Thread: Small or big brush

I have one or two, 22, 24, 26, 28 silvertip and a couple of different lofts of a couple, all Stephens woodworking. I use the smaller brush for traveling, 24 is my usual daily use brush but I do use the 28 now and then just because it is so darn cool. You can cover half your face in one pass. I like them all. If I have skipped a day of shaving I use a low loft brush which is scrubbier but still nice and soft. It works the lather into the stiff beard. If I am making a triple pass shave I get out the big shaving bowl and 28mm. It will whip up a mound of lather with plenty left over after the third pass. I guess I should also mention that I am Stephens woodworking in the interest of full disclosure but dont take this as pimping product. I also use Mamma bear and Gentlemen’s quarter soaps, love them. A nice soft scrubby brush, mounds of warm lather and a good scary sharp razor and you are in business. Even better if your razor and brush match.

I found the 24mm is better with soaps and the 28mm works best with creams.

Why is that dward? It helps you to build better lather that way? or is it because you produce more lather with the cream?

Al raz.

I'm a face latherer, so I need to be able to move the brush around my face. I prefer small-medium sized brushes, maybe 21-23mm. Something else to consider is the loft of the bristle. I like a stiffer, scrubbier type brush. I prefer a shorter loft 42-50mm. A shorter loft won't splay all over your face, up your nose, in your ears, etc.

Jordan

Originally Posted by Alraz

Why is that dward? It helps you to build better lather that way? or is it because you produce more lather with the cream?

Al raz.

Never really analyzed it. Good question. That's just the way it seems to work for me. If I had to come up with a guess I would say the 28mm is softer and creating the lather from cream doesn't require the stiffness the 24mm provides. Whereas to get the soap on the brush the stiffer one appears to work better. But that is only a WAG on my part.

I received a Kent BK12 as a gift and thought that I'd use it once and retire it to the shelf. I was certain a 31mm knot would be overkill. I have a 26mm Rooney that I was using prior to that, and thought *that* was a bit large. To my surprise I was hooked on the BK12 after the first go. I can't defend the practicality of the size other than to say it's luxurious. The only downside is it uses a bit more cream than my Rooney or my other smaller brushes.

I use a 28mm silvertip as seen here http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...es-pt-3-a.html and also in my videos. (see my sig)

I had a smaller brush, but I just dig the luxurious feeling of a huge silvertip. It goes thru soap a lot faster, but I make my own soap so I really don't care.

Big 28mm...large and luxurious is the best way to go...

Aside from knot size and loft, you also need to take into account the density and thickness/stiffness of the bristles into how "large" the brush feels on your face. The EJ / C&E brushes are comparatively less dense and more floppy than say Rooneys, Simpsons or Shavemacs. So just comparing knot sizes may be misleading, since your brush would feel larger on the face due to more splaying.

That being said, I have settled on a medium to large soft brush like a silvertip shavemac 23mm with 50mm loft for creams, since I lather cream on a bowl.

For soap, I like smaller, scrubbier brushes like the T2 and CH1 size. Since I lather soap on my face, I prefer the brush to be stiffer, and like the simpsons in super or rooney in finest because the bristles themselves are stiffer and give more backbone. Some brushes use bristles that are less stiff, and make up for it in density, but this causes the brush to hog lather due to less air flow.

I'd say in between like a medium size, as it allows enough lather to be made, yet allows more control of placement then a monster brush.