Need Opinions (Shavemac)

All,

As I venture into my second brush purchase I was hoping to gather up some thoughts on designing a custom scuttle/bowl latherer.

My first silvertip badger brush was the Rudy Vey 2014 Stubby Holiday LE w/ a 24mm Shavemac 2-band w/ a loft of 46-48mm. This brush is fantastic! I use it almost daily and mostly as a face latherer and was looking to get something similar to use w/ my newly acquired (thanks to a generous PIF) G20 scuttle. I am in talks w/ Rudy but wanted to see what everyone else thought that had more brush experience than I. I was thinking about going with a longer handle to start. Something from 60-70mm or longer? I was also thinking about sticking w/ the Shavemac 2-band silvertip but going with the bulb shape. Should I bump the loft up some or knot size? Or stick in the realm of 24mm/50mm loft? not sure how high or big I should go. The G20 is 3.5 inches deep or so. Just trying to get something a little different shape and size but not so far off that its a floppy mess or incapable of face lathering if I chose to do so. What say you? Recap.

Handle - 60 -70 mm or bigger?
knot/loft - 24mm or ?? / 50mm or ??
Shavemac 2-band silvertip bulb

Thanks for any insight you might be able to share.

Knot 24
Loft 48
Handle 74

Shavemac 2 band silvertip
Rudy Vey handle

I gave Rudy my general idea he set the knot. It is a fantastic brush.

If you stick with the 2 band silvertip, 24x54 is a good size. You may want to bump up to 24x56 if you don't want it too pointy or down to 24x52 if you don't care about it being pointy and want it stiffer.

26x54, 26x58, 24x54

Mike H said:

View attachment 574466

Knot 24
Loft 48
Handle 74

Shavemac 2 band silvertip
Rudy Vey handle

I gave Rudy my general idea he set the knot. It is a fantastic brush.

Click to expand...

What a beauty.

Chronarch said:

All,

As I venture into my second brush purchase I was hoping to gather up some thoughts on designing a custom scuttle/bowl latherer.

My first silvertip badger brush was the Rudy Vey 2014 Stubby Holiday LE w/ a 24mm Shavemac 2-band w/ a loft of 46-48mm. This brush is fantastic! I use it almost daily and mostly as a face latherer and was looking to get something similar to use w/ my newly acquired (thanks to a generous PIF) G20 scuttle...
Thanks for any insight you might be able to share.

Click to expand...

You are about to embark on a very personal journey into brushes. Please don't limit yourself to other people's ideas about shaving!

I have a write up about some of my brushes here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/441137-How-to-choose-a-nice-brush . This might be helpful as a starting point. Below is a snip from the first post in the thread.

"The problem with trying to extrapolate from others experiences regarding brushes lies in the fact that it doesn’t work. It does fuel some fierce debates here on B&B but there is really no way that you can translate others experiences to your shaving. Your shaving is unique to you. Furthermore brush reviews seldom contain any info at all about of the shave method used or how experienced the reviewer is. Even if learning from others experiences did work what would be the fun in not finding out for yourself? Would you really be happy with a brush because somebody recommended it?"

My advice would be to open mindedly try out different knots from the Shavemac line as they are all splendid.

Brent:
You can also get the knot and they will do a custom one for you. Or you can get the knot and have someone make the handle and set it for you I used this one with that scuttle with no problems. Hope you are enjoying it

bosseb said:

You are about to embark on a very personal journey into brushes. Please don't limit yourself to other people's ideas about shaving!

I have a write up about some of my brushes here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/441137-How-to-choose-a-nice-brush . This might be helpful as a starting point. Below is a snip from the first post in the thread.

"The problem with trying to extrapolate from others experiences regarding brushes lies in the fact that it doesn’t work. It does fuel some fierce debates here on B&B but there is really no way that you can translate others experiences to your shaving. Your shaving is unique to you. Furthermore brush reviews seldom contain any info at all about of the shave method used or how experienced the reviewer is. Even if learning from others experiences did work what would be the fun in not finding out for yourself? Would you really be happy with a brush because somebody recommended it?"

