Thread: Question of loft.

So as my birthday continues to creep forward and as my wife is curious what to get me, I have decided on getting a new brush. Being that I have used the same van der hagen brush for the past year when I first started wet shaving.

I've been having my eye on the semoque 2030 brush as it fits my price range (50 including shipping) and has a long handle which interests me.

My question is that in researching brushes Im not sure if I'll like a brush with a large loft. I almost always build my lather in a bowl and my VDH brush is so dead it's hard to imagine using a nice brush. So what can one expect with a high loft brush and is their any other brushes I should be looking at?


Cheers.

The vdh brush is a decent brush but leaves a a lot to be desired and I wouldn't judge other boars by that. I am not familiar with the 2030 brush but if its a boar brush with a high loft it will break in and work real well for bowl and face lathering. It typical takes about a month of straight use to really get the best out of a boar brush

I have the omega big pro which has a long handle and high loft and it works great for bowl and face lathering. It is my go to brush and sees the most use out of all my brushes. That includes silver tips, super badgers and horse hair. It was also one of my cheapest brush coming in around 18 dollars shipped. The only thing I would change on the brush is that the handle is plastic I would like to see a better material but guess that's the trade off for the low price.

Just an opinion -- too much loft often means too sloppy and limp a brush, and difficulties making a lather, especially if you're a face-latherer, maybe not a problem for you.

Price? -- About a year ago, I had the opportunity to try a half-dozen fairly pricey brushes. While all had a luxurious "feel", none of them amazed me with their lather-making properties.

You might take a minute to drop a PM to "pixelfixed" -- I know he's done a bunch of custom brush-making and might be able to offer more competent advice than me.

Brush makers have a lot to say about loft and such. You may want to look around here. The Brushmakers Alcove

And the advice of asking the Brushmiester is good. In my opinion Pixel knows what questions to ask and how best to guide you.

I have tried a bunch of brushes and settled on a black badger for a best all around do anything brush.

pure badger is generally a little more stiff when compared to other badgers, so it can have a slightly longer loft height, IMHO. However, 55mm is a few mm taller than I would set for a 20-22mm diameter knot. My tallest loft height is a 22mm extra-hair finest bulb at about 52mm.

what he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

what he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

See...... a vat of knowledge :<0)

Originally Posted by 10Pups

See...... a vat of knowledge :<0)

Haha. We are so privileged.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

See...... a vat of knowledge :<0)

PM was sent to the O.P prior to post #7

I do have an Omega $12-$15 range pure boar brush with a 55mm loft but a 23mm knot vs 21mm. I can tell tell you that it is not too floppy and takes up to 1 month of regular use to break in. I face lather and it does real well at face lathering. I just tried lathering up some MWF in my scuttle cold and it will whip up a good lather in a bowl too.

Bob