Da Vinci 290 Globe Handle Brush - Review

[turtle]

Da Vinci Model 290 Globe Handle Brush

Size:

Knot	25mm
Loft	60mm
Handle	45mm
Overall Height	105mm

Silvertip Badger hair
Street price: $138.00
Made in: Nuremberg Germany

Review of the Da Vinci model 293 can be found here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...e-Brush-Review

The design of the brush with a short globe handle gives the appearance that this is a small or diminutive brush. Far from it, this brush is on the larger size of brushes having an overall height of 105mm. On first impression the Da Vinci model 290 appears to be a very well made brush. The knot is extremely dense with a rather high loft of 60mm. The globe handle looks as though it would feel odd being a ball but it is surprisingly comfortable in the hand. After a few minutes of lathering with the 290 the handle seemed to become an extension of my hand with the bristles being attached to me rather than feeling like I was holding a brush in my hand. I got a surprising amount of control from this odd shaped handle

Soak:

I soaked the 290 in my Williams promotional shave mug (I soak all my brushes in this mug). After soaking the 290 for about 5 minutes it exploded, more than doubling in size as it soaked up fully half of the water I used to soak it in. This brush holds a LOT of water. When I took it out of the soak mug it took half of the water I had placed in there to soak the brush along with it. Two firm shakes removed a large majority of what the brush had picked up but still left plenty of water to make lather with

Lathering:

I used Truefitt & Hill Grafton cream in my small stainless steel lathering bowl. The T&H cream is a reliable product and always has produced copious amounts of lather, regardless of what brush I put to it. I used my typical amount of cream (a small plastic ice cream sample spoon full which is approx. 1/8 a tsp). In retrospect I should have used my larger lathering bowl as this brush whipped up quite a large amount of lather. It would have been able to build more lather in a larger bowl.

The Da Vinci 290 whipped up an amazing amount of yogurt thick shaving cream in far less time than I recall other brushes getting to this point. Maybe because it is new. Maybe because the knot is so densely packed. What ever reason the Da Vinci 290 builds lather with far less effort than other brushes I own.

There was more than enough lather created for 4 full passes with plenty left for clean up but I got such a close shave today with the razor/blade I was using that there was nothing to clean up after the 4th pass so I had a fair amount of lather remaining in the brush and bowl when I finished shaving

Application:

The Da Vinci 290 has a surprising amount of backbone for a brush with a 60mm loft. It is soft as a cloud but not floppy or weak. It rivals the softness and firmness of my Rooney 3xl Heritage which up until I used the Da Vinci was the softest brush I owned.

I was able to pick up all of the lather out of the bowl and the brush held it with ease.

The 290 released the lather effortlessly. I was able to get more lather on my face than from most of my other brushes. A painting motion applied a thick layer of lather for each pass. Even the 4th application was thick and full on my face

Conclusion:

This is an amazing brush (an understatement IMHO).

It is a well constructed brush.

It is very comfortable in the hand.

It has plenty of body to it because of the extremely dense knot.

It has very soft tips (the grade of badger used is very high)

It releases lather effortlessly

It is a KEEPER!!!

I think the Da Vinci 290 has kicked my Kent BK8 out of the #1 spot for bowl lathering. That says a LOT as the Kent has bested every brush I have put up against it in a bowl. I am going to have to do some serious one on one comparisons between these two very fine brushes in the near future.

OK now for the part everyone has waited for (the photos):



Today's shave:



The amount of cream used:



Start of lather making:



Holding lather:



Bloom:



Size comparison:

Kent BK8 - Da Vinci 290 - Duke 2



Rooney Heritage 3xl stubby - Da Vinci 290



Making a Da Vinci shaving brush (factory video)

[GDCarrington]

Excellent review. May it serve you well for many years to come!

[bpire2002]

Outstanding review.

[Intrigued]

Great review! It looks like a wonderful brush. I hope you will post a review of your 293 as well.

[Perished]

Excellent review, and I agre with it wholeheartedly. Amazing brush, deserves far greater recognition. The badger hair is second to none, maybe the best out there.

