Thread: VDH/Whippeddog Franken-Luxury Silvertip

Just wanted to share a recent project. My father gave me his old VDH brush after almost throwing it away after I got him a Simpson Persian Jar as a thanks for giving me my grandfathers old strop (post will be made soon). Never ending chain of gifts, I guess, haha.

Never being a fan of Boar bristle, I put the bristles in the bench-vise and simply pulled the knot clean out of the handle. This came out very easily. What wasn't easy was the centrifugal force which once the knot was free, propelled me into the side of my car. After a good laugh, I sanded the casting lines of the handle as to make it appear as one lathe turned handle. Knot is set with Devkon 5min Epoxy.

The knot is a 22mm Silvertip that I purchased from Larry Andreassen at whippeddog.com The price was a ridiculously low $16 shipped, and it arrived 2-3 days after ordering. Top notch service.

The knot is perfect in my opinion. It has just enough backbone while still being able to whip up a generous lather. VERY soft luxurious tips, like many other high end brushes. I would recommend this knot for soap and cream users as it seems very universal.

For any shavers on a budget, this setup can be had for less than $20. I guarantee you will not find anything comparable in that price range, or even 5 times the price. Hope you enjoy the pictures, questions are VERY welcome!

Soap is Essence of Scotland Sweet Gale as always

Vintage brush upgrading / restoring with badger knots is another great part of this hobby but beware it will lead to another AD. Fuller Brush handles are my current favorite.

Originally Posted by wescap34

Vintage brush upgrading / restoring with badger knots is another great part of this hobby but beware it will lead to another AD. Fuller Brush handles are my current favorite.

So true,and badger hair is badger hair,you can buy TGNs finest,make a brush out of a piece of PVC tubing for a handle,be done for 20 bux,and it will make lather just as well as a $500 Plisson.
JMO

Originally Posted by Arbroath

I guarantee you will not find anything comparable in that price range, or even 5 times the price. Hope you enjoy the pictures, questions are VERY welcome!

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

So true,and badger hair is badger hair,you can buy TGNs finest,make a brush out of a piece of PVC tubing for a handle,be done for 20 bux,and it will make lather just as well as a $500 Plisson.
JMO

I guess I'm curious as to what brushes in the $20, and $100+, range you are so confidently comparing these to. Carte-blanch "These are AWESOME!!!1!" statements aren't worth much, and if they're going to be coupled with a comparison to the rest of the market I'd sure like to see actual comparisons, not just blanket statements.

And really, I don't want to sound rude, but I've seen that "badger hair is badger hair" and "leather is leather" thrown around the forum a lot lately. I'm going to step out and say that anyone with experience with the range of products available knows that this just isn't true, to say nothing of the dramatic difference between a cheap Frank shaving knot assembled in China and a full-packed Plisson or Thaeter, etc, even if they are made of the same badger's hair, quality of materials and craft will widely vary.

A lot of us can't afford expensive brushes to compare with. That's the trouble. What we can compare with are our expectations of what we want a brush to be. Larry's badger knots are what I consider a good value. I can't expect a $100 brush to be enough better to justify the $84 difference in price.

Lori

Originally Posted by LoriB

A lot of us can't afford expensive brushes to compare with. That's the trouble. What we can compare with are our expectations of what we want a brush to be. Larry's badger knots are what I consider a good value. I can't expect a $100 brush to be enough better to justify the $84 difference in price.

Lori

Well said.

I am not talking about cheap chinese made brushes.
The thread is about componants to assemble a device to create lather to apply to ones face in order to have a comfortable shave.
If you brake the core componants down,badger hair is badger hair (again IMO).
My experiance as a wet shaver for 45 years is having the luxury and the finances to try the best of the best from simpson to rooney to Plissons 800 euro size 14 in Ivory.
They all do the job,not one of them better than the other.
If one gets some sort of gratification from thinking a $500 brush is a better brush,so be it.

Originally Posted by LoriB

A lot of us can't afford expensive brushes to compare with. That's the trouble. What we can compare with are our expectations of what we want a brush to be. Larry's badger knots are what I consider a good value. I can't expect a $100 brush to be enough better to justify the $84 difference in price.

Lori

That wasn't the point, though. If a comparison is going to be made, and it clearly was, it should be a direct comparison (brush A to brush B, C, D, etc). Generalizations such as the one the OP made are not only so non-specific as to be meaningless, but also closed to any debate as no specifics are given.

@Pixel - Without getting argumentative, I think there is MUCH more to a brush than how it makes lather. I'm going to put that knot to my face several times per week for years, and I care about how that feels as much as I care about how it lathers.

Many of you here have a valid point, many of us cannot afford a $100+ badger brush. I don't think that was the issue. The issue was making generalized comparisons that may or may not have been based in a persons exposure to a wide range of brushes in all price ranges. I believe that if the OP would have made a statement that it was a better brush then what he started with there would have been no problems with that statement. It's really in how you read into the post. Generalized comparisons are always challenged on here because it may seem like it's a fanboy issue and not a true comparative statement. That being said, badger brushes are considered to be superior to boar brushes in many ways, but it all boils down to what works for you within your budget. So let's try to knock down the rhetoric and attitudes and congratulate Arboath on restoring an old brush into something that he really likes.

The same thing happens with most comparison reviews... When you start comparing two products in a review you should at least have used both products and not just once or twice ...
If you can't do that then you should leave that type of statement out...

IE: For any shavers on a budget, this setup can be had for less than $20. I guarantee you will not find anything comparable in that price range, or even 5 times the price. Hope you enjoy the pictures, questions are VERY welcome!

That in red bold is the only problem with this review and why the push back happened... It should be expected that somebody is going to ask the question "What $100+ brushes have you used"

Please understand that no one is trying to be rude or demeaning here, but expect to be asked to back up you statements here on SRP if you make them...

A review that says "I have used 3 different TGN knots and I am extremely happy with them so far, they are top notch knots have lost near zero bristles over the last 2 years" ... is non-confrontational because it doesn't leave questions unanswered

I hope that helps to explain...


Hehehe looks like Carrie and I were typing at the same time what she said too