Wow, and here I thought it was me.
I washed the brush well in dish soap.
It has an odor, but probably is a mix of shave and dish soaps.
I tried working up a lather in my scuttle, being more generous than usual with the soap, and could only get a fair lather.
The lather coating on the back of my hand was thin.
I used the old cheap brush in the scuttle without adding soap and beat up a bit more lather.
After rinsing everything, then tried the old brush with the usually results of over flowing lather.
The silver tip is like a wet rag. Has trouble loading with soap and beating a foamy lather, plus delivers a thin lather to the face.
Now, maybe I can trim the scratchy bristles out of the cheap brush for more comfortable face contact.
Imagine dropping $150 for a silver tip and getting these results.
I have a "super badger bulb" knot that maybe will produce better results when it's handle is finished.