Gents--
I've recently been contemplating the choice of shaving brush. While badger obviously the way to go generally, does the quality of badger seem to lend itself to certain beard types? I have one of those tough, dark beards like Homer Simpson--almost a permanent five-o'-clock shadow. My first brush, a drugstore boar, was acceptable from the point of preparing my beard for shaving but not much else. My next brush was a 4-inch drugstore badger. The brush was, of course, much more comfortable and retained heat very well, giving me a much better experience. And that brush is still relatively stiff enough to prep my stubble. Then I got a 3-3/4 inch super badger. All the information I've seen led me to expect the super badger would give me a far superior experience compared to the drugstore badger. Such has not been the case however. The brush almost seems *too* soft for my stubble. Now, admittedly the super is less than a week old and somewhat smaller than my drugstore badger (could 1/4 inch be that important?), but I'm just not getting that "Wow!" factor from the super badger.
Any other folks with tough stubble out there? Advice? Comments?
--Mark
PS: Just for the record, I am getting a FAR superior shave now than I had before wetshaving. The high-end products I've tried so far (Truefitt & Hill, Trumper, and to a lesser extent Taylor), along with a brush and good razor (Mach 3 in my case) result in a wonderful experience and a shave close enough for me to skip a day if I had to. I could not do that with an electric or even an over-the-counter gel/cream/foam. I guess I'm talking "shades of grey" with the brush issue.
Brush vs. Face
I had to get the Art of Shavings top of the line brush (Silvertip model) and that is when I noticed a big difference in quality. I used to shave twice a day which was a real pain. Now with shaving n-s, across the grain, and then North east, I don't need to shave more than once a day. The important factor on better brushes is holding and releasing the water and cream. Plus you want it to feel soft against the grain. Of course a good brush lifts the beard, cleans the skin, removes old skin and oil to you can get a better shave.