Thread: Brush advice - looking for more backbone, less size

I've been using a Simpson Colonel x2l in best the last few weeks.
It's a giant of a knot, packed with soft soft hairs, but lacks the backbone i'm looking for i think, as it seems to NOT want to give up the soap/cream no matter how much water I add.
So my questions:
1. Would going to a shorter loft provide me with more backbone?
2. What recommendations do you have for something smaller then the colonel but are just as soft but with more backbone?
3. Price would be under $100 if possible

Anybody use a Wee Scott? I also found a really cool Rooney and was wondering about their performance, as I love the color of the handle

If you get silvertip one of it's characteristics is being very soft to the point of being floppy. You can stuff more hair in and make it very dense which will cut down on the floppiness to a point or you can cut back the hairs with a short loft which will also cut way down on the floppiness. Better is to get a brush which simply doesn't exhibit that characteristic if you don't like it. The Thaters seem to have way more backbone as do the no longer available classic 2 band brushes. The B&B LE from 2008 as I recall is a kent with short loft and plenty of backbone. You might find one for sale on the forum over there.

IME Rooney Heritage brushes have backbone. The old Somerset Simpsons did too but I haven't used any of the Simpsons since Vulfix bought the company. Never tired a Vulfix either but I've heard they are floppy like a Kent. I used a friend's Thater and it had real strong backbone with soft tips.

Just try a boar hair or a horse hair brush and you won’t regret it.
The price is 10 – 20$ and you will love them.

I got my boar for 6.99... been using it for about 6 years now. Loses a hair about once a week.

Sorry, bharner... it didn't 'stink' at all. Maybe mine didn't lather up a dead rat before I got it.

I have a vdh boar, makes great lather but is a bit too rough on my skin. I have granite for facial hair and tissue paper for skin, go figure!
Is a higher quality boar going to be softer?
And i've heard of people using horsehair, but haven't heard any of the characteristics.
btw, I don't mind slaying a few dozen badgers for a brush!

I have not encountered a brush that will not give up lather (ie Hog it) if the brush is properly loaded and the correct ratio of water is used. I have some on the densest brushes made and not a single one will hog lather because I load them adequately.

In terms of your questions - a lower loft will not always equal more backbone. Backbone is really a combination of the grade of hair and the loft. In general, 2-band brushes will have more backbone than 3-band brushes. The new Rooney Heritage XL 2-band brushes are a great example of this, but also retain super soft tips. I don't think you'll find them under $100 though.

The Rooney pure badger you linked will probably have more backbone, but definitely will not be as soft as a Simpson's best.

Really for the money, it is hard to beat a TGN (thegoldennib) Finest Fan knot set at the loft of your choice in the handle of your choice. You can even play around with the lofts a bit before actually glueing it to find your sweet point. I have a 24mm Finest Fan Knot set at a 45mm loft in a brush handle that once belonged to my grandfather that I restored. The knot cost me $28 and the handle obviously was free. After about 30 minutes of cleaning the old knot out of the handle and polishing (in addition to repainting the inside of the knot hole black as it was one of those clear lucite handles), I had a very nice brush for not a lot of money. In the sub $100 category I would put this knot from TGN against most anything out there. Plenty of backbone and soft tips (at the loft I set it at).

Over $100 and it is a different story as a number of brushes above that point will easily beat the TGN. Still though, I've been through about 40+ brushes and currently only own 7 badgers. The TGN is right there amongst my others as a great performer.

I could put together a brush with a TGN not AND get a wee scott for under $100.....

MUST.GATHER.MORE.RESOURCES

Originally Posted by tonycraigo

I got my boar for 6.99... been using it for about 6 years now. Loses a hair about once a week.

Sorry, bharner... it didn't 'stink' at all. Maybe mine didn't lather up a dead rat before I got it.

I've really got to get a more reputable brush source .
My first VDH didn't stink and my Omega 10048 had no stink. The VDH brush someone sent me and my other Omega smelled like I was lathering up with a wet dog for the first couple shaves. Although the dog might have been pretty exfoliating. Kind of like one of those auto brushes that AOS sells...

Boar definitely has backbone, and they tend to be cheaper, so that's definitely one way to go. I have a two-band finest badger knot in a custom handle that's really the soap workhorse of my flock, but to be honest, I have a Simpson Special that does just as good a job, with a bit less backbone.