Brush Chronicle #12 Morris & Forndran

**Laplace** · 04-09-2012, 05:34 AM

agree, I want to see the beehive!

**PozzSka** · 04-09-2012, 06:32 AM

Originally Posted by djh

Bring on the Beehive!

Originally Posted by Laplace

agree, I want to see the beehive!

I third the beehive...since I am also a lover of M&F brushes (and that is all I own currently, aside from one Shavemac Finest 30mm Bulb)...I will have to snap a few obligatory shots of "the family" and perhaps post a few shots of my own latherings...

I'm currently using the Beehive and TOBS Lavender soap (and if I can stand it, I'll use it until it's gone, but I may throw a few test lathers on the others for the sake of the Chronicle).

Here are a couple older pics:

Chubby 32mm knot, 53mm loft, scrubby monster

Faux Onyx 31mm, 53mm loft, definitely a performer

**jkh** · 04-09-2012, 07:38 AM

Ben, how the hell do you choose a brush when you shave? Do you enter your hermetically sealed brush vault to commence an hour long round of eeny, meeny, miny, moe

I bet you are filled with saddness at the end of each shave knowing you probably won't see that brush again for a year or two.

Seriously, beautiful (and big) collection. Thanks for indulging us!

**Laplace** · 04-09-2012, 08:06 AM

Damn, this thread is killing me. So wonderful pictures. I dont know what's wrong, two month ago I was satisfied with my shaving brushes.. now I can't stop buying new ones!

Where do you buy these brushes? Any place located in europe (or at least shipping there)?

**Laplace** · 04-09-2012, 01:45 PM

David, is the brush you are using as dense as the chubby 2? hard to tell from the picture, but it looks quite dense!

**Cannata** · 04-09-2012, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by Laplace

Damn, this thread is killing me. So wonderful pictures. I dont know what's wrong, two month ago I was satisfied with my shaving brushes.. now I can't stop buying new ones!

Where do you buy these brushes? Any place located in europe (or at least shipping there)?

+1 Where DO you buy these brushes?

**beginish** · 04-09-2012, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by Laplace

Damn, this thread is killing me. So wonderful pictures. I dont know what's wrong, two month ago I was satisfied with my shaving brushes.. now I can't stop buying new ones!

Where do you buy these brushes? Any place located in europe (or at least shipping there)?

Originally Posted by Cannata

+1 Where DO you buy these brushes?

Directly from Lee Sabini. Perhaps a member with his email will PM each of you with his contact information. Also look in the massive M&F thread here in the Brush Forum.

**djh** · 04-09-2012, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by Laplace

Damn, this thread is killing me. So wonderful pictures. I dont know what's wrong, two month ago I was satisfied with my shaving brushes.. now I can't stop buying new ones!

Where do you buy these brushes? Any place located in europe (or at least shipping there)?

You have a PM

Originally Posted by Laplace

David, is the brush you are using as dense as the chubby 2? hard to tell from the picture, but it looks quite dense!

I don't think that it is quite as dense as my Chubby2, but very close to it. It certainly is a dense knot.

Originally Posted by Cannata

+1 Where DO you buy these brushes?

Check your PMs.

**texaninkc** · 04-09-2012, 10:13 PM

Here's my 27/48 Blonde Badger in horn (guessing imitation). it's the only M&F I own and will probably be the only one. It's a beauty and exactly what I like in a brush. Soft tips, nice backbone, decent flow-through and good size. It's also in what I think is a true fan. Something Lee wasn't doing much of in his earlier days. Unfortunately, I just noticed a crack in the handle above the second ridge. I'm hoping it doesn't get worse.

it's beautiful though.

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**djh** · 04-09-2012, 10:30 PM

Sorry to hear about the crack in your handle- I do agree...... it sure is a beautiful brush! Thanks for posting the picture.

**djh** · 04-10-2012, 11:13 AM

I have chosen my set-up for tomorrow morning and it looks like this:

If things go according to plan, I will rub the Valobra stick in the bottom of my lather bowl and deposit enough soap there for my shaving needs. That will make it easier to get some more photos.

Any thoughts, questions or photos that anyone else would care to add?

**Laplace** · 04-10-2012, 11:45 AM

isn't it easier to rub the stick right into the brush and then take it to the bowl? :)

**melyus** · 04-11-2012, 02:01 AM

Great Chronicle and Excellent Pictures so here my L7 26/48 Blonde Fan..

Regards.

**djh** · 04-11-2012, 03:29 AM

Wonderful pictures of a beautiful brush. Many thanks for posting them here. I would love to hear your thoughts about the brush and maybe even see a photo of it in action.

**djh** · 04-11-2012, 03:34 AM

This morning I shaved using a Valobra stick. This is a fantastic soap and always gives good results. In order to create some lather, I rub the stick in my bowl to deposit enough soap for my shave.

I gave the brush a good shake, added a couple of drops of water and after 30 seconds, it looked like this....

A few more drops of water and after a minute in the bowl I was ready to shave.

**djh** · 04-12-2012, 01:50 AM

Although it is not always easy for me to commit to using just one brush for a couple of weeks one of the pluses is that I am able to rotate the rest of my shaving gear. Instead of using a puck of soap from go to whoa, I am mixing things around and re-discovering old favourites. Today was the turn of Tabac Soap.

