I recently acquired 2 Shavemac brushes through Bernds custom brush webpage (http://www.shavemac.com/shop/selfmade.php)
Both with a faux ivory handle, one in pure badger, one in finest. Both brushes I estimate to have a 22-23mm knot. Loft is about 55-60 I think. Density is good: denser than a Kent BK4 or EJ brush, but not quite up to Simpson or Rooney standards. Please note these Shavemacs have bulb shaped knots, so the diehard fans of -er...- fans might better stick with the British brands. Handles come in about six different types: I picked a Rooney style 1-ish handle for the pure and a tulip shaped one for the finest. The faux ivory resin is heavy and almost as nice as the Simpson resin (my favourite).
The pure: now this is a remarkable brush! Most pure badgers are coarse & prickly buggers, but my brush is quite soft and luxurious. Explanation? Bernd uses hand picked and tied knots on ALL his brushes, so no distinction here between man-made silvertips and machine-made prickly pures (hair tips cut off to shape the knot
). Rather splendid of Bernd, I think, because the choice for a pure is certainly not just a matter of buying 'the poor man's badger brush': some guys just prefer the scrub and resilience of the pure grades over the fluff of so many silvertips...
The pure hair on this brush -combined with the bulb shape- produce a very distinct feeling whilst loading it with soap & face lathering. It's a very 'springy' hair grade with soft tips, making it comparable to a (denser) best grade of other brands. No brush in my considerable inventory produces so much and such thick lather. Combine this with MWF or Harris and you're in for something really special.
The finest: First, I need to state that Shavemacs 'finest' grade has absolutely nothing to do with Rooney's finest. Completely different. Shavemac is a soft super/silvertip affair (confusing as Bern also offers a 'true' silvertip grade with -presumably- whiter and even softer tips?). Ignoring the arbitrary hair grade denominations, the Shavemac in finest is a solid performer in the classic super/silvertip model= flexible hairs, super soft tips: ideal for creams but certainly suited to hard soaps if one is willing to put a little more effort in it. The finest grade is a lot more flexible than the pure, so the brushes feel very differently on the face.
Which one to choose?
-if you don't own a soft silvertip already and prefer creams to soaps: the finest is an outstanding brush representing tremendous value. Think of it as a slightly softer and denser (and bulbier) Kent BK4, which is about the pinaccle in shaving brush value IMO...
-if you're a soap fan, already owning soft brushes and/or stiff Simpsons or Rooneys, then Shavemacs pure could fill in a niche in your shaving den: moderately dense, quite soft but, as I said, very resilient and 'springy' (Is that actually a word?). (BTW; this brush will handle creams just as effortless, I just don't use it for creams myself).
Both with a faux ivory handle, one in pure badger, one in finest. Both brushes I estimate to have a 22-23mm knot. Loft is about 55-60 I think. Density is good: denser than a Kent BK4 or EJ brush, but not quite up to Simpson or Rooney standards. Please note these Shavemacs have bulb shaped knots, so the diehard fans of -er...- fans might better stick with the British brands. Handles come in about six different types: I picked a Rooney style 1-ish handle for the pure and a tulip shaped one for the finest. The faux ivory resin is heavy and almost as nice as the Simpson resin (my favourite).
The pure: now this is a remarkable brush! Most pure badgers are coarse & prickly buggers, but my brush is quite soft and luxurious. Explanation? Bernd uses hand picked and tied knots on ALL his brushes, so no distinction here between man-made silvertips and machine-made prickly pures (hair tips cut off to shape the knot
). Rather splendid of Bernd, I think, because the choice for a pure is certainly not just a matter of buying 'the poor man's badger brush': some guys just prefer the scrub and resilience of the pure grades over the fluff of so many silvertips...The pure hair on this brush -combined with the bulb shape- produce a very distinct feeling whilst loading it with soap & face lathering. It's a very 'springy' hair grade with soft tips, making it comparable to a (denser) best grade of other brands. No brush in my considerable inventory produces so much and such thick lather. Combine this with MWF or Harris and you're in for something really special.
The finest: First, I need to state that Shavemacs 'finest' grade has absolutely nothing to do with Rooney's finest. Completely different. Shavemac is a soft super/silvertip affair (confusing as Bern also offers a 'true' silvertip grade with -presumably- whiter and even softer tips?). Ignoring the arbitrary hair grade denominations, the Shavemac in finest is a solid performer in the classic super/silvertip model= flexible hairs, super soft tips: ideal for creams but certainly suited to hard soaps if one is willing to put a little more effort in it. The finest grade is a lot more flexible than the pure, so the brushes feel very differently on the face.
Which one to choose?
-if you don't own a soft silvertip already and prefer creams to soaps: the finest is an outstanding brush representing tremendous value. Think of it as a slightly softer and denser (and bulbier) Kent BK4, which is about the pinaccle in shaving brush value IMO...
-if you're a soap fan, already owning soft brushes and/or stiff Simpsons or Rooneys, then Shavemacs pure could fill in a niche in your shaving den: moderately dense, quite soft but, as I said, very resilient and 'springy' (Is that actually a word?). (BTW; this brush will handle creams just as effortless, I just don't use it for creams myself).
