Badgers Brushes...talk to me.

Blademonkey said:
That's a lovely lather you've got there, you are not doing too much wrong, as a matter of interest what if any pre shave product do you use?
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I do usually use King of Shaves pre shave oil.
Today I thought I'd leave it out. I used a little dab of TOBS on my face and warm water as pre shave.
I thought the pre shave oil may be affecting the lather. Nothing conclusive yet. I do think the oil helps though.

I took my time today with the lather and got good lather but I've never had a problem with TOBS in the past TBH.
 
Blackmass said:
I do usually use King of Shaves pre shave oil.
Today I thought I'd leave it out. I used a little dab of TOBS on my face and warm water as pre shave.
I thought the pre shave oil may be affecting the lather. Nothing conclusive yet. I do think the oil helps though.

I took my time today with the lather and got good lather but I've never had a problem with TOBS in the past TBH.
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It could be the oil that is making the lather to break down, just a thought, try with just the bloom water on your face while you whip up your lather. See how that goes.
 
Blademonkey said:
It could be the oil that is making the lather to break down, just a thought, try with just the bloom water on your face while you whip up your lather. See how that goes.
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If you already do this then I appologise in advance....when you have tipped your bloom water out ( I never waste mine I put it on as a pre shave) lather up your brush getting plenty of soap then transfer in to your bowl and whisk, when the lather gets thicker add just a few drops of warm water at a time, five or six drops off your finger tips and whisk away again and just keep repeating this process untill you have a voluminous and peaky lather in your bowl. The trick is not to add too much water, you can always add more if needed.
Again I'm sorry if you know all of this already.
 
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Blackmass said:
I really like the idea of going for a custom made brush. Thing is I have no idea what type of knot to go for.
I'm only getting my head round the various grades if hair. I still don't know what the difference is between a two and three band.
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Without pissing on anyone's chips, this is precisely why people should not be advising you to spec a custom badger. You don't know what you want and value in a brush and neither do they. Invest time into reading from the archives of the various shaving forums and pick a brush at the lower end of your budget to get you started. There's no substitute for learned experience. Better yet, read up on lathering. Your problems with your synthetic brush are down to user error. But it's your money.
wayne mattison said:
I have to agree with blademonkey on this. If anyone uses poor quality knots it is the mass produced stuff. I'm not naming names but we all know them. If you buy a Shavemac, Cadman, Whipped dog, Romera, Pantarei Paladin etc then you are getting the very best knots available on the market. If not then they would soon be out of business. When was the last time you heard of an Edwin Jagger/Muhle group buy?
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There's some misinformation here. For example, Shavemac and Whipped Dog occupy completely different ends of the spectrum. Bernd makes his knots as well as his handles. Larry sources his. Similarly, MÜHLE are, in fact, one of the increasingly few brushmakers around that do actually make knots in house. In this vein, Cadman, Paladin etc make brush handles but not the knot itself. There's no shame in that - it's a different game. What I'm getting at is that the 'very best knots available on the market' is far from tangible nor should it really be inferred based on the amount of social media hype surrounding the maker - much like 'artisan soap'.

Edit: For the sake of disclosure, I've had my taste of Rooney, Thäter, Plisson, Shavemac etc yet one of the brushes that left the biggest positive impressions on me was a sub-£25 Whipped Dog silvertip (http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/community/index.php?threads/whipped-dog-silvertip-a-review.24733/) that gave me a better understanding as to why I wasn't getting on with my M&F in Finest at the time. As I say: learned experience.
 
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Blademonkey said:
So @Blackmass you have around fourteen points of view to pick through, some offer similar views or opinions some do not but hey nobody said it was going to be easy! May the force be with you!
The only advice I can really give you is don't eat the yellow snow!
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Laffin!:D

Well I did ask.:) I really wasn't sure I should post a thread just yet as I'm a total newbie.

I needed to get some advice as I was going round in circles in my head.

I will read through the responses again tomorrow, as I'm currently under the influence of a few too many glasses of red wine....and on a school night, tut, tut.

I'm really grateful for all the recommendations and advice, it's been invaluable.

Cheers
Rob
 
Blackmass said:
Laffin!:D

Well I did ask.:) I really wasn't sure I should post a thread just yet as I'm a total newbie.

I needed to get some advice as I was going round in circles in my head.

I will read through the responses again tomorrow, as I'm currently under the influence of a few too many glasses of red wine....and on a school night, tut, tut.

I'm really grateful for all the recommendations and advice, it's been invaluable.

Cheers
Rob
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It's never too early to get advice.....even if it is all different!
Take it easy.
 
You will never get everyone agreeing on a forum. What you will get is opinions. Some mild some strong but still opinions. When I first started visiting forums reading the replies to my questions left me flabbergasted as I read the various power struggles going on in threads. they made difficult reading at times as insults were traded back and forth. It is just like Trip Advisor in the end. If you read all the negative posts you'd never go anywhere. Pick the bits you like and research them further. You will get there in the end. There isn't one way of doing this shaving lark. Everyone's skin is different and everyone's shave is individual to them.
 
Blackmass said:
Ok so I've only got one brush at the moment, a Razorock Plissoft (24mm) with a Bruce handle.

I'd like to try a badger brush. I've been reading on here and on the web (including YouTube) but the more I read the more unsure I am of what I should get.

Here's some more information which might help with your responses.
I mainly bowl lather (with varying degrees of success).
With only trying the Razorock, it's hard to say what I'm looking for from a badger brush. The Razorock is soft enough but I would like maybe some more backbone and scrub.

Budget can be anything between £50-100.
I'm basically looking for guidance and how to narrow down my options.

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Rob
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Hi Rob I will try to advise here too, I personally like to bowl lather too and find that my Finest knots produce a very good lather with minimal amount of effect, these knots are dense in hairs with plenty of backbone and still soft with a little scritch too, available 22mm 24mm and 26mm (26mm subject to availability) I may have some TGN Finest knots too, handles are you choice of profile and colour or colours, lofts set at you choice too although 50mm - 53mm is a good option.
I only recommend these Rob on the basis I have sold more of the Finest together with Silvertips than I have Best Badger.

If I can help Rob drop me a line.
Mervyn
 
wayne mattison said:
You will never get everyone agreeing on a forum. What you will get is opinions. Some mild some strong but still opinions. When I first started visiting forums reading the replies to my questions left me flabbergasted as I read the various power struggles going on in threads. they made difficult reading at times as insults were traded back and forth. It is just like Trip Advisor in the end. If you read all the negative posts you'd never go anywhere. Pick the bits you like and research them further. You will get there in the end. There isn't one way of doing this shaving lark. Everyone's skin is different and everyone's shave is individual to them.
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Too true, couldn't have said it better myself, nice one Wayne.
 
It's now nearly seven years since I published this blog.

http://fidosshavingbrushblog.blogspot.co.uk

It's now well out of date so doesn't refer to some of the excellent new suppliers. But if you really want to do some thorough research you should find something of interest if you scroll through the blog. The research I did enabled me to set up my brush business which I closed last year.

If you are prepared to spend up to a hundred pounds you will get a brush that should serve you well for many years. My strictly personal choice in your price range would be a Simpsons Duke 3 Best Badger. It's not by accident that Simpsons have been around so long. But if you want a one off you will obviously go for a custom made brush and you already have suggestions for that.
 
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