Thread: Everyone should go custom at least once!

When i took the plunge into the marvelous hobby of traditional wet shaving i had no idea whatsoever of what i was getting into. All i knew was that it was retro, and i love all things retro. Sometimes i think that i was born 100 years too late. Jeje. Besides that, i also knew that i was not going to be the bassman of ZZ Top, and that i did not want to sell hunting equipment. At the same time, i hated shaving. I did it for more than three decades without soap, sometimes without water, never against the grain, and with the same cart for six months or more. Then, maturity sets in, and i began to do mental judo with the things that i dont like, but have to do anyway. The first was handwriting. The second was shaving.

So i started learning, and buying. And i got a pretty good case of acquisition desorder. So, after nine straights and ten safeties, both vintage and modern, i decided to put an end to the disorder with a custom brush. And an idea was born. That was about the middle of february. One of my favorite hobbies is cruising in my sailboat Hakuna Matata. So, my brush was going to be a tribute to yatching. It was going to be made out of teak and holly, the woods usted to make the soles and terminations on boats.

So, I contacted the owner of Paladin. He responded promptly, and gently turned me down because his operation did not lend itself for the kind of brush that i wanted. Generous as he is, he pointed me in the right direction. He suggested that i should contact Robert Carey, of zenshave.com.

Go to his page and see his capabilities for yourself.

In my letter i told him what i had in mind: a brush made out of teak and holly. Those are the woods they use to make cabin soles and terminations in sailboats and yatchs in general.



I dont know if the following is true: i dont think he takes on every custom job he is offered. He only do the ones that he finds interesting. Lucky me, he found my yacht tribute brush project up to par and offered me a price. I found it extremely reasonable.

He was very accommodating. He asked me what features i wanted in the brush. I told him that my idea was limited to the woods used, that he was the artist and gave his creativity a green light. He came up with the shape of the brush and the checkering at the neck, and since i love firearms i love that touch.

He sent me photos of the construction process and even sent me shavings of the teak and holly he used after the lathe. At the end he came up with the idea to put an image at the base of the brush. I told him to put a boat's helm. I never imagined how good the final product was going to be. It is even better than i ever dreamed.



When the brush finally came in, the very first thing that happened when i opened the box was....: it fell from my hands and landed butt first on the tile floor. After i picked it up i said: why worry? There was not a dent. Teak is indestructible. The brush jumped from my fingers because it wanted me to know how tough it is.

But the most amazing feature was the smell. Robert finished the brush in some marine varnish that makes me feel that i am aboard!

To finish it all he installed a two band knot that is a superb performer, but that is outside the scope of this lines.

Once again, zenshave.com is amazing. His owner Robert Carey is the kind of guy you want to make this kind of deal with. I recommend him 200%.

If you are in this hobby, at least once you should go custom, with something that has a lot of meaning for you. I dont have anything against shavemac, and simpson, and thater, etc.... the thing is that anybody can have one of those. And a custom brush is only yours.




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Well,,, their site is down now. Maybe I will check back later.

Nice brush and a nice story.

Beautiful brush and wonderfully written. Thank you. Enjoy your brush in good health!

Lovely brush.

Beautiful brush, and great story, brushes to me are the foundation of a great shave.

Craftsmanship on that handle is superb congratulations.

What type of knot did you have installed? Some of the Paladin brushes use the Lee Sabini (of Morris & Forndran), and then there are the stellar knots from Simpson's, Plisson, Thater, but none you can buy singly.

Shavemac will sell stellar knots, all hand made to order, whether you like them uber soft or with extreme scritch, so would be great to know what you went for in terms of the business end of that brush.

Brushes are the last rabbit hole for me..

This thread ain't helpin'.

Originally Posted by Phrank

Beautiful brush, and great story, brushes to me are the foundation of a great shave.

Craftsmanship on that handle is superb congratulations.

What type of knot did you have installed? Some of the Paladin brushes use the Lee Sabini (of Morris & Forndran), and then there are the stellar knots from Simpson's, Plisson, Thater, but none you can buy singly.

Shavemac will sell stellar knots, all hand made to order, whether you like them uber soft or with extreme scritch, so would be great to know what you went for in terms of the business end of that brush.

Dear Phrank;

The truth is that i dont know. Mr. Carey asked me what i liked. I told him that i face lathered and that i like backbone. He offered some options, but at that point i trusted him so much already that i told him to put the best knot that he thought that i would like and that was that. The performance is superb.

Tell you what: the info you want might be in our email thread. I will look it up tonite. If it is not there, i will write him up and find out. You are not the only one that would like to know.

Yea! The shavemac knot that i like runs upward of $500. Then again, Mr. Carey is not making only one brush. Sure he has access to anything in a comercial basis.

Best regards,

Pepe Peña


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Originally Posted by MW76

Brushes are the last rabbit hole for me..

This thread ain't helpin'.

Submerge my friend!


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Beautiful design and story,
Enjoy in smooth shaves, and voyages.
Ahoy!