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

Originally Posted by Phrank

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Oh man....you're the 30mm guy....I for the life of me can't imagine using a brush that size, I admire you, and it just further's Jimmy's point of how each of us experience knots differently and how our taste's differ.

When I had that Polo 3 M&F brush, 31mm knot and a 55mm loft, I was just gobsmacked the first time I lathered that puppy up, all the soap in my scuttle just disappeared, and after lathering the first side of my face I lost vision, as my entire head was covered in a 3 inch thick layer of uber lather.

You must think I'm crazy with the small diameter knots and under 50 loft, to you I'd be lathering with my Pinky finger....I thought the Simpson's Polo 10 Super Badger was a huge unwieldy beast, but that 31mm M&F made the Simpson's weep and run away in fear.

Can you expand, what are the qualities about the big brushes that make them your preference? I'd love to hear what qualities you look for, maybe I need to expand my horizons a bit...this is the thread for it...thanks.

Well that's a tricky thing to pin down. My first brush was a cheap parker I think. I still have it, but it's too floppy. Only works with creams, and not that well. My second brush, a Thater, was great. I really liked it, but it just didn't perform as good as I thought a brush should. Then I bought a 30mm HMW from wsp. Andrew made the handle. It's a great brush too, and I use it a lot. Then my M&F came. Blew me away completely. It just explodes lather, like how you described haha.

It could also be my very hard water. Normally I don't use my tap water, but recently have been with good results. I think the larger brushes hold more water and more soap. This allows me to build up enough lather to not have it all dissappear in 30 seconds.

I guess I just like bigger brushes for the same reasons people like 8/8 -10/8 size razors, they are cool in my mind.

Originally Posted by prodigy

Well that's a tricky thing to pin down. My first brush was a cheap parker I think. I still have it, but it's too floppy. Only works with creams, and not that well. My second brush, a Thater, was great. I really liked it, but it just didn't perform as good as I thought a brush should. Then I bought a 30mm HMW from wsp. Andrew made the handle. It's a great brush too, and I use it a lot. Then my M&F came. Blew me away completely. It just explodes lather, like how you described haha.

It could also be my very hard water. Normally I don't use my tap water, but recently have been with good results. I think the larger brushes hold more water and more soap. This allows me to build up enough lather to not have it all dissappear in 30 seconds.

I guess I just like bigger brushes for the same reasons people like 8/8 -10/8 size razors, they are cool in my mind.

Here is the Plisson HMW size 14 that I kept alongside of a couple of Simpson Manchurians that I didn't keep, because they lacked the scritch

;

That Plisson has a 25mm knot, and a 60mm loft, yet it is scritchy as they get. I don't use it much because it is so big, but the genuine horn handle is so beautiful, and the scritch so good, that it is a keeper.

Firstly, if you are looking for a scritchy knot, then you may want to contemplate one of the Vie-Long Epsilon 2-Band 27x50mm ones. I have one (Bulb 28.5 x 52mm) and it is quite scritchy, indeed! However, it is a lovely knot! I also have a Shavemac D-01 2-Band Bulb 29 x 52mm that is superb! Some lovely gentle scritch, interluded by lovely softness.
I did go through four of these knots to eventually realize how great they are, and surprisingly, this one is the largest and lowest-lofted one of the bunch! The scritch did task awhile to subside to a manageable level, also.

I may have to conclude that these Shavemac D-01 2-Band knots might just be the best overall knots, in my opinion. However, I still love variety.
Epsilon is in the first photo and Shavemac is in the second.

Celistino, both of the brushes in your pictures have a nice bloom. My 22x46 D01 2band knot doesn't spread beyond the circumference of the handle it is embedded in. I'm at work so I cannot provide a picture. I'll ask again, anyone have a suggestion how I might facilitate the blooming of the knot?_

Originally Posted by cau

Celistino, both of the brushes in your pictures have a nice bloom. My 22x46 D01 2band knot doesn't spread beyond the circumference of the handle it is embedded in. I'm at work so I cannot provide a picture. I'll ask again, anyone have a suggestion how I might facilitate the blooming of the knot?_

By any chance can you post a photo of the brush before you used it, and after ? When you get home from work I mean.

Jimmy, I shaved this morning and used another brush. My next shave will be Saturday morning. I'll get the Shavemac out and use it. I'll post some pictures then. May as well post my first SOTD picture as well...

Originally Posted by cau

Celistino, both of the brushes in your pictures have a nice bloom. My 22x46 D01 2band knot doesn't spread beyond the circumference of the handle it is embedded in. I'm at work so I cannot provide a picture. I'll ask again, anyone have a suggestion how I might facilitate the blooming of the knot?_

A picture of the knot before and after use would be great. However, with a 22mm knot, you may not notice much of a bloom, in my opinion, depending on how large the handle is.
My two knots are very large and they are blubs, so that will usually enhance the physical feature of the bloom.

So here's a few pictures of brush before/during/after. It's been put away for a couple of months. Perhaps I exaggerated a bit when I said the knot was no thicker than the handle... Maybe a fan head knot isn't supposed to bloom? This is my only fan knot. It lathers fine, but it is messy and that is my only complaint. Nice shave.

Originally Posted by cau

So here's a few pictures of brush before/during/after. It's been put away for a couple of months. Perhaps I exaggerated a bit when I said the knot was no thicker than the handle... Maybe a fan head knot isn't supposed to bloom? This is my only fan knot. It lathers fine, but it is messy and that is my only complaint. Nice shave.

It's a beauty !

Originally Posted by cau

So here's a few pictures of brush before/during/after. It's been put away for a couple of months. Perhaps I exaggerated a bit when I said the knot was no thicker than the handle... Maybe a fan head knot isn't supposed to bloom? This is my only fan knot. It lathers fine, but it is messy and that is my only complaint. Nice shave.

That knot looks like it's bloomed fine for the loft it's set at,, as far as messy, your lather s too wet. Tc