I'm still in the market for a nicer badger brush, a silver-tip. Kent has what seems to be a good reputation, but I'd like the opinions of those who own and use one. I'm looking at the BK-4 and BK-8. Thanks in advance.
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I'm still in the market for a nicer badger brush, a silver-tip. Kent has what seems to be a good reputation, but I'd like the opinions of those who own and use one. I'm looking at the BK-4 and BK-8. Thanks in advance.
Wayne,
My BK4 is one of my favourite brushes; it works equally well for me with creams and hard soaps. Lovely and soft on the face !
I also find the BK4 knot is just the right size for me.
A lot of people here at SRP think it is a bit 'floppy & moppy', but I don't :)
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
They are one of the, I guess you can call them the big three in English Brushes; Rooney, Simpson/Vulfix, Kent. I have one and find the quality to be comparable to the others. The one I have is the B&B group buy and it's small with a short loft so it has a lot of backbone.
Kent brushes are extremely well made brushes that tend to have excellent flow through and very soft hair but perhaps only average back bone (at least when compared to other high end brushes such as Rooney or Simpson). The Kent BK4 was too floppy for my taste but, YMMV
Absolutely love my BK4. Some think its not up to the harder soaps, but that's not my experience....and it is so sweet on the face.
I have a BK-4 that I've used less than 10-15 times since I bought it a year ago. It's a nice brush, but for me personally it is too soft. Yes, it is very luxurious and feels great, and for me it worked better with creams as compared to hard soap, but not dense enough to face lather soap, IMHO...
I've been contemplating selling the BK-4 as I don't use it, and better for someone to use than collect dust on the case/tube.
hello all,
I've seen posts referring to "knots" as related to brushes. what is this referring to?
Regards,
Stultsy
The diameter of the 'knot' of hair in the handle, as compared to the loft/length of the brush hair above the knot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stultstastic
Well, I have a BK4 and like it a lot, but there's no denying that it's as soft and floppy as a particularly lazy Persian cat. It seems all wrong, and you'd think that hard soap would be off the menu, but somehow it seems to cope quite happily with anything up to and including Wool Fat. :thinking:
The word on the grapevine is that the BK8 is the one to go for, though it is decidedly on the large size (the BK12 is a monster). The tips are just as soft, but there's more backbone, apparently.
"The word on the grapevine is that the BK8 is the one to go for, though it is decidedly on the large size (the BK12 is a monster)."
Sorry I read this! Thought I had mostly bypassed brush acquisition disorder. As a BK4 lover...I can only imagine the 8.
j
I have the BK8. No backbone to speak of, but it works with creams, hard soaps, everything. I have several high-end brushes (Rooney Heritage Emillion, Simpson 2-band silvertips, Plissons, etc). If there was a fire and I had time to grab only one brush, it would be the BK8. Interestingly, it was also cheaper than any of the above-mentioned -- about $80 from a Euro vendor, IIRC.
I have had several Kent Brushes over the years and they are way to floppy for my personal tastes. Other than that, they are definitely a decent brush if you prefer floppy or not much backbone. I never liked them for soaps, but they were adequate for creams.
Have fun,
Lynn
They are definitely very soft brushes with a lot of floppyness. Some of my customers had me take the knots out and transplant it into a new handle and set them at a much shorter loft, making this a usable brush for face lather and using soaps. The good thing is that a Kent knot can betaken out easily from the handle (the handle gets destroyed, though) as the knot is not directly glued into the handle, but sits in a small plastic cup, which is then glued into the handle.
I have a BK2 and love it, I have used it exclusively for about 6 years. When I switched to it from a horsehair that went mildewy on me a long time ago, I initially felt it wasn't stiff enough, but the softness difference was incredible and I got used to the feel.
One nice thing about it is that has not been mentioned is that the red faux leather case it comes in is terrific for travelling. I presume all the Kent models come with this case.
It really all boils down to personal tastes/preferences. I love my Bk12. Were as some guys like a little scratchiness for that face massage/exfoliating sensation, I don't like any 'scritchy' sensation whatsoever. The Kent BK12 has just a very slight scritchiness to it (much less than the Simpsons 2-band I've used) so it ranks as my #2 brush rather than my number one but only missed out on first place by a hair...
As for 'backbone', I'm a face-lathering soap user and have absolutely no problem whatsoever building a quick lather with the Kent or other brushes often referred to as having 'less backbone' than say a Simpsons chubby or a Rooney. Maybe the BK12 differs from the BK4 or BK8 but, while it may not be as stiff as shorter loft brushes, it is nowhere near a soggy, limp wet noodle. All in all I'd say, in most cases, 'backbone' also boils down to nothing more than personal preference...
The Kent may take an extra 3-4 seconds of swirling on the soap puck (whether it be MWF, DR Harris, TGQ, to name just a few) to load compared to, say, the Simpsons 2-band T2 Tulip, but it's a very small price to pay for the extra softness/lesser scritchiness IMHO.
I had a BK8 for about a year and love love loved it.
And for some reason I stopped using and ended up selling it... and have wished for one ever since.
I have a BK12 on the list of next to buy and can't wait until I get one.