Thread: I would like a nice brush with a large knot, but.......

I have read that a large knot can take days to fully dry. I am not one to own multiple items of anything really, so ideally I would acquire a nice brush that I use every day.

I would appreciate your insight on this matter.

Anyone who says their brush takes days to dry out is not properly taking care of their brush. I have a huge 31+ mm M&F and it's always dry the next day when I go to use it.

I don't know what you consider to be a "large" knot or the type of material the knot is made of that you are interested in.

The largest badger knot I have is 28mm and it is dry by the next morning. I rinse my knots thoroughly under the tap, give them some shakes, strop the tips on a towel and set aside to dry.

Synthetic knots are the quickest I have to dry out. I don't have any really large boar knots but the ones I do have are dry by the next morning also.

Bob

Hmmmm. I have a silly question. I often use one brush or the other. I have a very cheap brush I take to work with me. I use it every day for three weeks. I rinse it after each use. I have no idea if it is dry before I go to use it. I start by soaking the hair in a bowl of hot water. I have no idea if iti makes any difference if it is dry. Does it matter if your brush is dry before you use it?

Even if not fully dry - I don't see a problem in using a brush daily. We have to bear in mind that a brush is still a consumable - even if it's a long life one.

Edit - looks like Rezdog had similar thoughts and we were typing together.

I agree with the gang's comments above. I just picked up a "large" brush that might fit your requirements. It is a RazoRock/Zenith Chubby Extra Silvertip from Italy: 28mmx51mm. It does a great job. It sells for $59.

I think the main fear, founded or not, is that if a brush is in a continually damp state ugly little things may tend to grow in them. It may also tend to shorten the life of the brush knot if it affects the blue. I doubt the latter is a problem with modern glues though. Those are just guesses mind. Yea, brushes are consumables and I could care less if my $10 dollar boar brush falls apart after a few years. I am enough of a skin flint that a couple of hundred dollar badger brush falling apart after a couple of years would reduce me to tears.

Bob

The only brush I have ever had that didn't dry completely overnight was a Simpson Chubby 3 in Manchurian badger with a very dense 32mm knot. There was always an area about half an inch across in the center that was still damp the next day, but as others have stated that is irrelevant when you go to soak it again prior to use.

Your worrying about the small stuff, every time you lather your cleaning it anyway, but how about when a barber used a brush all day long on multiple people? , it was dry the next morning. If you want a large knot then get one, I have a massive 32mm knot that drys just fine, but it also waste a lot of lather. They dry though. Heck before I got into steaight shaving I used one brush for 20 or so years. Rest easy and don't sweat the small stuff , just shave and be happy. Tc

I live in single digit humidity country and though the main part of the brush is dry the next day the core is still damp and I shake dry my brushes after use.

Also barbers really did not buy high end goods to use in their shops with the exception of basic but quality razors and strops because they lasted forever. The other stuff like brushes were just replaced as needed. Brushes really weren't used anymore once the latherking machines came out and they just applied lather with their fingers. prior to that if you caught some bug in the shop well too bad.