Thread: "Best" Brush for $100

Originally Posted by RobinK

A commendable effort. My I humbly suggest a slight variation to your planned set-up?

1. Forget the break-in period. Thäter brushes do not need them. They do not break in. Once used, they keep their shape. Give it a try nonetheless, but do not expect anything to happen.
2. Use one brush for one half of your skin, and the Thäter for the other. Makes finding the difference a lot easier.
3. Mistreat the Thäter with difficult products. MWF comes to mind, or pedestrian melt-and-pour soaps, or even a glycerine one like Col Conk. Any brush can produce lather from Castle Forbes, but many fail with low end products. If you have it, give Otoko a try, because all my synthetic brushes failed to produce decent lather from it.
4. Pit it against silvertip badger only. Grey badger, synthetics, boar and other natural fibres have their own uses, but if you want to compare them, I personally would compare them to something theoretically in the same league. Again, personally, I would not even pit it against a Mühle or Frank Shaving brush, because their floppiness puts them in a different league entirely, but that is just my personal preference.

So there. Good stuff. I am much looking forward to seeing the results. I went through the same process a few years back, and a liquidation of every other brush ensued. While I own a few other Thäter brushes, this exact brush is the one I have been using almost exclusively for several years without any noticeable difference in shape, backbone, or fluffiness. The latest generation of handles looks quite tasty, though.

Enjoy!
Robin

I will take into consideration the difficulty of the soaps & creams, I will increase the number to 4. I won't be buying outside the variety I already have on hand. I will compare the Thater to brushes of similiar size, all types of badger will have to compete. ,,, there will be no boar or synthetics.

Regardless of the outcome, I won't be liquidating any brushes,, I collect & have yet to find a badger brush I did not like.

Thank you for the recommendations Robin,

A good brush for under a C Note?? No problem ... New Forest!

You will receive a great brush, with a hand turned handle, and, you'll get change!!

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I will take into consideration the difficulty of the soaps & creams, I will increase the number to 4. I won't be buying outside the variety I already have on hand.

Actually, I would use less, rather than more. In my experience, a brush that can handle a difficult product can handle anything. Hard soaps being a good example. I mentioned Otoko in particular, because that soap really is finicky, but once you get the water/"soap" (it really is something else entirely, which makes it interesting) ratio right, it truly excels. But finding brushes which can competently handle that sort of product can be a daunting challenge. Water retention is apparently key, and this is where many brushes fail. One does not really notice this particular feature all that much with an easy to lather product (St James of London or Castle Forbes come to mind), but with lesser products, it seems to make a lot of difference.

The rest really is fluff, and completely open to subjective taste. Some people like what is commonly referred to as a "gel like texture". Which is what Thäter brushes deliver in abundance. There is nothing magical about this feature, only the fact that basically every other brush maker cuts their knots into shape. This does, of course, lower the production cost, but you lose the fine tips which set Thäter brushes apart. The two band you bought will have lots of backbone (which is great for lathering soaps), but still have fine tips. Best of both worlds, so to speak.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I will compare the Thater to brushes of similiar size, all types of badger will have to compete. ,,, there will be no boar or synthetics.

That makes perfect sense. As I said, I am much looking forward to your published results.