Thread: bigger not always better?

Background first: Started DE shaving with a cheap Wilkinson sword synthetic brush, fine but not anything special. Later given very nice gift of Large Silver Tip methinks from Taylor Bond Street. Found when making lather that lots ended up outside bowl due to size and also when finished and washing out brush seemed to be rather wasteful how much lather I was washing out of said large brush. Have now ordered, still en route, small best badger from Edwin Jagger.

Query: What do others on here find best size wise for brushes?

P.S. couldn't resist bad joke for title.

24mm,JMO>>>>>>>>>>>

Personally I don't want a badger knot smaller than 22mm and not larger than 28mm. Something in the middle ground is just about right for me.

Bob

just got the post few minutes ago. Think you may be right. Measured both badger knots, what I now have is one 20mm and one 30mm

To me the issue isn't as much the diameter of the knot as the loft (height). I have 21mm knots, 26mm knots and some in between. I use more soap/cream in a 55mm loft than with a 48mm loft. The taller loft works with hard soaps, if it has the backbone, but excels with creams. The shorter loft works with creams but excels with hard soaps. I tend to prefer something around 23-26mm diameter with a 50mm loft. YMMV.

Was not even aware that different lofts existed. Thanks for that helpful post. Will persevere with my wee brush for a while, loft of 45mm roughly, should be good for soap which i use. Need to stop buying more bits. May be developing Overall AD where straight shaving is concerned.

An interesting question, really. There are a number of things to be factored in:

1. A brush with less than 22mm knot size will not hold enough lather for a three pass shave for me.
2. Most containers will not accommodate brushes with a knot size larger than 26mm.
3. Shorter knot height means more lather will end up where it belongs, ie near the tips.

I do own exactly one 22mm brush, and that is a travel size one. It works, but I find working with it a bit more cumbersome than with wider brushes. Most of my brushes are 26mm. I do have significantly larger ones, too, but they see very little use (because of #2 above). That said, these IKEA containers are great for storing soaps and creams, and will accommodate larger brushes, too.

The "works better with soaps than with creams", or vice versa, issue is a non-issue for me. My brushes work equally well with both. But floppy brushes in particular can be a real problem in this regard.

Am using Tabac soap with the bowl it comes in, seems acceptable to me. Think will gain better idea of what i really want if i stick with what i have for a while. Plus spent enough for now on all involved.

My personal taste a 24mm fan shaped knot with a loft of 48mm good flow through with no floppiness as I only face lather and use soaps no creams an excellent example in my opinion of a great little brush regarding ergonomics plus great performance would be the Simpsons P8 just about perfect in everyway.

Originally Posted by dmnc

Am using Tabac soap with the bowl it comes in, seems acceptable to me. Think will gain better idea of what i really want if i stick with what i have for a while. Plus spent enough for now on all involved.

Sounds like a good plan, staying with what you have for a bit. It takes a while to find out what you like in a brush and took me quite a few buys to get there. Enjoy the journey. You can't go too far wrong with Tabac either, love that soap. The Tabac AS and EDT are very good too.

Bob