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Badger: The absolute softest tips possible?

I heard from the owner of Wetshavingproducts - they have the same provider. I asked him about the knot they supplied to my Geoff Anderson custom and he told me in a mail that they had the same supplier.

I have also noted that the my newish BK8 is a lot firmer than the older versions. My Thäter and Shavemacs have softer tips also.

Well - Badger Hair is a natural product, so over the years the hair changes and there can be variances from brush to brush. Sounds like a good excuse to buy another brush to see for myself :lol:
 
I'd certainly consider the Kent BK8 to anyone looking for soft tips. I have the more modern version, and if the older one was any softer then I don't think I could feel it at all. There's more scritch in a cloud than in the BK8 I've got.
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
I would love to try a Kent but I'd also like to hear more about the more recent brushes. I want something with no scritch at all, just pure luxury. I already have some scritchier brushes. I think I'm still leaning toward the Thater.

For Thater owners, is there a difference in flow through between the 3 and 2 band offerings? I know the 2 will likely have more backbone but how is the flow in comparison?
 
The flow through is great for both 2-band and 3-band Thaters. I haven't noticed one being better at this than the other. You really can't go wrong with either. 2-band has a slight edge for backbone while the 3-band has a slight edge for softness. A side by side may help...4292/4 2-band bulb on the left, 4376/4 3-band bulb on the right. I personally like the 3-band slightly more currently....
 

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I would love to try a Kent but I'd also like to hear more about the more recent brushes. I want something with no scritch at all, just pure luxury. I already have some scritchier brushes. I think I'm still leaning toward the Thater.

For Thater owners, is there a difference in flow through between the 3 and 2 band offerings? I know the 2 will likely have more backbone but how is the flow in comparison?

I have a Kent BK8 in transit from West Coast Shaving - so i'll let you know. Just shaves with a 2 band thater today - and it was awfully soft. I'd still put the Pils towards the top though... that's a mighty soft one.
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
Interesting thread. Over time, I've accumulated 4, yes 4, Simpsons Chubby 1s. I have a Best, two Supers, and a two-band. The softest tips are the Best Badger, followed by the two-band (which is a bulb shaped knot, not the hybrid bulb-fan shape the others have), and then the Supers.

in a conversation with Jarrod Connerty at TSS, he also prefers the "best" Best Badger over others and has noted that it appears more golden brown and less white. The Chubby 1 Best I have indeed has a more golden or yellow hue to the base of the hair than other Simpsons brushes in Best and the tips are a little whiter though you'd never notice unless you put them side-by-side with another Best Badger brush.

i have two other Simpson Best Badger Brushes, and neither is as soft or has the coloration of the Chubby 1.

Cheers, Steve
 
He's told me the same thing, and that these "chestnut" Bests are rare.

. . . in a conversation with Jarrod Connerty at TSS, he also prefers the "best" Best Badger over others and has noted that it appears more golden brown and less white. The Chubby 1 Best I have indeed has a more golden or yellow hue to the base of the hair than other Simpsons brushes in Best and the tips are a little whiter though you'd never notice unless you put them side-by-side with another Best Badger brush. . .
 
I know Wiborg doesn't get a whole lot of love here as a newer company, but of the 12 brushes I own, 6 of them are Wiborg 2-bands. The reason being I love ultra soft brushes and that's what Wiborg does. My non-Wiborg brushes are M&F Blonde and a Heritage, Rooney Stubby 1 Heritage, Shavemac standard silvertip, Simpson M6 and a Rooney 1/2 super silvertip.

I have a Shavemac Silvertip 2 band (the new hair knots) in the mail, and a Saville Row 3324 that I should receive tomorrow. I'm told the Savile is as soft as they come. Looking forward to mail call tomorrow, just don't think it will beat out my Wiborg's.
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
Interesting. I was under the impression that Wiborgs were fairly scritchy. Anybody else have some Wiborgs that can comment on the softness also?
 
Not doubting you - but where did you hear that? That sounds odd... having worked with Kent in the past and knowing they had used the same supplier for decades, it seems odd they'd switch.
I was able to dig up the old mail from 26th of March this year. I wrote to the contact address at Wetshavingproducts asking 'From where is the knot sourced' about the WSP knot on my Geoff Anderson custom brush. The answer was very briefly 'The same factory Kent uses.' and a footer explaining that the answer was sent from a phone.

In hindsight it seems that I have interpreted this answer as something more than it actually is, considering the fact that my Kent BK8 worked so well as a face latherer. Turtles BK8 was very much softer and floppier since he did report not using it for face lathering.

My conclusion is that I do not know if Kent has a new provider. Lee from Wetshavingproducts did certainly not state anything of this sort. I seem to have mistaken the (what I think) change in the knot of the BK8 with a change of sourcing of badger hair.

Hope this clears things up!
 
I have two brushes made with WSP 32mm XD Silvertip knots. They're the softest brush I've ever placed against my cheek.
 
I used a Theater 4125/5 for comparisons for the softest hair & the 2 that came the closest was a Vei/WSP high mt.white 30mm knot & a VP Leonhardy 700040.All 3 were very,very close giving the softest to the Leonhardy but it has very little backbone & only when using creams.The Theater was hands down the best for all around any cream,soap or croap,but my 32mm HMW knot lathered the best,go figure.
 
Interesting. I was under the impression that Wiborgs were fairly scritchy. Anybody else have some Wiborgs that can comment on the softness also?

I have tried two of their 2-Bands and they are indeed very soft with a good amount of backbone. No scritch, whatsoever, in their 2-Band knots from what I have heard.


Softest knot I have tried, so far, would have to be the older gel-like Rooney Heritage Stubby 2XL and this new M&F 3XL Heritage along with a Thater 2-Band. I do have to say that the Rooney and M&F are much, much denser and provide more scrub, more so than, of course, the Thater.
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
Can anyone comment on the Wiborgs 2 band Silvertip vs their HMW or Manchurian? Is there a big difference in feel?
 
Vintage silvertip.
It's got a yellow/orange hue to it and it's like rubbing butter on your face.
This well illustrates the problems in evaluating and recommending knots and brushes.
There will always be a contrast between observations from members and what is available. All knots will also inevitably vary from time to time due to the nature of the material.
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
I've used a number of synthetics now and still have a Plisson synth. I just also want some more badger.
 
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