Badger, Boar, Synthetic Brush Lathering Test Video

I was reading on here about people saying that boar brushes uses more product then badger to get a good lather. So I thought I would try it out and see if that was true. (To be honest I was really bored )

Up on the plate are:

The Body Shop Synthetic Brush
Van Der Hagen Boar Brush
Frank Shaving Finest Badger Brush

and Proraso Green!

*The synthetic brush is still new and hasn't been broken in yet.
*The boar has been broken in for an accelerated 1 month.
*The brushes were soaked for 5 minutes
*Each Brush was loaded for exactly 30 seconds.

Lather times:
Synthetic 44 seconds
Badger 29 seconds
Boar 29 seconds

*Unfortunately I wasn't measuring lather volume, I just stopped lathering when there was a sufficient amount to start shaving with. But I would say that the badger and boar had about the same amount of lather.

The synthetic took the longest at 44 sec. and had the least lather, but it isnt very fair because it hasn't been broken in. I had a the same TBS syn brush that I used exclusively for 1 year that I honestly think would out perform both the badger and boar. Both in lathering time and volume. But I had it replaced and this one is still too stiff...

This is my first time ever doing anything like this. I'm thinking about making it a hobby. So any advice would be appreciated!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y0p1Xt2b8I

Interesting and good video with cheery music, thanks; the lather looks a bit watery when in preparation but maybe this is a false impression as final result seems fine.

Looked good, that synthetic did take a while to lather well!

Fun music! It would be good if you could add load times, lather times, and lather volume (I have seen shot glasses used).
look forward to seeing more of your creativity!

Good video overall. Personally I didn't care for the music too much, but I am hard to please. One tip though, turn the music down!!! It was way way way too loud.

Tescot said:

Fun music! It would be good if you could add load times, lather times, and lather volume (I have seen shot glasses used).
look forward to seeing more of your creativity!

Click to expand...

I didn't even think about measuring volume. Thanks. Oh and I did add in the load and lather times, but you have to see it from a computer because it is done through the annotations.

Thanks for the positive feedback fellas, sorry for the volume.... I actually dont know how to edit it....

Can you post the load and lather times here on B&B for the mobile-connected among us?

The white lather against the white bowls was a bit hard to judge - which had the most lather?

Songwind said:

Can you post the load and lather times here on B&B for the mobile-connected among us?

The white lather against the white bowls was a bit hard to judge - which had the most lather?

Click to expand...

I updated the first post, hope it helps. I'll try to get it in the video next time.

Nicely done

As said, nicely done. Can I ask if the soap was dry before using the first brush (the synthetic)? If so, do you think that might have had an effect on the loading and subsequent lather with that synthetic brush? I know that, personally, I drip a few drops (or drop a few drips) of warm water on my soap while the brush is soaking to soften the soap. That softening seems to increase the amount of soap I can load and may have led to the second and third brush getting more soap during the loading, if the synthetic was loaded on dry soap. I hope that makes sense. I'm not sure it would have changed the outcome, but I'm curious. So many variables in this hobby!

Thanks for putting the effort into this.

swmbo was here

Great vid!

My observations on using vintage and Muhle synth brushes:
- No break-in time
- No pre-soak time
- Makes more usable lather with less soap than my boars or badgers (which I haven't used regularly for years)
- Load times for soaps are always under 10 sec. I seriously don't get the 30-60 sec load times often recommended here.
- I've only face-lathered with synth brushes. They seemed lousy at bowl lathering; but I only made half-hearted attempts.

I did a test once comparing an Ever-Ready synth, C&E BBB and vintage boar using Arko. Face lathering, got the most face lathers out of the brushes in that same order. Really irritated my face scrubbing it so much though. I didn't make a video, so I guess it didn't happen....

Steve

rossvtaylor said:

As said, nicely done. Can I ask if the soap was dry before using the first brush (the synthetic)? If so, do you think that might have had an effect on the loading and subsequent lather with that synthetic brush? I know that, personally, I drip a few drops (or drop a few drips) of warm water on my soap while the brush is soaking to soften the soap. That softening seems to increase the amount of soap I can load and may have led to the second and third brush getting more soap during the loading, if the synthetic was loaded on dry soap. I hope that makes sense. I'm not sure it would have changed the outcome, but I'm curious. So many variables in this hobby!

Thanks for putting the effort into this.

Click to expand...

It makes perfect sense, and to answer your question, no the soap was not dry. I had loaded the synthetic brush once before I restarted and recorded. So the Proraso was already "warmed up." But it completely makes sense that you would drip a few drops of dropping a few drips of warm water beforehand. This softens the soap to make it easier for the brush to "scrape" off and load. Also your loading time should be relatively shorter because the soap is somewhat softer and more easily to be taken away by the brush. This gives me an idea for another video...And thanks for the kind words!

BubblesAssassin said:

swmbo was here

Click to expand...

Honey, please get off my account. This is MY play area. If you want in then you'll have to make your own account...and get your own soaps...and razor.

BurkDarkpatches said:

Great vid!

My observations on using vintage and Muhle synth brushes:
- No break-in time
- No pre-soak time
- Makes more usable lather with less soap than my boars or badgers (which I haven't used regularly for years)
- Load times for soaps are always under 10 sec. I seriously don't get the 30-60 sec load times often recommended here.
- I've only face-lathered with synth brushes. They seemed lousy at bowl lathering; but I only made half-hearted attempts.

I did a test once comparing an Ever-Ready synth, C&E BBB and vintage boar using Arko. Face lathering, got the most face lathers out of the brushes in that same order. Really irritated my face scrubbing it so much though. I didn't make a video, so I guess it didn't happen....

Steve

Click to expand...

I have to agree with you. When my old Body Shop Syn was broken in, it performed just like your Syn does. I only needed to lightly dip in cream, or load <10 secs on soaps and "BOOM LATHERS" everywhere. I think the excellent backbone, but soft feel had much to do with it. Unfortunately, my handle is made out of wood, and I always dried it standing. Eventually the water cracked the finish on the wood and the handle started separating. Luckily the Body Shop gave me a new one. Since it is new, the brush is VERY stiff, and is not as soft as my old one. As you can see by the video, it didn't perform well. Once its broken in maybe I can display it better.

BubblesAssassin said:

I have to agree with you. When my old Body Shop Syn was broken in, it performed just like your Syn does. I only needed to lightly dip in cream, or load <10 secs on soaps and "BOOM LATHERS" everywhere. I think the excellent backbone, but soft feel had much to do with it. Unfortunately, my handle is made out of wood, and I always dried it standing. Eventually the water cracked the finish on the wood and the handle started separating. Luckily the Body Shop gave me a new one. Since it is new, the brush is VERY stiff, and is not as soft as my old one. As you can see by the video, it didn't perform well. Once its broken in maybe I can display it better.

Click to expand...

I should point out that I was in no way attempting to contradict your experience (e.g. breaking in the bristles), just relaying that mine was somewhat different, sometimes under different conditions. I told a half-truth about pre-soaking. For my vintage nylon brushes, I used to try to remember to pre-soak in HOT water in order to soften the bristles. It was not done for performance issues. My Muhle does not require this for either reason.

With a few exceptions, I've found vintage nylon brushes uncomfortable to use (too scritchy or rough). However, with NO exceptions they all make lather like crazy. Must be a function of the material.

Steve