My advice would be to open mindedly try out different knots from the Shavemac line as they are all splendid.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I had already basically decided on what I was looking for. Long handle/Shavemac 2-band bulb w/ a little more loft. Seeing others brushes and what fellow members had to say helps me hone in on the final numbers. It's tough to not consider outside advice when spending $150+ on a brush.

Thanks everyone for your input. I am definitely trending towards the long handle with the ball type end. I was thinking about that even before seeing the wonderful pics in this thread. With that type of handle you can grip towards the end to lather up in a deep bowl and then grip higher to apply or face lather. I'll make sure to post pics once I get it!

Forgot to ask, is your original brush a fan shape?

Used my 24x54 2-band silvertip today and it's just an amazing brush. Actually measures 25x53 so a touch more loft would be great, but I'm happy.

Jarick said:

Forgot to ask, is your original brush a fan shape?

Used my 24x54 2-band silvertip today and it's just an amazing brush. Actually measures 25x53 so a touch more loft would be great, but I'm happy.

Click to expand...

My original brush is a fan shape. As you can see the G20 scuttle engulfs it. Ha. Never a bad excuse to get another brush right? Would like to try the bulb for sure.

Here are three custom brushes with long handles, with the length of the handle listed next to the maker. All three brushes have 26mm TGN knots set at a 50mm loft. Those knot configurations are what I generally prefer in 2-band brushes.



Left: Bob Quinn/Elite Razor, 59mm tall.
Middle: Bob Quinn/Elite Razor, 60mm tall.
Right: Doug Korn, 66mm tall.

The long handles makes these brushes ideal for bowl lathering. However, I face lather exclusively and have no difficulty whatsoever with the long handles by using a higher grip on them.

The new Shavemac silvertip 2-band is outstanding. I have one in a 26mm bulb and it's an amazing performer with an exceptionally well formed bulb knot.

The one caveat I would add is that the Shavemac bulb is a very rounded shape compared to say a TGN or Simpson brush.

Thater/Shavemac bulbs:



TGN 2-band:

Shavemac 2-band bulb knots are indeed very rounded. I would also ask Bernd to pick you a bulb knot that is not pointy. I find pointy bulb knots to be unpleasant on the face.

That's one exceptionally sexy lineup you've posted there bosseb.

Don't tell the wife; but I fear I'm becoming aroused.

Rob Jones said:

That's one exceptionally sexy lineup you've posted there bosseb.

Don't tell the wife; but I fear I'm becoming aroused.

Click to expand...

Strange...I thought that will be the best time to tell the wife

Rob Jones said:

That's one exceptionally sexy lineup you've posted there bosseb.

Don't tell the wife; but I fear I'm becoming aroused.

Click to expand...

merkur59 said:

Strange...I thought that will be the best time to tell the wife

Click to expand...

It's called brush porn for a reason!

merkur59 said:

Strange...I thought that will be the best time to tell the wife

Click to expand...

BAM1

I do like the way you think merkur59. Genius I'd dare say.

Now, if I could somehow convince my beloved that the shaving brushes I lust for actually serve as an aphrodisiac, then she'll be earnestly encouraging me to purchase whatever might be my hearts desire.

Thank you.

Put my down payment on the Shavemac knot w/ Rudy today. Went w/ a 26/56 2-band bulb. Going to throw it in a 80mm 2-tone handle similar to this. Should be a bowl lathering monster. Should be 4 weeks or so before the knot comes in from Bernd. Now the wait begins. Rudy is such a great guy to deal with. Very patient with my hemming and hawing on what to do. He also helped make the decisions easier with his great knowledge in this realm. Thanks everyone for your input as well and the great pictures. I will post up the pics as soon as I have it.

Received an update from Rudy that my brush is nearing completion. Should receive it next week. Can't wait! Thanks again for everyone's input. Here is a pic.