Thread: the brushes of our forefathers

being an avid user of simpson's wee scot brush.. i often wonder why larger brushes are the norm.. i understand that there's a luxury about them and everything.. it just seems like i'm missing something..

then this weekend i'm at an antique shop and i notice the knot size on several vintage brushes.. they all seem to be quite small.. around 18mm or less i would say.

does anyone know the specs on the older brushes? also.. when and why did we transition to the larger brushes of today?

Interesting Question,of note also is lofts were much higher back in the day.
People almost always bowl latherd back than and used hard course soaps,was not uncommon to use regular bar soap,so I am told.
I build alot of custom brushes,mostly in Ivory,my customers all want at least 24/26mm knots set at 48ish lofts.
Unless they want say a travel type brush,than 18 is the norm,even some 16s.
I have two 30s on the bench as we speak.
Perhaps the reason is because the highest grades of undyed,densely packed,hand formed knots only come in larger sizes of 22mm and up today,large knots IMO really are very nice with tallow based high end soaps.
A three pass shave with one load is quite doable.

yes.. the lofts did look much taller..

i am fully able to get 3 passes with my wee scot.. the smaller knot isn't really the main interest for me.. i'm more into the smaller spread of my shorter loft.. i am comfortable with an 18mm knot.. though i almost always have much too tall of a loft.. with an 18mm knot i'd like a loft of 40mm at the most.

I understand Napoleon had a Plisson with a Sterling Silver handle which had a very large knot.

I suspect the wealthy had large brushes as opposed to the common folk who had smaller ones because they were cheaper. These days people have more disposable income so they indulge themselves and the manufacturers are all to happy to oblige.

Bigger is always better (to a point))

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Bigger is always better (to a point))

Well, I used to think that
I went out and bought a 38mm Vulfix badger, figuring I would need something big for three passes on the face AND three passes on the head.
Seems I was wrong!
I do however feel that my smallest ones struggle in storing enough product for the six passes I use every day.
My minimum is about 22, but I prefer 25-26mm

The biggest brush I ever had was a 41mm Vulfix. It turned out to be too big for me.

Pixelfixed,
That is one serious brush you have there. It dwarfs that Zippo lighter! I started using a brush with a larger knot, and a nice fan to it. It can produce and hold the lather needed for a nice multi-pass shave

I made it just for grins,Sell my brushes and shaving related things at local arts and craft shows.
Brings alot if people to my table.
Specs are:55mm Boar knot,85mm loft,wgts 743gms,is just for fun.