Thread: Don't you do that to your brush!

1 and 2 are a little silly. Unless you are using handfuls of Crisco shortening as your pre-shave "oil", I can't see how any normal use of pre-shave oil would harm the brush. Indeed, having some oil touch the brush hairs now and then is probably a good thing for its overall life and flexibility. I've used pre-shave oil since I've started using a straight razor, and I've not seen any adverse effect on any brush I have.

Likewise, using circular strokes doesn't crush or break the hairs. The brush hairs (whether badger or bristle) have a very, very long -- but not limitless -- lifespan, and it doesn't appear that anything you do to them in the course of normal use (with one exception) would change the lifespan one way or the other. When the brush hairs crush or break off, it's time to replace the knot or get a new brush, not revise your shaving technique.

I don't know anything about #3, because I don't boil any brush that I am using, but I have seen that some older brushes have very, very fragile glue holding what remains of the knot in place, so that with a little hot water and twisting, the old knot will just pop right out of the handle. That doesn't mean that using hot water on your brush is bad. It just means that some brushes have very weak glue holding the knot in place, and so probably need to be restored rather than used.

As for the one thing that will cause some damage, drying your brush with the bristles pointing up WILL DAMAGE THE KNOT. I know this from restoring a number of brushes now where the base of the knot is rotted and cruddy with old shaving soap. NDW (above) says that he has faith in science and capillary action, and that's what ends up killing the knot. When you're done shaving, your brush is covered not with distilled, pure H20, but rather a mix of H20 plus all of the minerals and impurities that are present in whatever you used to wash it. With the bristles pointing up, all of that stuff slides down the hair and into the knot, where the water evaporates and all of the minerals and impurities remain where they are. After years of drying like this, the knot builds up a layer of crud that is impossible to remove, and you can see this crud sometimes when you are drilling out a brush handle to restore.

So dry those brushes upside down!!

My brush (Crabtree & Evelyn pure badger) sheds lightly on a regular basis, so I don't know if it's because I usually use a swirling motion or if it's more about the quality of the brush.

What motion should you use if not circular? I mean, I guess my motion is more of a triangle or three-pointed one. Should you just use a back and forth motion?

Never use one of these hard and put it up wet.



Don't want to spoil their sweet temperament.

Originally Posted by lumberjoe

How are you supposed to get soap on the brush, or build lather without using circular strokes? Does a person do a back and forth line?

I'm equally mystified by the advice not to use circular strokes.

Originally Posted by BigIan

I do #1,#2, & #3

no issues yet.

Me too! and have done for a while now, no issues here either!

Originally Posted by Desdinova

I don't see oil being an issue.

The soap will clean it off.

+1,
I also clean the brush with shampoo once a month so no issues for me.

If you guys tell me I can't swirl my brush I am going to brake down and CRY !! swirling aka (circular strokes) though new to me brings me great pleasure in the pursuit of the straight razor shave.

Originally Posted by robertliford

My brush (Crabtree & Evelyn pure badger) sheds lightly on a regular basis, so I don't know if it's because I usually use a swirling motion or if it's more about the quality of the brush.

Have you had the brush a long time? And where did you buy it? For what it is worth, if it is a relatively new brush (like purchased in the past 30 or 60 days) purchased from a reputable vendor (like SRD or Classic Shaving or many others advertised on this site) AND the brush is shedding consistently, then I would just return it.

A good quality badger brush shouldn't shed any hair at all other than a few stray hairs that will come loose after the first few shaves. A properly constructed knot should have all of the badger hairs passing completely through and secured by the glue "plug" at the base of the knot. So you might see a few hairs fall out in the beginning, when there are always a few hairs left over from the knot making process, but after these fall out (and assuming normal use) the hairs should never leave the brush at all.

Now if you've only had the brush for a week or so, and you're only seeing a hair or two come out with each shave, I would worry a lot less. Try washing the brush really well in a sink full of clean water and shake it vigorously to dry it. That should remove all of the stray hairs that were left over from the knot making process. If you are still losing hairs afterwards, then the knot itself might be bad, and then I'd consider returning it.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Originally Posted by JeffE

Have you had the brush a long time? And where did you buy it? For what it is worth, if it is a relatively new brush (like purchased in the past 30 or 60 days) purchased from a reputable vendor (like SRD or Classic Shaving or many others advertised on this site) AND the brush is shedding consistently, then I would just return it.

A good quality badger brush shouldn't shed any hair at all other than a few stray hairs that will come loose after the first few shaves. A properly constructed knot should have all of the badger hairs passing completely through and secured by the glue "plug" at the base of the knot. So you might see a few hairs fall out in the beginning, when there are always a few hairs left over from the knot making process, but after these fall out (and assuming normal use) the hairs should never leave the brush at all.

Now if you've only had the brush for a week or so, and you're only seeing a hair or two come out with each shave, I would worry a lot less. Try washing the brush really well in a sink full of clean water and shake it vigorously to dry it. That should remove all of the stray hairs that were left over from the knot making process. If you are still losing hairs afterwards, then the knot itself might be bad, and then I'd consider returning it.

I hope this helps and good luck!

I bought a Vulfix 3 years ago from a website I don't remember, from Germany I think (long before I discovered SRP). So, it sheds a hair or two everytime I use it, and some of the hairs look like they've split at the ends. I clean it with soap I buy from Classic monthly and flick it dry then store it in a brush stand. So, after reading your posts, it looks like I got robbed. Do I need a new brush? I thought this thing would last for a decade.

I'll have to start building my lather on a plate if I cannot use a circular motion. Maybe a 12 inch diameter scuttle?