the exception of Paladin, I'm pretty sure this has always been the case. From what I've heard, Lee does not turn his own handles. Even if they didn't come from a known handle maker, someone else has been making them for him. I pretty much only think of M&F as a knot tier.

paintflinger said:

I pretty much only think of M&F as a knot tier.

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I've never seen proof of that either.

brucered said:

I've never seen proof of that either.

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I'm pretty confidant on that one.

paintflinger said:

I'm pretty confidant on that one.

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Confident and proof are two different things though. I still have my doubts as I have never seen a published photo of him turning a handle or making a knot.

Regardless of who tied my M&F knots and turned my handles, I have always enjoyed the brushes.

paintflinger said:

With the exception of Paladin, I'm pretty sure this has always been the case. From what I've heard, Lee does not turn his own handles. Even if they didn't come from a known handle maker, someone else has been making them for him. I pretty much only think of M&F as a knot tier.

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To the best of my knowledge -- and I'm pretty sure I'd know if it were otherwise -- Lee didn't tie a single one of the knots in any of the M&F Group Buy Chiefs (I believe those knots were sourced from Rooney) or any of the approximately 450 Paladin shaving brushes made with knots supplied by Lee. I don't say this to take anything away from him (and certainly not from those brushes); it just wasn't Lee's role. Turning handles and tying knots isn't Mark Watterson's role either. No one cares about that, nor should they..

According to the understanding Lee gave me, two "girls" (whose names I know but don't think it would be fitting to disclose here) made the knots that were set into our handles. I believe Lee did most, if not all, of the installation. Interestingly (to me), I've observed from dissecting a few brushes that not all of the knots installed in the Group Buy Chiefs and KC - London Paladins were constructed in the same way. What significance that might have, I don't know.

Lee and I had some ups and downs (as any partners will), but I still consider him a friend. I have 1) great admiration for what he has contributed to the shaving brush world, and 2) even greater appreciation for his role in enabling the Paladin Shaving venture.

I talked to Lee on the phone for about two hours a couple days ago. It was nice to catch up. He indicated that he is, in fact, presently tying knots for Brad's brushes himself. But that shouldn't be taken to imply previous M&Fs (or Rooneys or Paladins) had knots tied by Lee, or that all future M&F-labeled brushes will have knots tied by Lee.

IMO, it's the knot itself (and how it's set) that matters. Who tied a knot won't make a bad one good or a good one bad. What matters most (to me) is who bears responsibility for assuring quality. If it's Lee, then that appropriately carries a lot of weight.

Makes sense.

I don't understand all the shipping.

Why do the handles cross the pond twice if the knots can cross once?

bakerbarber said:

Makes sense.

I don't understand all the shipping.

Why do the handles cross the pond twice if the knots can cross once?

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To set the knots optimally I'mbased on perceived experience, I'm assuming.

I'm just joking around.

What of the current batch is most like the Blonde Badger of 2011?

mhdena said:

There wasn't an attachment before.

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Especially like to hear from anyone who got some directly from Lee in 2010-2012.

Damn it. Another wet shaving item that I don't need to be wasting money on, but I've just got to have one of these blonde badgers!

Look for an older one on BST , not sure anything offered right now is quite the same but that’s just my opinion.

trueblu8 said:

Damn it. Another wet shaving item that I don't need to be wasting money on, but I've just got to have one of these blonde badgers!

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I had to have one too. They are nice a soft. However, I miss some of the backbone from the Finest and find that I am preferring the Finest knot over the Blonde Badger. I actually shaved with the Blonde Badger this morning.

trueblu8 said:

Damn it. Another wet shaving item that I don't need to be wasting money on, but I've just got to have one of these blonde badgers!

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Go to the Brad Sears site and contact them through the Contact Form onsite and find out if Lee has any Blonde badger hair left. I just purchased 2 new M&F Blonde Badger brushes myself. You also can't go wrong with the Finest if Blonde is not available. My M&F Finest is my favorite brush. I just ordered a second.

koolkankat said:

Go to the Brad Sears site and contact them through the Contact Form onsite and find out if Lee has any Blonde badger hair left. I just purchased 2 new M&F Blonde Badger brushes myself. You also can't go wrong with the Finest if Blonde is not available. My M&F Finest is my favorite brush. I just ordered a second.

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I will do that. Thanks.

Loric said:

See post #3 As for having an inside angle, it was more like stalking another brush on Ebay and blubbering on like I do about brushes to the seller. I guess I must have sounded like I knew what I was talking about and got offered something a little bit special.

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Loric said:

This seems like the question of the week, its been asked quite a few times. I had purchased a couple brushes from the owner of the company on Ebay, and he offered to sell me this brush in addition to my other purchases. I dont think it is available retail yet
As an update the brush has not shed any more hairs on my subsequent uses. I think all of the loose ones worked their way out with the initial cleaning and lather.

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Hi. I tried writing to the btinternet address but the mail bounced. Please help as I am interested in acquiring the iconic brush

A timely bump. I don't know if Lee is still in the brush business, but I hope he is doing well.

I just used my 2012 purchased directly from Lee Sabini, Butterscotch Lee7 brush last night.

What an awesome brush!