Brush head shapes

Fido

Fido

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New Forest, England.
I would welcome some help with my shaving brush blog. I want to refer to fan and bulb shape brush heads and to explain the characteristics of each shape. What is best for what etc.

Can our experts explain or provide a link to an information source?
 
I think the only one that has anything to say about brush head shapes is Charles Roberts, and my personal opinion of anything he writes is 'load of cr*p'.

Other than that, I would guess that it, again, is a matter of personal preference. Can't think of any real advantages - disadvantages of one head shape over the other. I think the major brush parameters are material (badger vs boar vs synthetic), density and loft, all resulting in level of water retention and 'floppiness' so to say.

But I'm just speculating here, so I could be wrong ;-)

Henk
 
Henk

Some think that a fan shaped head is better for face lathering but then I guess it needs to be dense and firm as well. Some think that a bulb shape creates better lather in a bowl. I've not really thought about it but I bet someone has, so I await further contributions with interest.
 
I currently have one brush with a bulb shape, Semogue 620. It is quite a firm brush, knot 22mm, loft 50mm and it requires a firm hand to bring the outer bristle tips into play on a soap cake. This is in turn puts alot of soap into the brush. It requires the a similar amount of push to get that onto the face for lathering. A decent massaging affect.

Most, if not all 2 Band badgers have this shaped knot & they are seen as the pinnacle, by many, of face lathering tools.

The fan shaped brushes I use do not require the same amount of force to load the brush and lather. Density, bristle grade & type will affect this but so will the knot shape.
 
I have two brushes from the same manufacturer that are near identical besides their knot shape.

Anecdotally I'd say the fan shaped knot does generate lather on the face more easily but it also splay's considerably more, as fozz has mentioned it maybe just easier to pick up soap, maybe its the action of all those bristles working in unison that make it a bit more effective, maybe.
I'd like to be able to say the bulb shaped knot has a firmer feel because of the shorter stouter hair around the perimeter of the knot but I can't,
I don't really know if I really prefer one from the other, they are just different and different to use.

There are bulb and bulb variants, Simpson generally produce sharp bulb shaped knots now as they make their own. Could it be an economic decision to make a bulb shaped knot, you need less longer hair for starters.
 
antdad said:
Could it be an economic decision to make a bulb shaped knot, you need less longer hair for starters.
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Could be, but I doubt it. Making a brush knot is not unlike hair stacking for e.g. hairwing flies in fly tying. If you want to 'skimp' on long hairs by making a bulb shaped knot and using shorter hairs for the 'perimeter' of the knot, you'll have to manually distribute your longer and shorter hair over the center vs. the perimeter of the 'hair stacker' used to shape the knot. I guess that that manual process will cost more in time and aggravation than it offers in 'hair savings'. My guess is that all bunches of hair are cut about equally long and then introduced at once in the stacker, or at least, if done in multiple bunches, without regard to which length hair goes where. Then after filling the stacker, the bunch is tied together at the base (just above the rim of the stacker), cut, and glued

Henk
 
henkverhaar said:
My guess is that all bunches of hair are cut about equally long and then introduced at once in the stacker, or at least, if done in multiple bunches, without regard to which length hair goes where. Then after filling the stacker, the bunch is tied together at the base (just above the rim of the stacker), cut, and glued Henk
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Yes indeed, I was thinking allowed, I'd forgotten I'd seen pictures of this process from different makers, the hair has always been roughly the same length when it goes into the stacker.

I know owners go into a hissy fit when their brushes shed a couple of hairs every now and then but there are many many thousands of hairs that could potentially break under stress or pull out of the resin plug.
 
Some hairs will naturally break so I don't worry about a hair or two getting lost. One thing that can go wrong is not allowing a brush to ever fully dry. Some brushes take more than 24 hours to dry and while that is not a problem in the short term, in the long term it can lead to the base of the hairs rotting and then it starts to shed like crazy.

Some are very fastidious about cleaning their razors but the brush is a perfect home to bacteria, if cleaned I think the rot could be slowed, but I still don't think any natural haired brush could stand being constantly wet.

What did they do in the days when DE was king? I asked my dad this and he said he only ever had one brush; the only time it got any rest was when he didn't shave that day. Now and again it got cleaned with a quick shampoo, but when it started shedding too much it got tossed and replaced. Brushes were also plentiful and cheap back then apparently.

There are other factors that cause a brush to shed hairs, the video on The Gentlemans Shop references only using a painting motion and that swirling should be avoided, so how much force used could also be a factor, but I think allowing to dry and cleaning your shaving brush now and again are the two thing I try to do and it does seem to minimise hair loss.
 
Losing the occasional hair is a minor irritation because they seem to embed themselves tenaciously in the soap, but it really isn't that distressing. The Kent BK4 has proved excellent in this respect because it has yet to shed a single one. I'm quite punctilious about drying brushes, which in fact is the main reason for having more than one. As regards head shapes, I don't feel qualified to say much, except that I've had good results from both.
 
I have to agree (once again!) with Henk - personal preference is key here. I prefer bulb shaped brushes, as the shorter bristles on the edges seem to provide a nicer feeling when moving the brush sideways (does that make sense?!)

Fan shape brushes just feel too 'slappy' for my liking.... and they don't look as nice either!
 
neocaligatio said:
I have to agree (once again!) with Henk - personal preference is key here. I prefer bulb shaped brushes, as the shorter bristles on the edges seem to provide a nicer feeling when moving the brush sideways (does that make sense?!)

Fan shape brushes just feel too 'slappy' for my liking.... and they don't look as nice either!
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+1
 
It's interesting to look back at this thread. There are very popular brushes in both shapes. I have some superb bulb shape brushes and some equally excellent fan shape brushes. I'm pleased to have great examples of both types.
 
Interesting thread Peter! I've never really given much thought about these. I reckon I fancy fan/bell-shaped knots and bulbous not so much. Perhaps if it's too bulbous then not likely. The latter I've a few of unless I am grossly mistaken as majority if not all of my Omega are fan-shape or at least some slightly bulbous. Few Vulfix favourites are bulbous. I don't know the underlying differences or advantages of one over the other. Only that I know if it were bulbous one can presume that the outer section would support the inner bristles thus proving to be effective with soaps.

With fan, how do I put this it just spreads but there's no supporting it while loading it from puck. As such I find myself grasping the bristles on its sides with my thumb, middle finger and index for centre for nice firm bristle. In a way, it prevents bristle breakage or even shedding for that matter.

Good example of this is my all time favourite Omega 21047. Without delving into a review I'll mention few characteristics. You can feel every bristle massage your face. It's silvertip counterpart Omega 599 is just the opposite. While you feel the hair massage you it's outer hair splay in such a way that it does not massage you. Nevertheless, I like the performances on both brushes. They each have differences in performance and at same time they are one of the best I've used. That said, I like both fan and bulbous brushes. If they perform that's all that matters to me. Thing about brushes is even with same model under same brand be it boar/badger can perform quite differently.

If you are going to limit yourself to one particular style or shape you will miss out on many wonderful things. Unless of course they don't work for you then that's another issue.
 
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