Brush sizes

How can you determine how big or small a brush is when ordering from the internet? I'd like a medium-large brush, but have no idea how to determine the size.

I don't want to order a brush and have some tiny or extra large thing show up on my porch. LOL

If there is a FAQ for this please post a link or if you know, tell me... Thanks

Most vendors will publish the size of brushes-handle height, loft, knot diameter, as well as grade of hair.

Do you go by loft size?

knot diameter and loft size are what you want to look for. medium for me would be probably 22 mm but I like small brushes, loft size is more dependent of hair grade and density as far as performance is concerned. stiffer hair tolerates longer lofts imo, but this is all very subjective. sorry to say, but you are likely going to have to drop some cash to find what you like, or you may get lucky off the bat. good luck

As I face lather exclusively, I prefer knot sizes of between 22 to 24 generally. Also, as a soap user, I want a brush with some backbone, so the shorter lofts are better. Look in this section just above your thread, under The All Important List of Shaving Brushes "Stickies". There is a wealth of info there.

tvldatsi said:

knot diameter and loft size are what you want to look for. medium for me would be probably 22 mm but I like small brushes, loft size is more dependent of hair grade and density as far as performance is concerned. stiffer hair tolerates longer lofts imo, but this is all very subjective. sorry to say, but you are likely going to have to drop some cash to find what you like, or you may get lucky off the bat. good luck

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Agreed!! Learning our likes is why we get "hooked" on trying new brushes. I, too, like smaller to medium brushes with 21 to 22mm knot and 46 to 50mm loft to give more spine to for more all around choices on creams, soap, face, bowel, etc. But, you can't go wrong--you can only begin your collection.

Generally speaking a small/medium brush will have a loft between 45-55mm with a knot of 22-26mm. Bigger ones have a loft of 55-65 with knots from 26-30mm. Mine are all extra small with the largest at 21mm with a loft of 45mm and the smallest at 14mm with a loft of 38mm. Although it's only a few mm here and there, the difference in the volume of hair and size of the bristle and by extension the handle is quite pronounced (do the math!). I know it's confusing particularly when manufacturers don't list the sizes.

All spot on but the ymmv comments are important. For me, a 26mm is a medium, medium small brush but many would consider it quite large. OTOH I only have a couple (30mm+) brushes I consider to be "large".

And with variations of hair and the "handmade" aspect, each individual brush is indeed unique. Some are more consistent than others but it is very common to like one model and dislike (or like less) a technically duplicate model.

In these days on mass automation, the unique nature of brushes is something we are not used to dealing with. Only compounded by the fact that most of us have to find these online.

Ken

JohnnyDemonic said:

How can you determine how big or small a brush is when ordering from the internet? I'd like a medium-large brush, but have no idea how to determine the size.

I don't want to order a brush and have some tiny or extra large thing show up on my porch. LOL

If there is a FAQ for this please post a link or if you know, tell me... Thanks

Click to expand...

A suggestion would be to consider the type of lathering that you like the best. e.g. Face lathering seems to attract a smaller, short loft, two band or best badger brush acquisitions. Bowl lather would be more of a larger knot and a silvertip especialy for the creams. And, soaps would need a brush with more backbone, shorter loft, and maybe anything from Best to two band badger or maybe boar. At any rate, you may want to try several on the b/s/t while making up your own mind. If kept in good condition, you can sell it when you find a favorite or two and not loose as much money. Doug

Take a look at this thread, which gives you a nutshell view of brush size.

Or you can take a look at the Vendor's Websites:

Vintage Blades, The Superior Shave, etc. have really nice photos (VB has group shots) where you can see the relative sizes for the brushes they carry. Also, Shaving101.com has comparative photos for a lot of the Simpsons lines.

From VB:


From The Superior Shave:
http://thesuperiorshave.com/Brushes.html

Galleries...
http://www.shaving101.com/index.php/galleries.html

Or you can check out the brush forum for group shots or searching for the model you are thinking of buying to see what photos pop up.

JohnnyDemonic said:

How can you determine how big or small a brush is when ordering from the internet? I'd like a medium-large brush, but have no idea how to determine the size.

I don't want to order a brush and have some tiny or extra large thing show up on my porch. LOL

If there is a FAQ for this please post a link or if you know, tell me... Thanks

Click to expand...

Before ordering from internet, you can search same brush to a traditional shop and then buy it on online-shop.

JohnnyDemonic said:

How can you determine how big or small a brush is when ordering from the internet? I'd like a medium-large brush, but have no idea how to determine the size.

I don't want to order a brush and have some tiny or extra large thing show up on my porch. LOL

If there is a FAQ for this please post a link or if you know, tell me... Thanks

Click to expand...

If you let us know which brush you are considering, the odds are pretty good that someone here will be able to post a photo of the brush with another item to give you an idea of the size.

Its been said before, but I just wanted to stress how much of an effect loft has on the size of a brushes face feel. The preceded size on your face of a very tall lofted 21mm brush will feel very similar to a medium loft 24mm, or a very short loft 28mm. Of coarse the other characteristics of brushes with such varying lofts will be very different, but if your going for size alone its still an important thing to consider.

As you have already probably noticed all the sizes have been given in mm (millimeters) if you take the overall mm size and divide that by 10 and then divide that number by 2.54 you will then have the overall size in inches. for example:

110mm / 10 / 2.54 = 4.33 inches

you can use this same process to figure out the other measurements as well.

JohnnyDemonic said:

How can you determine how big or small a brush is when ordering from the internet? I'd like a medium-large brush, but have no idea how to determine the size.

I don't want to order a brush and have some tiny or extra large thing show up on my porch. LOL

If there is a FAQ for this please post a link or if you know, tell me... Thanks

Click to expand...

You'll have to determine what's right for you , will you bowl or face lather, soap and/ or cream, Boar/ Badger and the Red headed stepchild HORSE;

Here's a good Guide for you; http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=46429

http://shoeboxshaveshop.com/
has measurements of a whole bunch of brushes. Their prices are pretty good too.

I have 2 omega brushes. The 10098 and 50068. They are about as opposite size wise as it gets. The larger brush has a softer feel and less backbone. It bowl lathers excellent. The smaller brush has more backbone and is very difficult to bowl lather, but very easy to face lather.

Phil

I had to read over these a couple of times to understand how it works. I have very dense and coarse facial hair with slighty sensitive skin.

I'll just jump in and try it out. Maybe I'll get an Omega boars hair and a Vulfix badger hair of different sizes. I really wish there were shave shops... Women have millions of options, men have nothing.

Thanks again for all the info. You guys are great.

Remember that boar has a real break-in period of about 30 lathers or so. There is a definate improvement over this time.

Phil

JohnnyDemonic said:

I had to read over these a couple of times to understand how it works. I have very dense and coarse facial hair with slighty sensitive skin.

I'll just jump in and try it out. Maybe I'll get an Omega boars hair and a Vulfix badger hair of different sizes. I really wish there were shave shops... Women have millions of options, men have nothing.

Thanks again for all the info. You guys are great.

Click to expand...

The difficulty is, as you've read, peoples idea of large and small varies a lot. And those opinions are based on preference. I have a dense silvertip of 23mm knot and 53mm loft, which I find huge. Others would describe it a medium sized brush.

Your appoach is a good one, but it depends on which vulfix you get - it may not be representative of other badgers of similar spec - many vulfixes are known for floppiness. Density of hair makes a big difference and no manufacturer has listed specs for that.