Thread: shavemac and blooming brushes??

Whats this I hear about brush blooming? I have two brushes to date, one boar and one badger, not silvertipped, probably not even best... all I know is that it used to belong to a badger. All that to say, neither one has "bloomed." So,

1) Do only silver-tipped brushes bloom

2) If not, how do you "bloom" your brush

3) Blooming is a good thing...right?

I was going to buy a great silver tipped brush from another member until SWMBO put the smack down, but in a good way. She was upset because she was/is planning on getting me a good one for a gift...sometime. (I normaly ask for something, and then just go and buy it) SO I was looking at the shavemac website and decided on a 30mm knott, the one with the octagonal handle. Actually, here its this one:
http://www.shavemac.com/index.php?la...=173&prod_id=2

Thats the one I told my wife to buy when she decides to "surprise" me with a new brush. What do you think, is there a better brush out there in that size for roughly the same price?

Dern, 30mm is going to be huge. I have a 23mm and almost think it is too big. I hope you enjoy it. As far as blooming goes, I have never heard of it. I will now be following this thread to learn about it.

I had never heard of it either, I was looking for some good pics to show my wife to give her a "real good idea" of what I wanted for a brush and came across a thread with a link to Dr. Moss talking about his variable length brush and he talked about blooming. Showed pictues of before and after "blooming." After talking with another member we've decided that it is a reference to the way a silver tipped brush fills out after the first few uses. I'd just never heard of it.

As far as the 30mm knott is concerned, I agree, it looks like a monster, but I cant see any reason why that would be bad. I mean, its like my buddy said, "you'll just have to wipe your lips off every time..." I have to do that anyway so it wont be that big of a change.

Ah, the good ol' bloom. Yes, all brushes bloom to some extent, some a lot, some very little. When the knot is tied, the badger hair is coated in something like gum arabic to make them stiff and slippery ( I know how that sounds! ) in order to manipulate the knot into the right shape. Once you get a new brush wet and lathered up, this coating dissolves and allows the hair to soak up water. Blooming depends on how tightly the knot is tied, and the diameter of the hole in the handle where the knot goes, how deeply the knot is set and probably a bazillion other factors, all brushes will spread out to some degree. Even when dried afterwards, the brush will be somewhat more spread out than it was when brand new. This is nothing to worry about and simply means the coating has been removed and that the brush can soak up water properly. Once the "wet dog" smell has vanished, you can assume the blooming phase is over.....

Enjoy the "wet dog" smell while you can, us old folk seem to regard that smell in the same light as that of a new car.

Regards

Kaptain "I love the smell of a wet badger in the morning" Zero

By the way, a pet peeve with me is someone who buys a new brush, uses it once or twice and decides it's not for them and sells it again. It takes a good week or MORE to get a brush settled in and performing the way it's going to do for the remainder of it's life. Most times, the first couple of latherings will be nothing like the way the brush will behave later. Mind you, if a gent finds a brush waaay to soft the first few times... it probably won't improve with age.

how about size, do you think there is something more to it than personal preference? Yes, I am still talking about brushes...

Size of a brush is no different than size of a razor. They all work as expected, it's just dependent on what you're looking for. I find that a large knot and high loft produce a feeling of luxury. You're worth it, right? You'll likely have to adjust to the water capacity and amount of lather needed with a big brush. It'll help you clear the stash anyway.

Besides Shavemac, I'd also say look at QED's line of silvertip brushes (3XXX series). Charles has different handle styles with knots up to 32mm.

Good info. I've noticed that my brush has spread out a little, but I didn't know there was a term for it. Good to know.

Size is a personal thing. About the only benefit I can think of when it comes to large brushes is their ability to retain heat in the knot for subsequent lathering. Now that we have these fancy double wall scuttles and whatnot, it's probably not much of an issue. Luxurious lathering does go hand in hand with those giant 30mm+ knots, if you have the strength to swing the darn thing. My largest so far is only a 26mm Savile Row and I've been going down in size since I got that one. My latest brush is a tiny 20mm knot and I was shocked at it's ability to deliver enough lather for 3 + passes without batting a badger hair.

So there's no *need* to spend the extra $$$ for a large brush unless you really want one. These days I have a hard time leaving that 20mm brush alone.... it works so darn well, even if it does go cold rather quickly. I still have my eye on a 28mm Shavemac, perfect for those cold miserable days when I just want to dive into some nice hot Rose scented lather, but it probably won't become my day to day brush.

Regards

Christian

What I thought was going to be an easter gift...a new shavemac... sounds like it may turn into a birthday present...in november

my wife made a random comment today about being glad I decided to wait until the "end of the year" to get a good brush...

I cant wait that long...