Newbie Question

Ok So i have a question about shave brushes. I have been wetshaving for over a year. I only have one brush, a Merkur Futur Silvertip. I love this brush to me its superb. Now that being said i dont have any other brushes to compare it to. A while back i fired a PM to Joel for help, and boy did he ever. He help me pick a few brushes for my needs. Unfortunately I wimped out because i couldnt decide. I figured why i wimped out, i don't understand all the specs of a brush (loft, density, stifness of bristle etc...). So if figured if i could learn what the specs signified and hopw they affect a shave i might be able to make an informed decision. So please B&B help me learn so that i may expand my SBAD

Thanks

camelman0075 said:

Ok So i have a question about shave brushes. I have been wetshaving for over a year. I only have one brush, a Merkur Futur Silvertip. I love this brush to me its superb. Now that being said i dont have any other brushes to compare it to. A while back i fired a PM to Joel for help, and boy did he ever. He help me pick a few brushes for my needs. Unfortunately I wimped out because i couldnt decide. I figured why i wimped out, i don't understand all the specs of a brush (loft, density, stifness of bristle etc...). So if figured if i could learn what the specs signified and hopw they affect a shave i might be able to make an informed decision. So please B&B help me learn so that i may expand my SBAD

Thanks

Click to expand...

I think you should read the stickies which are at the "shaving brushes" section and reviews on brushes on the "reviews" section. Then you can ask more specific and precise questions, which will be easier for people to answer. Your post is just like posting "tell me all you know about wet shaving" it's just too much information, and it has allready been written, so it's probable that people won't feel too inclined to answer if you post something so general.

thanks for the heads up... now that i finish reading the sticky i have narrowed my questions to:

1) Bristle Density: If I am a cream and soap user (i like to change up)should i go with a denser or "floppier" brush.

2) In the Reviews section there a property that gets evaluated: Stiffness of Bristles... What does this mean

I got a Dovo Pearlex in silvertip, if yours is anything like mine it is super soft but very floppy ok on cream but not so much on soaps.

If you switch between soaps and creams as I do you want a middle of the road brush not something so stiff that it is mainly for face lathering but not a floppy brush either. I got a Shavemac 23mm in silvertip that is great with soaps and creams both, it is more stiff then the Dovo brush and no where near as floppy but still as soft, also some of the Kent brushes are suppose to be good with both.

Also you never mentioned how do you plan on making your lather in a bowl or on your face and how much are you willing to spend. With a little more info and I am sure you will get some responses.

Ok I'll make one last ditch effort to make sense of this thread ( sorry everyone whose read this thread, I'm coming to realization that its super vague and disorganised, I have been writing report all day at work and now my brain is dead).


I'm a soap and cream guy i use each equally(1805 being the stiffest cream and TOBS the most whipped). I currently use a a Merkur Silvertip, which i love the "floppy" density and super soft tips. I feel its tim for a new brush but also because the Merkur is shaped oddly i get hand cramps from whipping up a crazy lather, so i wanted to get a brush with with a normal handle ( yes i reallize that this officially makes almost every brush out there a possiblity).

What I guess I'm looking is a brush that is a bit more dense than the Merkur, but just as soft ( i guess that means silvertip). I only bowl lather so i guess i dont really need a "scrubby" brush. The material used to make the handle is of little consideration as long as it not shaped like the Merkur.

Now I have looked at the BK4 from Kent, but my ego is holding me back as my buddy already has it and I dont feel like getting the same brush (this isnt to say i wont keep the BK4 as an option because i tried it and its is really a nice brush). I'm just trying to figure out what other options i have. Oh yeah and i guess the price range im looking at is top 125$

Thanks everyone sorry for the disorganization before

Loft...height of bristles. Longer for whipping up cream in a bowl(50-55mm), shorter for soaps(46-50mm, better for scraping off some soap from a puck.)

Density...how many bristles are packed into a knot. The more dense, the more expensive, the less floppyand the less it will splay out on the face, the better at face lathering, the more luxurious on the face.

Floppy vs stiff...floppy for whipping creams up in a bowl and "painting" it onto the face, stiffer for face lathering, soap use, exfoliation and scritchy feel on the skin.

A Shavemac in silvertip or a Savile Row would be my first recommendations, they both have several models in your price range and both will work fine with either soaps or creams either will be more dense and not as floppy as your Dovo I wouldn't think but still have enough give to them that they feel soft and good on the face. Shavemac is at shavemac.com, Savile Row is at qedusa.com, there are pictures on Charles's wacky catch all page, his website is terrible but there is a link to photos if you see something you are interested in just e-mail or call him and he will get back to you, his service is great and he would be glad to talk to you to help you decide which one you want.

Two other things to consider is loft size in both diameter and height, you can measure yours and that will give you a starting point with what you like or don't, typically 22-24 mm would be average size over that is large brushes, and loft height would be somewhere between 45 and 50mm but that is somewhat dependent on the diameter, the taller the loft the more floppy the brush too.