Thread: Brush sizes

Im new to all of this and wondering what difference brush heights and knot sizes make

This is just my take!
Diameter is for coverage and lather capacity.
Loft/brush height seems to be related to stiffness.
Old brushes were usually 20mm-7/8ths diameter. New seem to be whatever brag right requires.
My face is most happy under 1"/25mm.
Other opinions may be encountered.
Good fortune attend you!
~Richard

Geezer, when you say old brushes were usually 20 mm are you referring to boar or Badger or both?

I ask because have noticed the old brushes I see at antique stores seem on the small side and they are mostly boar bristle.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

Geezer, when you say old brushes were usually 20 mm are you referring to boar or Badger or both?
I ask because have noticed the old brushes I see at antique stores seem on the small side and they are mostly boar bristle.

Yes,brushes were often smaller whatever material they were made of.
Usually boar and horsehair, which mostly went away due to Anthrax scares after WWI, became a bit larger than badger in the 40's. I have seen 1" brushes of those materials. .
The years of manufacture and the styles of shaving also make a difference.
Something seldom mentioned but important, ladies shaved also with similar and sometimes smaller versions of the usual shave gear.
A really good time to search the back posts of this brush forum.
~Richard

Geezer summed it up well.

Most older brushes I've seen were boar bristle. I have my granddad's brush (I think he was born in 1912), and it is boar. The bristles are unusable, but I want to keep it just the way it is.

Yea, I have to go along with Geezer too. What type of knot, badger, boar, horse hair or synthetic, are you looking at? You might get more specific answers if you narrow that down.

Bob

Originally Posted by alschepis

Im new to all of this and wondering what difference brush heights and knot sizes make

If you are new then there is a lot to discover.

There is boar, badger, horse, synthetic and more...

To start I love the less than $15 Omega 10098 Professional Boar Shaving Brush.

To finish I love the expensive Heinrich L. Thater 4125/3 I 28mm Two Band finest Silver Tip Fan.
or
the HEINRICH L. THATER 4292/6 I 28MM TWO BAND FINEST SILVER TIP BULB
or
the HEINRICH L. THATER SERIES 4125/2 B 26MM FINEST BADGER SILVER TIP Knot Size 26mm
Loft 54mm Overall Height 102mm
or.....
my 21mm Dovo brush with a badger knot, or my Art of Shaving badger fan
or my other omega and Vie-Long brushes horse and boar.

There are some important dimensions on a brush:
Handle, knot size, loft, backbone and shape. Do not forget
the size and shape of your lathering bowl or your lathering style.

A fan brush makes a crazy thick lather from a cream a dense bulb works better
for me on a hard puck of soap. Both work... but I have biases.

The boar brush above can be coaxed to work with anything and
will teach "lathering" better than any more expensive brush.

Face lathering.... I love a broken in boar brush for face lathering.
I like to scrub and face lather in the summer.
If you read the fine print of a Thater they do not recommend face
lathering and do not recommend boiling or scalding hot water.

Bowl lathering I like a bulb for hard soap and a fan brush for cream.

Good brushes last a long time.
Do hang them bristles down to dry.

I have found 20-25 mm is a nice knot size for shaving.
The big knots -- you will want one but may not need one.

Also, it may take a week of daily shampooing to get the doggy smell out of some brushes.

I also recommend the inexpensive "Omega synthetic brush." under $15
~Richard

I have brushes that go from 20 mm knots up to the Omega 10098 that has a 27 mm knot. The 20 mm knots do not carry much lather, so I prefer larger knots. The 27 mm Omega is a lather hog. If you are trying to minimize your soap cost, avoid it. However, if you love lots of lather, it is great. Overall, I prefer 24-25 mm knots.

The general "rule of thumb" is that the loft should be approximately twice the knot size. Some boar brushes can have a greater ratio as the bristles are stiffer. For example, the Omega 10098 has a 65 mm loft giving a ratio of 65/27= 2.4. A badger brush with more than a 2.0 ratio might be floppy.

I have a variety of badger, boar, horsehair and synthetic brushes. When I am using a triple-milled soap, I tend to use boar brushes as the stiffer bristles load the soap faster. When using soft creams, I tend to use badger brushes for the soft face feel.

I find that horsehair, synthetic and my two-band badger brush will lather nearly anything. They are nearly as soft as a badger and nearly as stiff as a boar. I tend to use them with softer soaps and thicker creams/croaps. My favorite brushes are: a Semogue Owners Club 24 mm two-band badger, a Vie Long 24 mm horsehair, and a synthetic brush with a 25 mm Game Changer/Boss type knot. If I could keep one brush, it would be one of these. For those on a tight budget, the synthetic Game Changer/Boss knot brush is a great value.

Brushes are an extremely delicate topic as there are a plethora of them and it can be very overwhelming to know what to get as they can get very expensive.
I would recommend starting off slowly and inexpensively. Experiment with synthetic, boar, horsehair and badger brushes that are economical and see what best suits you, then once you are comfortable with which you like and you have the funds, then get a more 'luxurious' brush (more than likely this will be badger brushes) to see if you notice any improvement in brushes.

Best of luck to you, but be careful as you can spend quite a bit of money trying this. Don't ask me how I know, but I am glad I did this as I have acquired some magnificent brushes.