Davinci Shaving Brush (not THAT Da Vinci) What's your worstest brush? This is mine.

Hi guys! This'll be my first brush review on B&B. I hope you enjoy!

I'm relatively new to wet-shaving. A little over a week ago I posted my first little story in the Check-In section and was really happy with all the warm welcomes I got to the forum I've been shaving pretty well with my Weishi and some different blades with minimal cuts, and every time I do shave it takes a little less time, too. I really like the Proraso shave soaps smell and ease of lather, but at over sixteen dollars a tub, it's not a really cost-effective long term shaving soap for me. (Look at that newb Jonsta, still talking about cost-effectiveness...)

I went to the local Woolies from where I acquired my Wilkinson Sword blades—which are certainly not my favourite—in order to get some other soaps and creams to try. I picked up a Palmolive Shave Stick and some Faulders Shave Cream, but since this is a brush subforum, I'll get right to the point:



THIS is the Davinci Shaving Brush. She's a...beauuuuty... isn't she. Six dollars for a shaving brush? Why not?

The first gripe I had with it is the packaging. It fits great into the tube, but the rim of the top is rolled inward, meaning that the brush didn't come out of the packaging. If you did manage to pull it out, all of the outside bristles would be bent backwards which would screw up the brush pretty bad . I cut the tube down the side to avoid that.

The brush claims to be part synthetic and part animal (horse) hair. Horse hair is supposed to be softer than boar hair, right? This thing feels like a bloody toilet brush! The faux dye job on the bristles is absolutely hilarious, as well:



The handle is made of a hard plastic. It's quite durable (threw it against the bathroom wall a few times) but it has very little weight compared to my other two brushes (so I couldn't even throw it that hard ).

First impressions were not very good. On to the actual review!

This is going to be a simple hand lather review using Proraso white shaving soap in the tub:



I recently changed bowls to this amazing Korean soup mug that was sitting in the back of the closet:



...so I might do a bowl review later down the track as I've got another brush on the way. (BAD anyone? )

I'll be comparing the Davinci to my E&J Badger brush and my Windsor Boar brush here to see how the lather compares with the same soap:



So after a few minutes of soaking in hot water:



It was time to lather! I tried to keep this scientifical by swirling the brushes in the soap the same amount of times, using the same pressure and lather it for the same-ish duration...

The boar hair went first as it's my go-to bowl lathering brush and I bowl lather most of the time. Using this just reminded me why I use this one over my badger. Good backbone without being too scratchy. The lather whipped up pretty easily on my hand though and it went on in a decent enough layer to shave with.



The E&J badger once again proved itself as an amazing face-lather brush with it's soft bristles and pretty much spineless performance. Badger hair brushes take more time to lather for me but the end result was something pretty much perfect.




I had high hopes for the Davinci, I really did. It scooped the soap out of the tub almost like a shovel because the bristles were that tough, so I expected a quick, soapy lather. All I was left with was a thin, foamy mess . I'm not sure how, but it aerates the soap too much and the result is the kind of lather you get from pouring warm beer into a sink.



Not to mention it felt like I was brushing my hand with one of those cheap nail-brushes that you buy from Bunnings/Lowes/Crappy Tire to get automotive grease out of your fingers. I was disappointed with my purchase even though I got it pretty much for free (got 10 dollars off of the groceries at the checkout).

If I had to give it a rating out of 10, it would be 2/10. Why not a 1? While it is certainly the worst brush I've ever used, I don't think it qualifies as the worstest brush ever. I'm still questing for that although I believe I may have found it.



$1.20 delivered from China via eBay. Stay tuned!

What's your worstest brush? (Pics are good too )

Jonsta

I got it!

*snicker*



baaaaahahahahaha!!!!

When I saw the measurements I knew it was going to be small, but nothing prepared me for how teeny this thing was. I felt it in the envelope and said "naaaah, it couldn't be the brush could it?"

The bristles feel harder than the Davincis ones, but after a soak they weren't too bad.

It even makes a decent lather! A lot better than the 6 dollar Woolies brush!



I decided I'd try it on my face and found that it was miles ahead of the Davinci brush in terms of comfort. It may look diminutive and terribly built (and believe me, it is) but I would still shave with this thing if I needed to.

My rating of this 'terrible' brush is 4/10. It gains two points on the Davinci because its size makes it a great travel brush. It's smaller than the spare space left inside most razor travel cases (i.e. you can stuff it in there and it'll still close). That and the brush actually feels better than the Davinci once you soak it. I bought this brush from eBay for a wet-shaving starter kit for a mate. I'd love to keep this thing and give him the Davinci one, but I wouldn't wish that brush on my worst enemy.

The quest for the worstest shaving brush continues!

Jonsta

I was not a fan of the tweezerman brush

Thanks for taking the time to do a very detailed review

Ladies and Gentlemen... I believe I may have found it!

The worstest shaving brush...ever!



This was picked up at Yen Huot Two kitchenware and gifts in Woodridge QLD (had to be Woodridge) for the princely sum of 2.95. Not bad considering it wasn't a Bay purchase. I saw it and this thread instantly popped up in my head.

"That thing looks like CRAP! ...I wonder how crap it really is?"

Well folks, this brush has indeed redefined what a bad shaving brush can be.

First thing I noticed when taking it out of the pack is how light it felt. The plastic packaging was actually half the weight of the entire product. The whole thing weighs 26 grams sopping wet. Second thing I noticed was how stiff the bristles were. No hair could be this stiff, it had to be a full synthetic and a bad one at that.

I decided to give it a few swirls on my hand (straight out of the pack, no soap, no water) and promptly lost at least 30 hairs - I didn't count 'em - from everywhere on the knot. I knew I was in for a treat when I squeezed the handle a bit and heard it creak under the pressure. I lathered it with Proraso Red as the White was almost all used up and I PIFed it to a mate of mine. (3017ers are allowed to rage now)



About the same results as the DaVinci brush. So why is this worse when it's less than half the price? Well...

As I picked it up after 10 mins soaking in hot water while I was in the shower...I heard sloshing. Yes, there was water inside the brush! I tried shaking it in all sorts of directions and then leaving it in my beautiful wire hangar brush stand.

12 hours later and she was still a'sloshin'! The solution?



Crack open the two piece friction fit handle and let the water out. Yep, it just fell apart when I pulled on the red section!

This is indeed the worst brush I have ever owned (not used...I'm not going to use it! YOU use it!) and as far as this thread is concerned, this is the worstest brush that anyone has seen ever. I never thought I'd actually prefer the Davinci to anything, but there ya go.

0.5/10 due to the combination of it being too light, shedding like a sasquatch in Death Valley, poorly built and scritchier than a wire buffing wheel!

I believe my quest is complete. Unless someone out there has a worse one? I'd like to see you try!

Jonsta

Wow! This thread is highly entertaining, keep up the good work!