The Badger

I used my very first badger brush today. The brush it's self is very soft. the shape is exactly what i wanted. Now when the brush got wet it became very soft. I tried it with hard soap first and it took me a long time to work up and load up the brush. A long time. But when loaded the lather was better than I have had before. the brush went from very light to heavy as lead in the hand. I made 3 passes so i lathered 3 times and still had a brush full of soap. it was great. When i was through i rinsed the brush in very warm water and shock it out in the tub. after this it felt almost dry and the shape was like it hadn't been used. Now this was a cheep brush. 15.00 at wally world. I may be looking for a little better grade now.

Here's a great article from the library here that makes loading a brush up easily
http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...ic_soap_lather

After I soak my brush, I squeeze it out as dry as possible. This makes the knot firm, so it can really dig into the soap. Then I add water as needed.

Loft makes a really big difference with a badger brush. The more expensive ones have more dense knots. There is a giant scale of brush prices. I have never used a really expensive knot. I have some mid to lower mid brushes that are pretty awesome. Perhaps in time I might venture into expensive knots. Short version. There is a lot to explore. Enjoy!

I bought an expensive knot and put it in a handle. It works great. Builds lather in not time. Soft when wet on the face. Cant say anything bad about it besides the cost. 63.00 for a knot. I just had to try it. I wont do that again. Don't get me wrong, it is nice but a cheaper brush would have been fine too and I could have bought three of them compared to what I got in this expensive brush.

Welcome to the minefield that badger brushes represent. There is badger and then there is badger with different grades of badger hair, different knot densities, Different sizes and different lofts to name a few that affect performance and cost. You can go through quite a few till you find a Goldilocks brush, trust me on that one. Go down that road at your own risk and good luck. It can be fun though.

Bob

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Originally Posted by rhensley

I used my very first badger brush today. The brush it's self is very soft. the shape is exactly what i wanted. Now when the brush got wet it became very soft. I tried it with hard soap first and it took me a long time to work up and load up the brush. A long time. But when loaded the lather was better than I have had before. the brush went from very light to heavy as lead in the hand. I made 3 passes so i lathered 3 times and still had a brush full of soap. it was great. When i was through i rinsed the brush in very warm water and shock it out in the tub. after this it felt almost dry and the shape was like it hadn't been used. Now this was a cheep brush. 15.00 at wally world. I may be looking for a little better grade now.

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A simple demonstration on how different badgers can be.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...h_Observations

Personally, I think one has to do some real research and talk to a lot of folks before buying the higher end badgers. it's too easy to get a marshmallow of a brush costing a mint you will not be happy with.

Ask me how I know.

Congratulations and just be careful or you might get a bit addicted to those lovely 2-Band badger brushes, once you try them. :)

A badger will hold a lot more water. If you try dipping the tip before going to the puck instead of soaking it all the way to the knot it will probably cut your time down. If there is too much water in your brush when you hit the puck then the ratio is going to be too high in water so the lather will take longer to form and more soap to get it lathering. I used to soak mine almost to the knot to get it all warm and cozy. I think Tom mentioned the dip thing and since I tried that it cut the soap loading time considerably. No matter how hot you get hair it cools in seconds anyway :<0) Here is the thing. If you push your brush against your face (like your trying to get paint out of a paint brush) and water runs down your neck, you got tooooo much water.

If I'm using a soft brush with a hard soap I like to wet the puck a little while before I use it. Before I get in the shower I wet my brush and get the puck wet. When I get out of the shower my brush and soap are both ready to go and the soap loads nice and easy.