Knot-Fluff-Beehive-Loft-where is the Brush info for noobs

[AlbertAnthrax]

I dunno if I am missing the boat here.. but I have been frothing up my mug with boar hair then I bought a cheap badger brush... and it is ok, but it sheds like the darn thing needs rogaine..

So I know I will have to break down and buy another brush.. I am well aware o the three grades of hair but what abut all of this other gibberish???

It would be nice to have some graphical info as to what is what and what it does or why it is so.. ex: the knot is this and this size knot means such and such..

Wait, maybe I shouldn't know this info because up until now I have been dead set on spending money on a brush.

[yomuppet]

I dunno if I am missing the boat here.. but I have been frothing up my mug with boar hair then I bought a cheap badger brush... and it is ok, but it sheds like the darn thing needs rogaine..

So I know I will have to break down and buy another brush.. I am well aware o the three grades of hair but what abut all of this other gibberish???

It would be nice to have some graphical info as to what is what and what it does or why it is so.. ex: the knot is this and this size knot means such and such..

Wait, maybe I shouldn't know this info because up until now I have been dead set on spending money on a brush.

There's this article on the wiki about hair grades http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index...sh_Hair_Grades -- but honestly I think your best bet is to spend some time reading threads on the forum, and searching, and posting if you have specific questions. Your current question is very open-ended, and though some nice person may write you a thesis, there is no one right answer. Both knot size and loft length will affect the performance of the brush. There's really very little 'general' truism when it comes to brushes. Best of luck.

J

[AlbertAnthrax]

thanks... I have tried to read into some brush geekology and to be honest I am quite lost... thats why I was hoping for some brush expert to swoop in and fill my empty can with badger info

[yomuppet]

thanks... I have tried to read into some brush geekology and to be honest I am quite lost... thats why I was hoping for some brush expert to swoop in and fill my empty can with badger info

The "reviews" section is also a great place to read about brushes, and get a sense for what's out there.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=38

J

[Jim]

Paul

There is no right answer for you my friend, You could buy 10 brushes and still not be happy or get 1 and live happily ever after.

Unfortunately its not science more of an art thing.

Broad strokes, a Shavemac 177 is almost always well received, a Simpson Duke,Seville Row from QED or small EJ/Crabtree and Evelyn are some places to start.

Have you looked through the review section?

I would caution against going to big, a 21-22-23mm brush is a good size for a primary brush.

Happy hunting-

[Antique Hoosier]

You could buy 10 brushes and still not be happy or get 1 and live happily ever after.

-

How true.....

[Bruce]

Anthrax,

What Hoosier said (or was it Gooseme?). That being said, I have several brushes and started with the floppy style - to not my greatest satisfaction as it seems that I prefer a brush with more body and less limp. Up jumped Shavemac. I looked at the 3 grades on the Vintage Blades online store and started at the bottom with the 23mm knot 944 and for good measure also ordered the 429. The 429 hasn't seen water yet, I'm that pleased with the 944. I don't believe it has shed hair one while it has made and applied grand lather.

Being one who is afflicted with various of the AD's, I doubt I stop with the Shavemac 944. Then again, maybe I will. Experience with one sample doesn't make for a valid test for a statistician, but for me, I conclude that Herr Bernd Blos of Shavemac makes some dandy brushes with which I don't think one can go wrong.

good luck, Bruce

[rusirius]

As pointed out, there's just not really a "right" answer... But here's a few...

Loft: The loft of the brush is how long the hair sticks up ABOVE the rim of the handle. In other words, how much hair is actually exposed. In general the longer the hair (i.e. more loft), the more "floppy" the brush will be... Of course lots of other factors go into that as well, the hair type, etc...

Knot Size: Inside the handle of the brush is the "knot".. Named so because on hand made brushes it really is just that, a knot where the hair is tied together. The size of the knot is just that, what the diameter of the knot measures. As you can imagine, to get a larger knot, requires more hair... So typically larger knot sizes mean a bigger brush... Of course just like loft, there's lots of other factors like how dense it is, etc...

As a GENERAL rule of thumb, a stiffer brush is going to perform good with soaps... They usually require a little more scrubiness to be able to lather up well. On the other hand, more floppy brushes tend to perform well with creams...

Again, that's just general, I have known MANY very floppy brushes to perform well with soaps, and vice versa... For that matter, I've also seen plenty that work equally as well for both. Again, that's why it's so hard to answer your question...

There is however a bright side to all this...

In GENERAL (again I know!) most of the brushes from the same manufacturer exhibt the same characteristics... So for example, Shavemac's tend to be fairly soft, but extremely dense... If you order a Shavemac, those are two things you can pretty much count on no matter which brush you order. The good part of this is, there's only so many brush manufacturers out there, so it won't take you too long to try them all...

Last but not least, you said you understand the differences between the different hair types? You'd be one of the first then... LOL... The fact is, terms like Best, Pure, Silvertip, Finest, etc... have all sorta became useless... Many manufacturers use these terms to THEIR specifications, not everyone elses... Not to mention the plethora of OTHER terms they've introduced... What that means is, just because you buy a "Silvertip" brush from one manufacturer doesn't really mean it'll be the same type of hair as Silvertip from another...

[Bruce]

I just love it when everybody agrees with me

Bruce

[AlbertAnthrax]

As pointed out, there's just not really a "right" answer... But here's a few...

Loft: The loft of the brush is how long the hair sticks up ABOVE the rim of the handle. In other words, how much hair is actually exposed. In general the longer the hair (i.e. more loft), the more "floppy" the brush will be... Of course lots of other factors go into that as well, the hair type, etc...

Knot Size: Inside the handle of the brush is the "knot".. Named so because on hand made brushes it really is just that, a knot where the hair is tied together. The size of the knot is just that, what the diameter of the knot measures. As you can imagine, to get a larger knot, requires more hair... So typically larger knot sizes mean a bigger brush... Of course just like loft, there's lots of other factors like how dense it is, etc...

As a GENERAL rule of thumb, a stiffer brush is going to perform good with soaps... They usually require a little more scrubiness to be able to lather up well. On the other hand, more floppy brushes tend to perform well with creams...

Last but not least, you said you understand the differences between the different hair types? You'd be one of the first then... LOL... The fact is, terms like Best, Pure, Silvertip, Finest, etc... have all sorta became useless...

Thanks, this is what I was looking for.. as far as "understanding the grades of hair" I guess I mean I understand that there are "supposedly" different grades based on where the hair is taken etc etc etc..