Scritchy?

I noticed that some of my high end brushes felt a little prickly but not in the same way as you expect with pure badger. It is a very gentle prickly, better described as "scritchy" It is found for example n the Rooney Finest, Plisson High White Mountain, and the Finest Silvertips of Shavemac and Savile Row brushes. They are all beautifully soft when wet and during face lathering.

Someone posted this remark on my blog:

"This scritchy trait you are describing is a result of the keratin fibers. When they become wet, water is "locked" into the protein structure molecules of them...When they dry out, they return to their more or less rigid state."
 
Almost like the hairs of the brush are a little abrasive and scrubbing.

The opposite of scritchy is the New Forest 2201, whereas my Jagger Best Badger is quite scritchy.

Ian
 
My interpretation is that if you can feel the bristles when wet and through wet lather, then it's scritchy.

Some brushes are more scritchy than others, some have absolutely no scritch at all (i.e. Kent BK4).

Some bristles feel unpleasant on the skin, which I call prickle. Pure badger for example. Scritchy is different to prickle - you can feel the brush but not in a bad way.

Hard to explain!

My Savile Row has almost no scritch, but just a bit, which I like. As does the NF 2201. I wouldn't want any more though. I found the Semogue 620 beyond scritchy - actually very prickly.
 
My experience is that scritchy relates only to the brush when dry - it really is not an issue once in use. If a brush feels prickly when lathering that is a significant issue if it feels uncomfortable. This is normally only a characteristic of pure badger grade brushes.
 
I notice this on my Plisson and Rooney Finest, the shaft of the hair has some flex but is stiffer than a normal brush. When dry the ends of it are slightly rough feeling, not like a boar kind of rough where it is discernible strands of prickly hair; but more like lots more small hairs that you can feel especially when dry like the hairs on a nettle. I admit I expected pillow soft tips when I bought the Plisson and it is not like that at all, the HMW has more roughness to it then my supers and best brushes when dry.

When fully soaked the stiffer tips are still there but I don't feel them yet they are still stiffer tips, this allows me to lather using only the tips. They are stiff enough to agitate the mix without pushing down on the brush, it is kind of like a no pressure shave where you let the weight of the razor do the work; similarly lathering with brushes that seem have this property I don't need any pressure to feel it working on the stubble. The knot isn't splayed out while working with the lather.

If you press in and use it like any other brush it works just the same but then you loose that benefit of just the tips agitating the lather and lifting the hairs. Maybe I am talking shite but I have tried lathering with my Plisson and Rooney with no pressure and it is easier and kinder on the face than using a 1/1 and scrubbing like you are removing a layer of skin, but the difference is very subtle and sometimes (i think) goes unnoticed by many.

As for the term "scritchy" I think it is a made up name when someone is trying to describe this effect of not scrubby but not soft either, something in between. As Fido said I expect it from HMW or Rooney finest when dry but when wet it is not annoying, it is just enough to move the lather but not too much that it is like rubbing your face with a nettle.

(Edited to remove the shitty carriage returns my text editor added when I copied it from there into here)
 
Audiolab said:
I notice this on my Plisson and Rooney Finest, the shaft of the hair has some flex but is stiffer than a normal brush. When dry the ends of it are slightly rough feeling, not like a boar kind of rough where it is discernible strands of prickly hair; but more like lots more small hairs that you can feel especially when dry like the hairs on a nettle. I admit I expected pillow soft tips when I bought the Plisson and it is not like that at all, the HMW has more roughness to it then my supers and best brushes when dry.

When fully soaked the stiffer tips are still there but I don't feel them yet they are still stiffer tips, this allows me to lather using only the tips. They are stiff enough to agitate the mix without pushing down on the brush, it is kind of like a no pressure shave where you let the weight of the razor do the work; similarly lathering with brushes that seem have this property I don't need any pressure to feel it working on the stubble. The knot isn't splayed out while working with the lather.

If you press in and use it like any other brush it works just the same but then you loose that benefit of just the tips agitating the lather and lifting the hairs. Maybe I am talking shite but I have tried lathering with my Plisson and Rooney with no pressure and it is easier and kinder on the face than using a 1/1 and scrubbing like you are removing a layer of skin, but the difference is very subtle and sometimes (i think) goes unnoticed by many.

As for the term "scritchy" I think it is a made up name when someone is trying to describe this effect of not scrubby but not soft either, something in between. As Fido said I expect it from HMW or Rooney finest when dry but when wet it is not annoying, it is just enough to move the lather but not too much that it is like rubbing your face with a nettle.

(Edited to remove the shitty carriage returns my text editor added when I copied it from there into here)
Click to expand...

Thank you Audio. By your description the rumours about Vie-Long using same Badgers as Plisson is vile odious lie. Your experience contradicts that of my own with those Vie-Long I used. So there's really no evidence to support these insipid claims by ignorant member(s). When soaked the tips aren't stiff at all-White, Gray, Black, Boar/Badger... If anything the 16590 Black has more spine than the rest. I probed the vendors providing my preferences and came to suggest the more "backbone" of brush to my liking would be 16590 compared to say a 16910/16510 Silvertip only useful for creams. In truth I was leaning towards the Black anyway according to description and specs. But wanted absolutes.

Dry they are quite soft after you feel the slight prick. These that have such properties list every grade but Silver:
Vie-Long 12315 Boar, 13061/13052 Horse, 04211/04212, 04311/04312, 14833/14832 Horse-Badger.

16590 Black and 16728 White are opposites. The latter is slightly scrubby but not like Boar "scrubby." The former is soft sans scrubby feel.

Wet they all splay when piston-loading puck. If you make the mistake of pre-soaking longer you're done for. Because nearly all tufts as mentioned are treated, a 30 second soak will suffice unlike a densely knotted Simpsons. These on the other hand are packed differently. The 20 mm 12315, 13052, 16728 have different bloom given the differences in grade. For starters 12315 can be likened to a fishing line nice and firm but yet specially treated. Thus soft feel ( even new out of box ). These don't break like Omega. Omega is denser by comparison nearly every model and trim identical. When tips split it becomes a soft while maintaining its awesome lathering properties. Further its silvertip counterpart is very soft and silky. No prick whatsoever. Splays just as well.
But I digress. 13052 Horse is nearly identical to Boar 12315. I most likely have to shave side by side to determine which of the two is better. 16590 is not as packed as 16728. Hence the latter's insane bloom. 16250/16258 a collection of smaller hairs though fine. Not all hair length equal compared to 16590/16728-the more "upscale" Badgers of the bunch.

As far as scrubby is concerned, the B4 Simpsons Pure is most scrubby of them all compared to every single Boar in my arsenal but one-if you want to know real scrubby brush try a Boreal 323 that will not break.
 
I am not familiar with any of the brushes you reference, I have never tried a Vie Long and only a few boars. My post was using some personal views only to describe what I though the term "Scritchy" meant, nothing more nothing less.
 
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