[Rivguy]

I concur with Perished on all points. I find myself enjoying this brush so much that it often bumps other brushes in my rotation. I am glad that you are enjoying it.

Regards,

Doug

[ggamyang]

Excellent review!

Thank you very much. :)

[BigBull]

Very nice review Turtle! Thank you for being so thorough.

[bald1]

Turtle,

I'm very happy to see this review of a brush with a high loft. I feel they don't get enough respect! I have a custom Shavemac 23mm Silvertip I bought from Berndt back in 2002. I didn't specify loft leaving it to him. He set it at 62mm and it has proved to be a luxurious and extremely capable brush. It has enough backbone to acquit itself well despite the high loft much as you've reported with your new Da Vinci. I love the thing!

[CHSeifert]

Is this tall lofted Davinci brush suitable for face lathering ?

[taco8slo]

Is this tall lofted Davinci brush suitable for face lathering ?

You are definitely an unstoppable force.

[CHSeifert]

You are definitely an unstoppable force.

[Rudy Vey]

Is this tall lofted Davinci brush suitable for face lathering ?

I have the 293, a slightly smaller brush, and yes it is perfect for face lather (only thing I do).

[turtle]

Is this tall lofted Davinci brush suitable for face lathering ?

I have the 293, a slightly smaller brush, and yes it is perfect for face lather (only thing I do).

You "could" face lather with the 290 but I think you would enjoy the 293 more for face lathering. The 290 has so much hair packed into the knot that it is surprisingly firm for a brush with so tall of a loft.

The 293 is fantastic all around brush (bowl or face, it does not matter as it handles both lathering methods superbly)

Here is my review of the 293 brush http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...e-Brush-Review

[vocalistbob]

It sounds like a great brush, but my concern is that the small bulb-shaped handle would be too small for someone like me with big hands.

[turtle]

It sounds like a great brush, but my concern is that the small bulb-shaped handle would be too small for someone like me with big hands.

If you are talking about the 293 (bead handle) it is as tall as my Rooney 3XL so not small at all.

If you are talking about the 290 (ball handle) the diameter is larger around then the Rooney 3XL.

I use the 3XLas an example as I know you just sold yours on BST so should have a good idea of that size.

Neither brush could be considered to have a small handle. Sure neither of them is the size of a Polo 12 handle but very little is. I have a hard time holding on to my Polo 12 because the handle is just to daw-gone-BIG...

[vocalistbob]

Hi Turtle - Thanks for the info.

[Rivguy]

I am happy to see this thread revived to bring attention to some great brushes. I have both the 290 and the 293 and they are among my favorite brushes. I think that they are the most underrated brushes on B&B. I face lather exclusively and find that these versatile brushes handle creams, hard milled, soaps and shave sticks equally well. The tips are very soft and the hair quality is among the finest I have experienced. As several of us have stated in earlier reviews, the handles on these brushes are very comfortable in the hand. The U.S. vendor is outstanding as well. I have the travel brush and it is surprisingly efficient and has the same wonderful feel on the face.

Regards,

Doug

[h22o999]

Who is the US vendor? Would someone please PM me this info?

Thanks,

Justin

I am happy to see this thread revived to bring attention to some great brushes. I have both the 290 and the 293 and they are among my favorite brushes. I think that they are the most underrated brushes on B&B. I face lather exclusively and find that these versatile brushes handle creams, hard milled, soaps and shave sticks equally well. The tips are very soft and the hair quality is among the finest I have experienced. As several of us have stated in earlier reviews, the handles on these brushes are very comfortable in the hand. The U.S. vendor is outstanding as well. I have the travel brush and it is surprisingly efficient and has the same wonderful feel on the face.

Regards,

Doug

[Rivguy]

The vendor is promakeupbrushes.com/shaving. I think that it is a father and daughter team. They are very responsive and nice to deal with whenever I have contacted them. Ask if they have a B&B discount.

Regards,

Doug