A Long Awaited Return
-
- Duke of Silvertip!
- Posts: 27393
- Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:02 pm
A Long Awaited Return
Well, today I finally retreived my 'lost' shave brushes. For those of you who remember, all but three of my brushes had to be left behind at my old house when I hurriedly decamped in Sept. of 2011. I only took the Plisson #12 HMW, Simpson X2L Colonel and the Simpson D2. So, it was nice to finally get the others back. Not that I have that many compared with some other members here, but each one was carefully choosen and/or gifted to me because it was known that I coveted it. They are; a Kent BK4 and that B&B Kent number, Somerset Simpson T3, a Rooney medium Finest, a D R Harris's old style large ( by either Simpson or Rooney ), a Rooney Emillion, a Plisson #14 EW, a butterscotch handled Simpson EJ3, and an old C&E boar bristle brush. These brushes were the end product of years of buying, selling, and trading....of shifting and winnowing as it were. I never had a great deal of money to just buy anything that vaguely interested me....so I was forced to be more selective and careful.
Anyway, it was a joy to use the BK4 again and today's shave confirmed what I remembered about this brush; namely that it is THE best shave brush for hard English soaps that I think I've ever used. My wife happened to be in the bathroom when I started to lather up the Trumpers Almond soap ( note; the newer version, not tallow based ) and she exclaimed "wow!...I've never seen the lather come up like that...or so fast!" And she's right, even my Plisson HMW does not crank up lather quite like that from the same soap. I don't know if the Kent BK4s being made today are the equal of this one ( maybe 8 years old or so ) but for every wet shaver's sake, I hope so.
Regards,
Gordon
Anyway, it was a joy to use the BK4 again and today's shave confirmed what I remembered about this brush; namely that it is THE best shave brush for hard English soaps that I think I've ever used. My wife happened to be in the bathroom when I started to lather up the Trumpers Almond soap ( note; the newer version, not tallow based ) and she exclaimed "wow!...I've never seen the lather come up like that...or so fast!" And she's right, even my Plisson HMW does not crank up lather quite like that from the same soap. I don't know if the Kent BK4s being made today are the equal of this one ( maybe 8 years old or so ) but for every wet shaver's sake, I hope so.
Regards,
Gordon
Last edited by bernards66 on Sun Mar 10, 2013 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
- Duke of Silvertip!
- Posts: 27393
- Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:02 pm
- churchilllafemme
- Posts: 5674
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:22 pm
- Location: Seattle, WA
- fallingwickets
- Clive the Thumb
- Posts: 8813
- Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am
Gordon, I was absent when you returned, so this is a belated welcome back from me.
I'm glad you were able to get your brushes back. I have come to accept that there are some items in my den that, all logic and reason aside, mean a good deal to me. Like you, I have winnowed and been choosy, and while I know that in the end, it's all just "stuff," there's no denying that these talismans are imbued with meaning well beyond their usefulness. I'm glad that, whatever obstacles you've encountered in the past year and a half, you've come through on the other side with a (mostly) intact shave den to help provide constancy.
And the BK4 is a helluva shave brush, indeed. Its quality and usefulness would be quite enough to warrant mourning its absence, even apart from your history with it. I bought my first BK4 on your recommendation, and though I've had a couple come and go since then, it's one I don't want to be without in my den. Kent probably owes you for more than one or two sales, in fact.
I expect you'll have similarly revelatory experiences returning to those other brushes, too. Congrats.
I'm glad you were able to get your brushes back. I have come to accept that there are some items in my den that, all logic and reason aside, mean a good deal to me. Like you, I have winnowed and been choosy, and while I know that in the end, it's all just "stuff," there's no denying that these talismans are imbued with meaning well beyond their usefulness. I'm glad that, whatever obstacles you've encountered in the past year and a half, you've come through on the other side with a (mostly) intact shave den to help provide constancy.
And the BK4 is a helluva shave brush, indeed. Its quality and usefulness would be quite enough to warrant mourning its absence, even apart from your history with it. I bought my first BK4 on your recommendation, and though I've had a couple come and go since then, it's one I don't want to be without in my den. Kent probably owes you for more than one or two sales, in fact.
