Thread: Thater 4125/0 two band break in?

Hi folks, just got the Thater 4125/0 in 2 band silvertip. Out of the box the bristles are stiff, great for face lathering I thought. But when it gets wet it loses all backbone and it is impossible to generate a 'egg white' frothy lather. Plus, if I go back for a second pass on the brush the lather has dissipated & I have to reload to get any lather. When it dries it gets stiff again.

Is this normal break-in for a Thater? About 7 shaves in on this brush...

thanks

Joe

I don't know what type of brush you are comparing it to but it will never have the stiffness of a boar brush. Badger brushes will feel different between being dry or wet.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the brush. I think you are not loading enough soap in the first place and have too much water in the mix. Try using just a damp brush and loading longer on the puck of soap. Add a bit of water to it as you build lather on your face by dipping just the very tips in water. If you are using a cream same thing, damp brush with a bit of cream on the tips and go from there.

Bob

Yah, I use a brush that is almost dry. Swirl on a hard puck of soap until it looks good and loaded (almost cream like) and then go to the face. Then it behaves like a cream. I've incrementally added water until the whole thing just thins out, never gets to rocky lather like my other brushes.

When I use my Omega black best badger or Simpson Superbadger I get the rocky, persistent lather.

I also have a 25mm two band Thater. Load it heavy with product and gradually add water until you reach your desired consistency. The tips will get softer over time. I really enjoy my Thater brush

Originally Posted by joeuke

Yah, I use a brush that is almost dry. Swirl on a hard puck of soap until it looks good and loaded (almost cream like) and then go to the face. Then it behaves like a cream. I've incrementally added water until the whole thing just thins out, never gets to rocky lather like my other brushes.

When I use my Omega black best badger or Simpson Superbadger I get the rocky, persistent lather.

Man, that is really strange then. Maybe try adding a bit of water after your normal loading and load some more before face lathering.

Bob

I have three Thaters a 22mm, 23mm and 25mm. I load all of them with a fairly dry brush and then add water as I build the lather in a skuttle. As feltspanky said, I load them pretty heavy. They will hold a lot of soap and I'll add a little more water about half way through the shave when I'm doing my normal 3 pass shave. Love my Thater brushes.

Thäters do not need any sort of break in as Thäter does not trim the bristles, thus leaving the tips as thinly worn as they were on the animal. They are also very dense, so if you add too much pressure while lathering the lather will go right up the knot and stay there until you rinse it out.

Originally Posted by Pithor

Thäters do not need any sort of break in as Thäter does not trim the bristles, thus leaving the tips as thinly worn as they were on the animal. They are also very dense, so if you add too much pressure while lathering the lather will go right up the knot and stay there until you rinse it out.

I have only noticed a very slight difference in the feel of the brush within the first maybe three uses as far as feel. So, I agree they really do not need any break in.

They certainly do hold a lot of soap.

I'm wondering how wet you're getting the knot to "lose all backbone"? I've had 4 Thaters , hoping to find one that was scritchy (no luck) and all of them had backbone to beat the band ....... when wet and loaded with lather. Try, as recommended by others, to just wet the tips of the brush, don't soak the entire knot. That is something I've been doing only recently and I'm liking the results a lot more than when I used to douse my brush.

I have the 4125/0 4125/1 and the 4125/2 two band. All of them load like crazy and are very soft with plenty of backbone. My experience is to only use the tips when loading the brush. I face lather with only the tips, hardly putting any pressure on the brush doing paint strokes. Slowly add water as you build the lather. Hope this helps!