Thread: Van Der Hagen brush size?

Is there any good way to judge the size (mm/diameter) of a shave brush? Currently all I have is a Van Der Hagen brush (Walgreen/Walmart type) and at the moment I have it hanging from a noose on the "linnen" closet outside my bathroom. Sure I'd like to get a better brush etc but for the time being my wallet won't allow it. I've been checking out the plastic/acrylic stands at Classic Shaving (midst a huge list of other things) but don't want to spend the money to order one if it's not going to fit the brush. Any suggestions?

Use the money for a better brush a $15 Tweezerman Best Badger is a big upgrade from the VDH brush.

Originally Posted by hornm

Is there any good way to judge the size (mm/diameter) of a shave brush? Currently all I have is a Van Der Hagen brush (Walgreen/Walmart type) and at the moment I have it hanging from a noose on the "linnen" closet outside my bathroom. Sure I'd like to get a better brush etc but for the time being my wallet won't allow it. I've been checking out the plastic/acrylic stands at Classic Shaving (midst a huge list of other things) but don't want to spend the money to order one if it's not going to fit the brush. Any suggestions?

Thanks. Went poking around and found that Amazon not only had the Tweezerman brushes but they were on sale for around $12.25, so I got 2. I'll set the VDH brush aside to apply later to the wet/dry hones I've got.

Don't sell your VDH brush short. I have a badger brush that I used for years. I always thought the bristles were too soft for my liking so I bought one of the VDH boar bristle brushes and found that I prefer it because the bristles stand up to applying lather. The badger will be tremendously softer to your face, but I like being able to work the lather on my face, too. I may be alone on this one, but try them both on alternating days or alternating sides of the face. The boar bristle will definitely do a better job of ex-foliating, but then again the blade will out ex-foliate any brush.

I got my tweezerman brushes today. Those are going to take some getting used to. I'm with you on the boars hair though. I really like the almost abrasive quality of the VDH not to mention the lather I've been getting (only been at it for a little over 6 months now so I'm still on the learing curve). All in all I'm sure I'll put them both to good use.

Thanx for the info guy's really appreciated it.

I have a VDH brush and a badger hair brush and I really like My VDH better than my badger cause the badger is to soft for my taste but I do find myself using it every once in a while so don't cut your VDH short

I had a Van Der Hagen brush , and every time I used it bristles would fall out of it . If you want a good bristle brush , you can get a nice one from The Gentlemans Quarter (thegentlemansquarter.com).

Originally Posted by dave5225

I had a Van Der Hagen brush , and every time I used it bristles would fall out of it . If you want a good bristle brush , you can get a nice one from The Gentlemans Quarter (thegentlemansquarter.com).

I had the same problem. The omega boar brushes are not too expensive either, if you like boar

I too started with a Van Der Hagen boar brush from Wal-Mart and thought this is great,I then got a Truefitt and Hill pure badger brush, it's extremely soft and easy on the face,but I got so used to my cheaper brush I still don't know the proper amount of water to use, or the amount of water that my brush holds to get my lather right anymore. i'm still working on that.In all actuality I liked the coarsness of the boar on my skin,and it doesn't seem to bloom out as bad as the badger.that might be my fault using the same amount of pressure on the softer bristles than what is necessary.But good luck no matter what you choose.It's not about the equipment you use as long as you get the result your after.

Originally Posted by MinniesMate

Don't sell your VDH brush short. I have a badger brush that I used for years. I always thought the bristles were too soft for my liking so I bought one of the VDH boar bristle brushes and found that I prefer it because the bristles stand up to applying lather. The badger will be tremendously softer to your face, but I like being able to work the lather on my face, too. I may be alone on this one, but try them both on alternating days or alternating sides of the face. The boar bristle will definitely do a better job of ex-foliating, but then again the blade will out ex-foliate any brush.

total agreement, I've always face-lathered and thought my soft brush was ok until I tried working with some harder soaps. Tried an NOS boar brush I had lying about and I was very pleased, even more so after I learned to soak it briefly before using