Thread: Brushed off?

Just been looking through posts on Facebook and saw this https://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/...fm/blog_ID/439

Article/advert suggesting that synthetic brushes could overtake badger. I'm not sure I want to be part of that society!

Well, synthetics do have some advantages and disadvantage as with any other type of knot material. I really enjoy a high quality 2 band badger, the synthetics and the boar brushes I have. Seems there is room for all the players.

Bob

I love to go into the Body Shop and ask if they have a "natural fibre" shaving brushes.
They always say, oh no animal product or byproducts in here.
To which I smile and say I'm just not into plastics, they are not environmentally friendly.
Sometimes I love to, as pleasantly as possible, be that guy stirring up the stuff.
I have had a synthetic brush from I think the body shop. It was ok. It was certainly not a silver tipped badger. Perhaps if I spent more money.

Yup, my first synthetic brush was one from The Body Shop and it almost put me off synthetics altogether. Luckily I tried a few others which were much, much better.

No, they are not a badger knot but then again neither is a boar knot. ou have to accept the differences and enjoy what each brings to the table. The knot I can't get along with is horse hair for some reason, go figure.

Bob

Bob, couldn't agree more that there are good synthetic brushes, and there is room in the market for all options. I would hate to see natural brushes slip into obscurity though.

Rez, love the irony!

Originally Posted by monkeypuzzlebeefeater

Bob, couldn't agree more that there are good synthetic brushes, and there is room in the market for all options. I would hate to see natural brushes slip into obscurity though.

Rez, love the irony!

I don't think natural brushes will slip into obscurity. Boar brushes won't because they are so inexpensive, generally, compared to synthetics and high end badgers. High end badger brushes won't either because there is always, generally, a market for a luxury item and customers willing to pay for it. Synthetic brushes will stay because they actually work well compared to the 1950s/60s nylon brushes and hold a middle ground in price and performance. The lower end badger brushes may suffer a little though. Just a hunch on my party nothing more.

Bob

Whenever I think synthetic I automatically recall my father's nylon brush from the 50s. If there were a prize for the worst brush in the Universe that one would have won it.

Further to what RezDog said about the Body Shop, I actually bought one of their synthetic brushes - it was cheap at A$14.95, if nothing else - and can report that they're not all that good. In fact, they're decidedly inferior to any sort of badger brush and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, least of all a new convert to wet shaving. If there are good synthetic brushes I'd be pleased to hear about them - it shouldn't be rocket science to imitate the properties of badger hair or hog bristle. Any likely contenders?

Originally Posted by Maladroit

Further to what RezDog said about the Body Shop, I actually bought one of their synthetic brushes - it was cheap at A$14.95, if nothing else - and can report that they're not all that good. In fact, they're decidedly inferior to any sort of badger brush and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, least of all a new convert to wet shaving. If there are good synthetic brushes I'd be pleased to hear about them - it shouldn't be rocket science to imitate the properties of badger hair or hog bristle. Any likely contenders?

I know exactly what you mean about The Body Shop's synthetic brush. There definitely are good synthetic brushes out there. I like 2 band badger brushes with soft tip and good backbone. Generally a 2 bander with the loft 2X the size of the knot gets me there. I have found that current generation synthetics with the same sort of specs gets me there too and that how I would pick a synthetic. If you like uber soft and a bit floppy badgers something like a Plisson synthetic might be the way to go.

Just be aware that synthetics require/demand that you modify how you load the brush and build your lather. You likely will not be able to use the same technique as you would with a badger or you will wind up with water and lather running out of the knot and down the handle.

Bob

Gentlemen,

Badger brushes will continue to provide luxurious lather for traditional shavers. Boar and horse will be around, too. The market will grow for synthetic brushes, but the synthetics will not overwhelm the other types of brushes.

In all fairness to the synthetic, the Plisson is a really sweet brush. I love mine. A parade of synthetic brushes has come and gone from the shave den. The only two that have stayed are, as I noted, the Plisson, and also the Edwin Jagger XL in the V2 version.

A number of shaving vendors have their own brand of synthetic brushes, many using a knot that is somewhat similar to that of the Plisson, and although they do the job, they are not the Plisson in overall quality.

Either way, I don't foresee gentlemen turning another cheek, so to speak, on a superb silvertip brush.