Fido's New Forest Superior Badger 2201

Just a word about my thoughts on a fan shape version of the 2201. My 50mm loft sample may be just a litttle too soft - it is firmer than many floppies and will make a great cream brush,but I plan to try lower lofts before deciding when and if to go ahead with one. It is on hold for now.
 
I ordered my NF 2201 yesterday afternoon and it arrived this morning in time for me to use it for my shave.

Top class service, top class brush, and 'Fido' is a real gent.

The brush is superb. Quite stiff but really soft on your face, and it lathers stupidly well.

For the money, it's a steal!

Ian
 
Just have a fantastic shave with my 2201! :D

Seriously - you won't get a brush this soft anywhere else for this price. It's "two-band best" but when wet it feels as soft as my Savile Row silvertip, and that's soft! :mrgreen:

It passes my "multiple pass with a Feather" test with flying colours - no scritch, prickle whatsoever and no discomfort even on final pass, like I used to get with pretty much every Rooney and Simpson I owned (both Best and Super).

I'm very glad Fido has been honest right from the start about the grade of hair. Yes, it's two-band "best", it has two bands. But it isn't at all like the overly stiff and uncomfortable Duke two-band I had. That was quite prickly to me and never really softened up.

I'm sure Rooney's Finest/Plisson HMW is different again.

So, two-band hair really only describes a knot's appearance, not the characteristics of the bristle, as there seems to be more than one type of two-band hair.

I have a very minor criticism of the brush - I do prefer a little more backbone, which my SR has (although that cost £60!), but this really isn't a big deal. What's important is that it lathered my Trumper's Limes soap (hard, triple-miled) with aplomb, and felt great on the face. It also doesn't hog lather.

I do hope Fido comes up with a HMW/Rooney Finest euqivalent brush, with the same soft tips but with more backbone. I wouldn't want a denser brush than this it would no doubt hog the lather.

Very very impressed Fido - keep up the good work, and I will certainly be buying another of your brushes in the future!

John
 
John, don't add confusion where there is no confusion to be had, with respect I have a "few" Simpson two bands and I wouldn't describe any of them as prickly and some are equally as soft Fido's depending on density and loft.

The hair is described by the manufacturer as "Long Best" and we commonly know it generically as two band. It has never been described "2 band Best" and it is as near as damn it comparable to Simpson 2 band Super hair. You can see how calling it 2 band best might be problematic, it's Superior Badger similar to Simpson 2 band which the Chinese like to call "Long Best".
 
Well, I'm utterly confused. Compared with my other badger brushes, or the Semogue LE for that matter, I wouldn't even say that the New Forest is especially soft tipped, but I do know that it's comfortable and works exceedingly well.
 
antdad said:
John, don't add confusion where there is no confusion to be had, with respect I have a "few" Simpson two bands and I wouldn't describe any of them as prickly and some are equally as soft Fido's depending on density and loft.
Click to expand...

Gents, I certainly didn't mean to cause any confusion. All I was saying (and in a complementary way) is that although the hair is described as Best (albeit two band) it is as soft as any Silvertip I've owned, and much softer than the two-band Trumper Simpsons I had. I'm not sure if my Trumper Duke was typical of two band Simpsons, but didn't get on with it.

The fact is, hair that is two-band in appearance does not necessarily mean that it will have the same characteristics as other two-band hair, there are variations. Fido has rightly described two band hair as being exactly that, which I take it to mean that it describes the appearance of the hair only, not its characteristics.

Personally I think the whole grading thing is confusing by default, as there is no standard, and adding to that, natural variation in hair batches etc...

I always take brush reviews with a pinch of salt these days as I've owned a few sample of the same model and there have definitely been differences, in some cases quite large differences.

John
 
Received mine today (Thanks fido)

First impressions based on appearance are good, it looks a classy well made product.

Definitely nowhere near as soft as the C&E/Edwin Jagger Super Badger brush that it's replacing, but what it is is substantially firmer, which is exactly what I wanted as i predominantly use soaps, and the Edwin Jagger was too soft for hard soaps.

Tried making a lather in my soap bowl and it seemed to whip up a nice thick creamy consistency quite easilly. Only a few hairs were shed on the first use, and this seemed to be the extent of its loss.

Will report more as and when I use it.
 
UPDATE:

well... what a perfect brush for soap indeed. It is exactly what I wanted from my next brush. The quality and upper class feel of the C&E Super Badger, with the backbone of my cheaper tweezerman.

Probably achieved the best shave I've had yet tonight. Wetted the brush, shook off most of the water and began swirling into my wooden bowl of C&E Nomad shave soap. A thick creamy lather started to build. One or two drops of water later and its a thick moose making peaks on the brush. Gorgeous stuff.

Together with finally having found the technique needed to avoid my usual lower neck nasty spot, ive achieved an irritation, redness and injury free BBS

Thanks again Fido. Superb brush indeed, and highly recommended for all you soap lovers.
 
I'm pleased to be able to report something positive about B&B. They have added a statement on the edited thread about the 2201 on their site which removes any reference to shilling or actions by me to encourage others to posts supportive comments. I have no objection to them reporting that I had reregistered after being banned. They took this action after I had expressed my concerns about their previous remarks. I am happy to let this matter rest now.
 
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