New Wiborg Line - "White Badger"

Just received the Flagon White Badger today. 26mm knot. Just beautiful! I can confirm the extra weight of the handle and it has an awesome feel in the hand. Great attention to detail by Wiborg. The knot has good backbone, but the tips are as soft as any brush I have ever felt. Density also seems very good. I have M&F, Thater, Semogue, and Simpson brushes in my den. Here are some arrival pics!

That's a great looking brush. Congrats on the Flagon!

I'm really interested in photos of the Keyhive...who bought that one again? Anyone on B&B?

Evil4blue said:

That's a great looking brush. Congrats on the Flagon!

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Thank you, sir!

Funny....my Knight has no crest on the bottom, nor the old world classic typography style. Whereas it appears the Flagon does.

Doesnt bother me one bit but i would love to know why these elements are decided in such a random way. Surely there must be a reason.

Tester28 said:

Funny....my Knight has no crest on the bottom, nor the old world classic typography style. Whereas it appears the Flagon does.

Doesnt bother me one bit but i would love to know why these elements are decided in such a random way. Surely there must be a reason.

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That's a bummer.

The crest and engraving on the bottom is some of the nicest I have seen from any brush maker.

My brush didn't have the crest on the bottom either. Not gonna lie, I was a little bummed about it, but I'll get over it. The brush is still fantastic. Used it this morning and really enjoyed the shave. The backbone is pretty decent for a purported HMW knot. I have 2 other HMW knots and they are both a little floppy. The price of these brushes put them in the same range as a lot of the higher end manufactures, so I'm happy to see that this brush performs similarly to those others in this class of brush.

On the other hand I think the logo/script on yours is much better looking.

Just a little heads up for owners of this current line of Wiborg brushes (white badger).

I used my Knight for the first time with some MWF soap, loved it, then thoroughly rinsed it and left it to dry.

Next morning I noticed some discolouration on the white tips…certain clusters had turned slightly orange/light brown. However the softness is not affected at all.

After communicating with Wiborg, the owner Florian confirmed that using lanolin soaps can cause this slightly yellowing effect although it is otherwise harmless. So he's asked me to use a non lanolin product next time and see how it goes. Thought some of you wiborg owners would like to know.

Got a picture? I've never heard of MWF or any other lanolin product discoloring... well... anything. Lanolin is kind of a honey brown color, so if it did stain a brush I could see those colors happening... but at the dilution it's at in shaving soap, it's colorless.
I may have to coat one of my two bands in Lanolin to see what happens.

MWF is my jam, and I've never had any discoloration.

Chamm, have you used mwf with super white tips such as the current wiborgs under discussion?

Here is a before/after pics for comparison later....maybe I loaded the mwf too vigorously and did not rinse as thoroughly as I imagined. Need to keep an eye on this, I guess.


Before (never used):




After (1 shave with lanolin based MWF):

I have Rooney Finests and M&F's that are pretty white. I mean, I have to put sunscreen on them to take them outside, and they're terrible dancers.

As long as the tips aren't red or green, does it matter?

Update:

Had a 2nd shave with The Knight but with a T&H non-lanolin shave cream….softest feeling ever and it created some of the richest most abundant lather Ive seen. No regrets getting this one at all.

Gave it a good rinse and spent a fair bit of time cleaning the tips….discoloration seems much less now, but hard to tell unless its completely dry.

Any other white badger owners, please chime in if you experience anything similar.

brucered said:

As long as the tips aren't red or green, does it matter?

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I think it does, especially since the brush did not come cheap…plus its advertised as High Mountain White, so I reckon I'd like to see it White at all times.

Tester28 said:

I think it does, especially since the brush did not come cheap…plus its advertised as High Mountain White, so I reckon I'd like to see it White at all times.

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My M&F brushes weren't cheap, labelled as Blonde and aren't blonde.

It's a working tool and should be able to be used with any product you normally would use. What is Lanoloin products are all a person uses?

brucered said:

My M&F brushes weren't cheap, labelled as Blonde and aren't blonde.

It's a working tool and should be able to be used with any product you normally would use. What is Lanoloin products are all a person uses?

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Hey can you give me a break here? Im not interested in M&F or what they do…Im just reporting something I saw on my brush and was trying to share with others who have purchased the same brush. I don't want any arguments with you.

Tester28 said:

Hey can you give me a break here? Im not interested in M&F or what they do…Im just reporting something I saw on my brush and was trying to share with others who have purchased the same brush. I don't want any arguments with you.

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I'm not arguing with you, we are discussing it. You brought up a point and I disagree and added my perspective. I don't think people should have to Stop using lanolin in order to keep their $200+ shaving brushes in prestine, white tipped shape, in order to post pics of them.

Use it and enjoy. It has been confirmed by the maker that it is only a minor cosmetic issue and doesn't affect performance. What's next, we can't use brushes with Tallow? Lanolin is a semi-popular ingredient and if it limits what products can be used with a Wiborg HMW brush in order for people to keep the tips white for asthetics, it is a drawback. I say who cares....use it and let the tips change color.

Its a discussion forum, that's what we do.

Tester28 said:

Chamm, have you used mwf with super white tips such as the current wiborgs under discussion?

Here is a before/after pics for comparison later....maybe I loaded the mwf too vigorously and did not rinse as thoroughly as I imagined. Need to keep an eye on this, I guess.


Before (never used):

View attachment 521416


After (1 shave with lanolin based MWF):

View attachment 521417

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Actually, I'm glad you posted those images!

I got my Rooney Finest 1/2 second (or third) hand, and it had almost that exact same discoloration. It scared me when I first opened the package (I paid handsomely for such a fine instrument) but I used the brush and its performance was utterly amazing. I just assumed the discoloration was normal and since the brush was such an incredible performer, it stopped bothering me. At this point, the tips could turn green, but as long as it continued to work like it does, I wouldn't care!

I suppose the long and short of it is, it probably is normal, and it probably isn't preventable. I would be interested to know if a diluted vinegar soak coupled with a dish soap lather clears it up. Once you find that out, I suppose you're left with four choices: Live with it, avoid Lanolin soaps forever, see if Wiborg will allow a return, (my money is on NO) or offer it for up sale or trade. There are plenty of gents here who wouldn't be bothered by that discoloration, and you could probably trade it for another fine brush.

I'm definitely not trying to come off as insulting or dismissive. It's your brush that you purchased with (a good deal of) your money. Nobody can force you to be happy with it. Personally, the discoloration wouldn't bother me, but I can understand your perspective. However, I don't think Wiborg is in any way to blame, nor do I think there is anything they can do to prevent it from happening without changing the characteristics of the brush.

I have a New Forest Tubby 2 that has the same discoloration, it's been like that for a long while now but hasn't affected the brush in any way. It never really bugged me, it was more of an oddity, but then again, the brush is about 1/4th the price of the Wiborg. I'll keep an eye out for this over the next few weeks. Thanks for the update.

Edit--

Actually here's a pic of the Tubby:



It maybe a little hard to see but there's a reddish hue to the hairs towards the top left of the knot. I believe that this knot was labeled a High Mountain White as well.