I expect you'll have similarly revelatory experiences returning to those other brushes, too. Congrats.
Regards,
Tim
Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
Tim
Why should we not meet, not always as dyspeptics, to tell our bad dreams, but sometimes as eupeptics, to congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning? - Henry David Thoreau
-
- Duke of Silvertip!
- Posts: 27393
- Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:02 pm
Tim, Thanks, and I'm pleased to hear that you bought your initial BK4 on my recommendation and that your trust proved warranted. Yeah, honestly, of all my absent brushes it was the BK4 that I missed most frequently. And there IS a certain...a....attachment that developes, at least for me. It was funny, after they arrived I overheard my wife on the phone to her mother,"....yes, he's quite excited....each brush is different...like each has it's own personality to him..." and it's true. I've been using each returned one day by day as one can see in my SOTD posts. Tomorrow is the last one that I use at all regularly; the Plisson #14 EW. After it gets it's re-initiation it will be back to my old pattern...which really is no regular pattern at all, I just grab whatever brush strikes my fancy that morning. Some get used considerably more often than others.
Regards,
Gordon
Regards,
Gordon
Wendell, I thought you were going to go out and get one a while back. Are you still on the fence? Did you see that link to a sale that someone posted a day or two ago?
Gary
SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
-
- Duke of Silvertip!
- Posts: 27393
- Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:02 pm
Chris, Well, you should....and so should you, Bruno ( chuckle ). Today I used my old Plisson #14 EW and it got me thinking. This was the first brush that I shelled out really serious bucks to get. I paid full retail ( around $250 back then ) and waited 5-6 weeks for it to be made, sent from France to Vancouver and on to me in Florida. When it finally arrived I was disappointed. It was not like the other brushes I'd used and liked; it was stiff, a little 'scritchy' on the face and was seriously dome shaped, almost pointy. I remember sharing my disppointment on the old Wetshavers forum and receiving advice to be patient and that over time I would appreciate it more. And well, that happened. Since I didn't much like it I didn't use it that often but over time I did notice that it 'softened up' and became more user friendly ( This is the old 'real' EW bristle suppossedly sourced from Eastern Europe ). The 'scritchyness' disappeared and the knot became more flexible without losing any of it's essential 'backbone'. And I started to notice that it made unusually thick rich lather. As many of you know, I don't think that the Trumper creams are quite as rich and concentrated as they used to be. But with this Plisson the lather I got from the Trumpers Limes this morning was just like the 'old days'. I'm glad that I listened to, I think it was 'Jack', who encouraged me to keep using this brush and I would wind up being glad that I got it....cause I am.
Regards,
Gordon
Regards,
Gordon
Moral of this story, from Gordon himself is get the Plisson. Expensive? Yes. The Best? Yes. When I got mine I had second thoughts, it was traumatic, and scary, and too much money, and then --- I started using it for the intended purpose --- get the Plisson.
Gary
SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
-
- Duke of Silvertip!
- Posts: 27393
- Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:02 pm
Gary, Yeah, they are very fine brushes indeed ( the Plisson EWs and HMWs ). I only have two and the second came via the generiosity of Chris M. There is the ongoing debate; "are they worth the asking price?", and of course there is no conclusive answer to that as it is a personal decision and everyone's criteria and situation is different. The ones I have are very effective for their intended use and the #14 EW has only gotten better with time, and they're a pleasure to use. But, my Simpson X2L Colonel is also superb, and at a fraction of the price, which is also true of my Kent BK4. The higher end Plissons are only 'worth it' if they're worth it to you. I had the money to spend back when I got this #14 EW, today I wouldn't do it.
Regards,
Gordon
Regards,
Gordon
Gordon, I have to echo your sentiments about the bk4. I find that it likes to be used a little wetter than some of my others and it does especially well with 'to and 'fro strokes. I also bought one based on the high praises that you and others on this board have given it and I am glad that I have one.
~Matt
-
- Duke of Silvertip!
- Posts: 27393
- Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:02 pm
- churchilllafemme
- Posts: 5674
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:22 pm
- Location: Seattle, WA