Tell me the truth - I can handle it!

StratMan said:
is there no love on this forum for synthetics?
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Yes. All I use now are 3 Synths of difference size and width, and I've been through a few Rooneys and Simpsons. Anything more exotic than that is throwing away a lot of dosh IMO.

I've also thrown away Semogues (wet noodles) and amassed a family of Omegas, which are very good and inexpensive. Just rarely use them, but no mortgage payments were sacrificed.

As I've said before - face feel preference (subjective stuff) aside, Synth is an objectively better performer than either Badger or Boar. It makes more and better lather with less product, more easily and quicker. The Plissons I find way too soft, but the 'Silvertip' V2 stuff used by a few brands is better. Epsilon from Gifts and Care sell great synths too.
 
alfredus said:
I've not posted that video...the problem is there are HUGE differences in badger hair...and sadly a modest badger is often not a pleasant experience.

Having said that, a decent badger requires more work to get to the point, mostly because it is way denser and can hold much more water/lather.

But if you use a bowl and don't care about the face feel of the brush,,,boars will probably get you there quicker and synths even more so

My reference videos:
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Very interesting videos, @alfredus (y). Your excellent lather shots look a heck of a lot like the lather the guys whips up in the second video with Mystic Water - thanks for sharing, Mate!
 
I’m not a member of the bourgeois badger club. I’m completely indifferent to them.
However, I am a fully paid up member of the barbarous boar club, the Antica Barbieria Colla Boar, it always goes back to that brush.
I may be a shaving heathen, but I’m a happy one.
 
Personally the good thing about high end gear (be it badgers or Japanese stones), if you don't like it, you just sell it on. Usually with a minimal loss (~10% or shipping costs etc) and for that you had the joy of playing around with a new toy.

The loss with a low end item is usually 100% - who buys a 10$ brush second hand...
 
@bald as I disagree that you have to spend big $$ on an 'extra fine' badger brush. As price goes up, the difference in feel is marginal IMO. There are a lot of good offerings in the medium price bracket such as certain grades of shavemac hair. Even some 3 band badgers can be really good. I suspect that you already have some good badgers in your den and I would recommend you get to know them better before branching out into higher end badgers. The thing about badgers is that the same grade of hair from the same manufacturer can feel entirely different if diameter, loft & density is varied.
 
alfredus said:
The loss with a low end item is usually 100% - who buys a 10$ brush second hand...
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Who worries about that loss? You keep that sort of hardware for travel anyways. No tears if you forget or lose it. The losses and hassle of selling on high end stuff is greater IMO. Not sure anyone would be able to sell a used Plisson unobtainable virgin silverback paleo diet gluten free badger for a mere 10% loss.
 
Leonidas said:
I would recommend you get to know them better before branching out into higher end badgers.
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Hi @Leonidas fear knot I will never branch out to "higher end" badgers.

This evening I face lathered 8 different brushes from very inexpensive to 20x's that brush cost and the lather and face feel from all brushes was similar. The cheapest brush was a Turkish horse at $3.00, All provide very high quality lather very well hydrated and very slick. I know how to use a brush but more so I appreciate good lather. I also now have a very clean face.

The top 3 brushes, not really any order of performance.

[1] A no name synthetic
[2] Semogue 620 Boar
[3] a recent badger from @nsavage

All 8 brushes in my mini test performed in a very similar way in terms of the final lather. Any or all of the brushes could be the brush to take to a desert island. Price, knot or handle maker made little difference, none really in any way other than eye appeal.

The synthetic was by far the easiest to produce good lather, I don't know why I didn't like the lather. Maybe it was just so simple.
The Semogue 630 was truly outstanding. Such a small brush and such incredible performance.
The badger from @nsavage also produced great lather but took twice the work to "build" the lather. Speed is not the point though, so not a negative.

These are my personal observations and impressions of 8 different brushes - Synthetic, Badger, Horse and Boar.
Don't waste your energy trying to correct my ignorance, I am now in Brush Bliss.
 
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The reason you don't like the synthetic lather, I believe is although the lather feels and looks good from the outside, I think it is not as well hydrated from the inside like lather from natural hair.

That's because the synthetic hair itself cannot hold water and synthetic knots are often very sparsely packed and also can't hold much water...

