Thread: thinking about Thäter but...

If you read other manufacturers sites they will tell you not to use shave oil and not to use swirling motions with a brush. Probably about as valid as some of the instructions packed with TI Razors.

I have one Thater and I pretty much exclusively face lather and have never had any issues with it or any other brush for that matter.

They probably figure the more you treat their product with kid gloves the less issues they will have dealing with you down the road. Hedging their bets I would say.

I tend to treat my things with kid gloves anyway. Lynn and I had an email exchange about this earlier; I don't grind my brushes into my face like a lot of face latherers. With the wire brush stubble that some guys have (cheese graters I call them) you can almost certainly wear out ANY brush; expensive or not.

The insert that came with my Thaeter said, as best I can remember, "Only make lather in your bowl, we don't recommend face lathering. Beard hair is harder than badger bristles and face lathering can reduce the lifespan of your brush."

Originally Posted by JimR

The insert that came with my Thaeter said, as best I can remember, "Only make lather in your bowl, we don't recommend face lathering. Beard hair is harder than badger bristles and face lathering can reduce the lifespan of your brush."

And yet you use the brush to rub the lather into your beard hairs, whether the lather comes from a bowl or not. So I am wondering if there is that much difference in the result.

Anyway I've face-lathered for years with a cheap boar brush and it is still good. I figure that if a boar can handle it, so can badger. So far (3 months) my Thater silvertip does not seem to be affected by the face lathering.

There is a simple reason for this statement regarding face lathering.
I just finished my quest for a new shaving brush. Living in Germany I had the choice between either a Thäter "chubby" 28mm [4125/3] or a Simpsons Chubby 2 or 3.
I opted for the Thäter after thorough research. In Germany the Thäter is very common and quite well known. There are not many issues known about the brush losing hair,
but there are some reports about broken tips and broken hair. Thäter managed to find out that if the brush is used with much pressure the hair can acutally be damaged.
Seeing some videos on youtube I see it is quite common to use pressure while facelathering.
The insanely dense brush with a lot of backbone does not like to be pressed against the face or the bowl!

If you look at this instructional (in German) from Thäter,
you will see a damaged brush on the very last page. The text sais:

Do not use pressure while lathering. There is no advantage to that but leads to premature wear.
In the picture you see a damaged brush with a hole in the middle of the tips.
Remember: less pressure = more lather where you need it and less stress for the tips/hair of the brush

Gentlemen,
The assumption, then, is that everyone uses pressure to not only load the brush but also to apply or make lather on the face. I hate to disappoint these brush companies, because not everyone does so. That's the wrong way of doing it, whether using a Thater or a low-grade brush. In all instances the pressure should be kept light, because jamming the brush into the soap or onto the face accomplishes nothing. Yes, it could perhaps also damage the brush. And, yes, that could apply to many things: using extreme pressure with the straight razor is sure to give you some juicy razor burns and cuts.

Originally Posted by Lesslemming

If you look at this... from Thäter, you will see a damaged brush on the very last page.

Well, from the looks of the brush you linked to;



I'm guessing they were painting a house with the sample

Obie is right though; sanding your face with a Thäter or a paintbrush everyday will wear both out; eventually.

Originally Posted by hamilton946

Obie is right though; sanding your face with a Thäter or a paintbrush everyday will wear both out; eventually.

It's a brush - use it. If you're worried about wearing out your brush, go buy a $6 special at the drugstore and put all your Thaters on the wall shelf. Brushes, hones, and razors were all meant to be used.

Originally Posted by jerrybyers

It's a brush - use it. If you're worried about wearing out your brush, go buy a $6 special at the drugstore and put all your Thaters on the wall shelf. Brushes, hones, and razors were all meant to be used.

But Jerry, if I did that, you'd have no one to tweak

FWIW, somewhere around 1972 or 3 I bought a shaving brush at Hoffritz for Cutlery. I used it, face lathering with some pressure, for 35 years before I bought another brush. IIRC the brush, which is a badger, marked "Hoffritz" cost me around $80.00, so it was a quality brush. Back then $80.00 was a weeks pay for some folks. I still have the brush and it will still do the job for which it was intended.

The first instructions I read warning of swirling the brush came with a Kent BK4. They recommended a painting motion. I ignored that warning , as I have with all of the many brushes I've tried in the past four years. It seems to me these cautions are just the CYA mentality of the manufacturer anticipating warranty issues. BTW, the reason it is preferable to generate your lather in a bowl, aside from any benefit to the bristles, is because it creates more, and better lather...... AFAIC. .....YMMV. Enjoy your brush and your shave.