Thread: They All Look Alike ....... Sorta .........

I was talking with my friend Phrank about brushes. M&F & Shavemac D0-1 two band to be more precise, and he was saying it is uncanny how similar the knots look. This is a phenomena that I have also observed, having a long history of many, many shaving brushes come and go. For some of us they are like potato chips, you can't have just one.

What gets me is they are like cats ......... they all look more or less alike, but each has its own personality. Some people want soft tips, gel tips seems to be the new expression nowadays, others, such as Phrank and me, are looking for scritch. A hard commodity to find. Now if you've been around long enough, and have suffered from the SBAD, you'll know about what I'm fixing to say.

I've had high end brushes from all of the 'best' companies, and I've had middle of the road brushes. Short lofts, long lofts, thick knots, thinner ....... looking for that perfect combination of backbone and scrtich. Eight to ten years ago, IME, if you bought a Plisson HMW, or a Simpson Super, a Rooney Finest you got that perfect balance 9 times out of 10.

I thought it would never change and sold some of my best brushes, because I was somewhat tired of them, figured I could always replace them, and wanted to apply the funds to other ADs. Big mistake. Suddenly the Rooney Finest was no more. Lee Sabini, the owner of Rooney back then, said he could no longer access the quality of badger bristle.

What ? Did badgers stop procreating ? Aren't all badgers the same ? They all look alike ......... sorta. Well the Rooney Heritage line came out. Darn good brushes, but if you ever found a scritchy one it is a rara avis indeed. At the time Simpson Supers, and the very scarce Manchurians still had the scritch, but they sold the biz to Vulfix who had the reputation of soft and floppy brushes.

Well to their credit the Simpson/Vulfix combination makes a helluva brush. Great customer service as well. Mark Watterson, the CEO will go two miles if you ask him to go one. But that said, their brushes, great as they are, aren't as scritchy as the old Somerset made Simpsons. I don't know about the current Plisson. I still have an old HMW, a size 14, and as large as that is, it is scritchy to beat the band.

The last HMW I had was a size 12, and you would think it would have been scritchy but it was gel tipped. I sold it. I even had a size 20, which was gorgeous, but far too large for me. Scritch like you wouldn't believe. I'm tempted to try a size 12 again, perfect size for me, but they are so expensive, and I don't feel like rolling the dice.

I think when the Thater came along the game changed. Robin from Germany introduced Thater to Lynn and Don. They are a small company in Germany and they make superb brushes. I went through four of them and couldn't find a scritchy one in the bunch. Sold 'em all. They have great backbone, yet 'gel' like tips. I think when other manufacturers saw the buzz on the shaving forums they all figured that gel tips must be the way to go, and jumped on the bandwagon.

I also tried Artisan knots. Our own dear departed pixelfixed made some beautiful brushes. I went through four of them, telling Bill I wanted scritch. He tried, but the knots just weren't to be had. I sold all but one of those, it is a 26mm knot with a 46mm loft and a lignum vitae handle. I don't recall the grade of hair, but it is like butter. No scritch at all. I keep it because Bill made it. Use it every now and again too.

Now if you're still with me in this long ramble ...... I heard about the Shavemac D0 hair and ordered one from Bernde years ago. It was a three band and great backbone, not gel tipped, but not scritchy either. Sold it. Lately I have read that the D0-1 two band had the scritch, so in spite of all of the disappointments seeking scritch in Thater 2 bands I ordered one.

I'm here to tell you if you're looking for high quality, SCRITCH, at a reasonable price look no further. I got a 24mm x 48mm two band D0 that will damn near take the chrome off of a trailer hitch. Almost, but not quite, too much of that good thing. I believe it will lighten up enough with use to be perfect for my preferences. So this makes me wonder .....

They all look more or less alike, so why are they all so different ?