Help Deciding on a Shavemac?

[Fbones24]

2012 is almost here and my New Years Resolution is to minimize and simplify my shave den. I have sold a ton of stuff over the past few months and I have a couple more brushes to let go of before I settle in for a 2012 year of purchasing abstinence.

To go out with a bang and dispose of the funds in my pay pal account, I have decided to splurge on one high end badger brush, since I do not own one currently and have decided to go with the Shavemac D01. I am considering these two styles:

23048: http://www.shavemac.com/products/Sha...ip-Badger.html

167-2B: http://www.shavemac.com/products/Sha...ality-D01.html

I am leaning towards the 23048 as I love the black/white contrast. Either way, I am having a hard time deciding between the 22mm fan shaped knot vs. the 24 mm bulb shape. The only benefit I can see to the 24mm bulb is that the handle will be more hefty...right? I only face lather by the way.

Any thoughts or advice on either of these two brushes would be greatly appreciated including pros and cons on the fan vs. bulb.

[Easttexasman]

Since I purchased my fan shaped Thater I have become a fan of fan shaped brushes.

[djh]

I love the D01 2-Band hair and bought this brush a while back:

It is very scrubby and does a great job as a face-lathering brush. Mine is a fan-shaped 22/44 knot and it is one of my favourite brushes. This hair has serious amounts of backbone and I would certainly recommend buying a fan-shaped rather than a bulb-shaped knot. Handle choice is obviously up to you...... the black and white is pretty spiffy!

[MaxP]

I have a D01 21mm fan shape, a 21mm Finest bulb and a 23mm Silvertip bulb.

I MUCH prefer the bulb shape. However the D01 hair is divine. My suggestion is to go with the 24mm bulb.

And good luck with that minimalist thing. It'd never work out for me!

[TBoner]

MaxP, is your D01 a 3-band or 2-band? If the latter, how would you compare it to the Thater 2-band?

[mftoms59]

23048 in FAN, No Contest, Classic Style & love the Contrast of B&W, would look KILLER topped with a Fan which I prefer when Face Lathering & the 22mm will feel plenty Big.

[turtle]

Since I purchased my fan shaped Thater I have become a fan of fan shaped brushes.

I got my first fan shaped brush yesterday and I am digging it...

Didn't use it today as I got 2 brushes yesterday and I HAD to try the other one today.

Too bad I can only shave once a day at times like this

[MaxP]

MaxP, is your D01 a 3-band or 2-band? If the latter, how would you compare it to the Thater 2-band?

Mine is a 3 band. A Thater 2 band is on my Want List.

[TBoner]

Okay, D01 3-band. Perfect. I have one on order and am very interested to see/feel its performance and character. I think you and I have similar brush tastes (though I may favor slightly larger specs), so your positive opinion is encouraging. I know this will be a fantastic brush, but positive opinions while I wait only help me feel good about the expenditure.

[Fbones24]

23048 in FAN, No Contest, Classic Style & love the Contrast of B&W, would look KILLER topped with a Fan which I prefer when Face Lathering & the 22mm will feel plenty Big.

I think this is what I am leaning towards! I am thinking the bulb d01 will be just too much backbone. I think the fan will relieve some of that backbone concern and feel larger on the face at that knot size. I have two larger brushes and I think this would be a nice compliment and probably my go-to.

[cdrross]

Here are my 3...
D01 24mm Bulb x 52, D01 24mm Fan x 56mm, Silvertip 23mm Bulb x 56mm

[Fbones24]

Well, I got my shavemac 23048 in the mail yesterday. I went with the fan shape. The brush is absolutely stunning.

I used it this morning for my first shave and can't say I love it yet. This brush is stiff and scritchy witch is okay. I could not create a good lather at all with my QCS cream. The lather was thin and I had to add extra water to get it out of the brush. Lather hog?

Also, the brush did not splay at all, so I was having a real hard time with circular lathering motions on my face and on the cream in the tub.

I am hoping that there is a break in period and it will soften up a little. I'm not going to give up on this one though. The brush it too nice and has my son's name engraved.

[johnnypipe]

Where is the best place to buy a Shavemac brush? Direct from Shavemac or is there a good vendor for them.

[beginish]

You can get them direct from Shavemac or through some vendors. West Coast Shaving has some, for example.

[dannymayo]

23048 in FAN, No Contest, Classic Style & love the Contrast of B&W, would look KILLER topped with a Fan which I prefer when Face Lathering & the 22mm will feel plenty Big.

My thoughts exactly. The black and white looks great, I enjoy fan shaped knots, and 22mm is my sweet spot for most brushes.

[mftoms59]

Fbones24, yes the Brush does need a few weeks of lathers to hit its stride. Try a few Bowl Lathers and use a gentle plunging motion while building the lather, this helps loosen the knot and works the lather up into the breech. I own four and they've needed a few weeks to loosen without exception, they all are dense and I haven't lost more than ~10 hairs from any of them. Be patient and enjoy your new toy, they may feel a little stiff and scratchy when dry, but after wetting they will feel a whole lot softer with just a dash of scritch.

[Fbones24]

Update: I am 5 shaves in on the shavemac with a few test lathers thrown in to speed up the break in process. I have seen a slight, and I mean very slight softening of the brush with some splay, but not much. Meanwhile, my face is getting beaten up every morning with this little brush. It is releasing lather much better, it is just very difficult to produce that lather and enjoy it at the same time.

I am going to trudge on and try to use it daily and see if I can break this badger. I hope I don't get discouraged.

[mftoms59]

Fbones24, can you confirm it's the 22mm knot, and is the loft the factory setting of 44mm? I don't have the dense DO1, and my 21mm Silver-Tip is set @~45-46mm, this took longer than the five days to produce adequate amounts of lather but my tips were soft from the start. Do your tips feel scritchy, or just firm? It could be your loft is a bit too short if it's a question of firmness, you might send Shavemac an e-mail expressing your concern/problem. Since you've only had the Brush about a week, maybe he can offer some advice or a solution, if it's a firmness issue you might consider adjusting the loft, if possible, to ~48-50mm as the knot stiffness seems intense.

[Fbones24]

Fbones24, can you confirm it's the 22mm knot, and is the loft the factory setting of 44mm? I don't have the dense DO1, and my 21mm Silver-Tip is set @~45-46mm, this took longer than the five days to produce adequate amounts of lather but my tips were soft from the start. Do your tips feel scritchy, or just firm? It could be your loft is a bit too short if it's a question of firmness, you might send Shavemac an e-mail expressing your concern/problem. Since you've only had the Brush about a week, maybe he can offer some advice or a solution, if it's a firmness issue you might consider adjusting the loft, if possible, to ~48-50mm as the knot stiffness seems intense.

I just measured it and it is definitely set at about 44mm. Maybe even 45mm. The knot diameter is 22mm as per shavemac. It is the D01 two band, so I was expecting a tough brush.

I would say that the stiffness is not a problem as I really like the backbone. Tips are very scritchy. Not unbearable at all, just not 100% enjoyable. If it softened up a little, I could see loving this brush. I'm banking on that. I love the firmness, the size, the grip.....it is just a scritch monster.

[AgBill]

REALLY want a D01 2-band...