My brush was soaked and then shaken out

After 30 seconds loading the brush looked like this:

And after a minute of loading it was time to head to the bowl and make some lather. After 30 seconds and a few drops of water:

After a minute in the bowl it was time to grab my razor and shave.

This thread is all about the brushes, but it does tend to turn into something of a showcase for soaps and creams as well. Tabac is wonderful and provided me with a terrific shave this morning.

**WowMau** · 04-12-2012, 02:46 AM

Originally Posted by ben74

Morris & Forndran

Where do I start?

Attachment 234613

Dear Ben,

If there is a hell, yours is going to be filled with lots of very angry badgers...

**Face&Head** · 04-12-2012, 06:13 PM

I think the thing that separates M&Fs from the other high-end brush makers is that they represent the idiosyncratic vision of one fabulous brush maker. These aren't built to satisfy a marketing manager or to exploit a specific niche. So here I am, a guy who often avoids 2-band knots and 4 of the five are just that. I recently picked up the brush on the far right for my son and you can read about it here. The butterscotch 3-band on the far left is a recent addition acquired directly from Lee. The knot is 28.5 with a 47 loft and a 42.25 handle. The brush is a dream, very soft and with just the right density. I've only used it for face-lathers and it's becoming my favorite brush for my MdC (I think the two of them may be seeing each other on the side they get along so well together). Next up is a natural horn 2-band with a 26 knot 51 loft and 46.7 handle. I got this brush for one I lost in this tragic accident. This would be the ideal brush for someone who likes a bit of scrub and a tiny hint of scritch. Unfortunately, that's not me so it sits lonely & orphaned on the shelf. I picked up the horn emilion in the center to do the nasty with my Dirty Bird 1.5. The knot is 31.5 with a 55.3 loft and a 71.4 handle. I know you guys can do the math but let me save you the trouble, it stands a towering 126.7. Now I have a couple of clown brushes that are bigger, but in the world of usable brushes this specimen is a real work-horse. Not only are the tips super-soft but the handle is amazing for bowl lathers. I do a lot of super lathers with it as it picks up soap like a champ while whipping up a lather like a whisk in a bowl of heavy cream. Finally, 2nd from right is the XXL with a 34 knot 50 loft and 45.2 handle. This has the softness of a Chubby 3 in super with the backbone of a 2-band. It's not scrubby and has no scritch. It's for days when I'm in the mood to be smothered by a really big brush. It works well in the bowl or on the face & I only use it with soft soaps (QCS, AdP, Cella, Razorock etc). It can handle hard soaps easily but I always gravitate to the croaps when I use it. It can be a bit of a lather hog but it's very manageable.

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**djh** · 04-12-2012, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by WowMau

Dear Ben,

If there is a hell, yours is going to be filled with lots of very angry badgers...

It's very hard not to laugh at this.......

Originally Posted by Face&Head

I think the thing that separates M&Fs from the other high-end brush makers is that they represent the idiosyncratic vision of one fabulous brush maker. These aren't built to satisfy a marketing manager or to exploit a specific niche. So here I am, a guy who often avoids 2-band knots and 4 of the five are just that. I recently picked up the brush on the far right for my son and you can read about it here. The butterscotch 3-band on the far left is a recent addition acquired directly from Lee. The knot is 28.5 with a 47 loft and a 42.25 handle. The brush is a dream, very soft and with just the right density. I've only used it for face-lathers and it's becoming my favorite brush for my MdC (I think the two of them may be seeing each other on the side they get along so well together). Next up is a natural horn 2-band with a 26 knot 51 loft and 46.7 handle. I got this brush for one I lost in this tragic accident. This would be the ideal brush for someone who likes a bit of scrub and a tiny hint of scritch. Unfortunately, that's not me so it sits lonely & orphaned on the shelf. I picked up the horn emilion in the center to do the nasty with my Dirty Bird 1.5. The knot is 31.5 with a 55.3 loft and a 71.4 handle. I know you guys can do the math but let me save you the trouble, it stands a towering 126.7. Now I have a couple of clown brushes that are bigger, but in the world of usable brushes this specimen is a real work-horse. Not only are the tips super-soft but the handle is amazing for bowl lathers. I do a lot of super lathers with it as it picks up soap like a champ while whipping up a lather like a whisk in a bowl of heavy cream. Finally, 2nd from right is the XXL with a 34 knot 50 loft and 45.2 handle. This has the softness of a Chubby 3 in super with the backbone of a 2-band. It's not scrubby and has no scritch. It's for days when I'm in the mood to be smothered by a really big brush. It works well in the bowl or on the face & I only use it with soft soaps (QCS, AdP, Cella, Razorock etc). It can handle hard soaps easily but I always gravitate to the croaps when I use it. It can be a bit of a lather hog but it's very manageable.

Thanks for your thoughts and the photo Mark, much appreciated!

**djh** · 04-13-2012, 12:32 AM

A Day To Celebrate- in a Knize kind of mood:

After a good soak and a shake out

After loading for 30 seconds, my brush looked like this:

and after a minute, it was time to move to the lather bowl

a few drops of water and 30 seconds mixing time

after a minute it was showtime

quite impressive lather- really slick

A good shaving experience with a soap that I use too rarely. I guess that it has now earnt the Gold Treatment and should have it's day in the sun when the summer comes to an end.