Only exception I have encountered so far are the Muhle XL (also available as EJ XL) and the Chubby 2 synthetic which are much denser than your average synthetic knot.
 
alfredus said:
The reason you don't like the synthetic lather, I believe is although the lather feels and looks good from the outside, I think it is not as well hydrated from the inside like lather from natural hair.

That's because the synthetic hair itself cannot hold water and synthetic knots are often very sparsely packed and also can't hold much water...

Only exception I have encountered so far are the Muhle XL (also available as EJ XL) and the Chubby 2 synthetic which are much denser than your average synthetic knot.
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That's really speculative. I've found synth lather superior. Why I don't know. But if we go with the water theory- if material isn't trapping as much water as the other two, that suggests it's all getting into the cream/soap to hydrate it better. As is well proven with synths they make more lather with less product.

I haven't come across cheap synths that are thin or sparse, so can't comment. But I have 3 others of varying density, and they all work the same, even the body shop cheapo. The bigger fatter one just makes more lather.
 
alfredus said:
The reason you don't like the synthetic lather, I believe is although the lather feels and looks good from the outside, I think it is not as well hydrated from the inside like lather from natural hair.

That's because the synthetic hair itself cannot hold water and synthetic knots are often very sparsely packed and also can't hold much water...

Only exception I have encountered so far are the Muhle XL (also available as EJ XL) and the Chubby 2 synthetic which are much denser than your average synthetic knot.
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Sorry, I haven't found that to be the case at all. I've gotten just as slick lathers from synthetics a I have from (my only) badger. The latter certainly feels nicer on the face but in the end I get similar quality shaves using either. Probably the same with boars although I've never used one.
 
todras said:
Some bloody pork chops in this thread, let me tell you...
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alfredus said:
Pork chops everywhere my friend - everywhere :D:D:D
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sXasgrh.jpg
 
Drubbing said:
Who worries about that loss? You keep that sort of hardware for travel anyways. No tears if you forget or lose it. The losses and hassle of selling on high end stuff is greater IMO. Not sure anyone would be able to sell a used Plisson unobtainable virgin silverback paleo diet gluten free badger for a mere 10% loss.
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Pork chops up my tight rear my friends (y). I concur with Drubbing on this.
Look at the BST threads and tell me ~10% lost is the normal. Unfortunately brushes are consumables and the post market dictates it as such.

Great debate and great insight from seasoned wet shaving professionals.
Bottom line, does a good quality boar be equal to a $$$ badger. Of course not.
Does the value ie cost to performance of boar/synthetic beat a high end badger. Of course it does, don't fool yourselves.

If you have the funds to go that path then do so. If wanting or thinking you are going too get higher levels of goodness for those extra levels relative to the buck, highly speculative.

Love my synthetics, they just work, no fuss, no soak, lather instantly and don't hog the lather or need load heavy so a soap can last months over a natural haired brush.
But I love the soul of a natural hair brush be a boar, horse or badger. Each brush is different, personal and an art. You need to know the brush to use it right and then you'll love it.
Again, synthetics it's just use and abuse and they work without care. But the fuckers have no soul :rolleyes::happy::depressed:

@bald as think you answered your own question and @Monsta_AU nailed it. Stick with what you know.

Monsta_AU said:
I have been using a 'Plissitane' for years and years now. Maybe 6 years? It's my daily driver, and I usually take it traveling with me also. It was a cheapie that was on sale ages ago and I snapped one up from another member that bought out the L'occitaine store.... I think they were going for $30 instead of the normal $90 (no way they are worth $90).

Never been an issue, always performed, economical on soap to the point I cannot finish tubs....

Personally I really do not like boars. The Smog 830 was outperformed by a handful of wet noodles. The couple of Omegas I have tried have been very sub-par.

Badgers are usually the middle ground for me, good experience but generally lather hogs.
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Oh course you are all wrong and the best brushes are vintage butterscotch ones, but whatever ...


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UKSteve said:
bourgeois badger club
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One liner of the fucking year right there :ROFLMAO:

Just got a big ABC boar and am loving it.

I have never used a badger brush, but man, I can not imagine getting a more luxurious bowl lather and application then I get with the 30 dollar Yaqi Tuxedo synth.

Anyone that has tried both, I'd love to hear a comparison (don't have to be a Yaqi, just a Tuxedo knot).

And ato anyone who uses badgers exclusively and never tried a Tuxedo, give one ago, there pretty cheap and the world will not end. I'd dig to hear an opinion
 
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