topsy turvy

[gil3591]

with the arrival of my bk8 2 months ago my shave brush criteria is changing. a few years ago i aquired a bk4, used it once and promptly sold it for being too floppy. i was into the firm backbones, ie. simpsons. i then started to prefer savile row and shavemacs. now i am liking my bk8 best. the floppy brush types are working on me. easy to make lather with any medium, and it doesn't hog lather. such a pleasant, non-eventful way to get lather on my face. so,, i have done an about face on my brush preferences. who would have thunk it.

[brothers]

Gil, I've never owned a Simpson, but I did use one. The concept of floppy being a negative has never made any sense to me. However, being too tightly packed (excessive density) is a big negative for me, Simpson or not. The Kent BK family of brushes is proof that a good brush is simply a good brush, witnessed by the fact that the BK is almost everyone's favorite brush, or at least one of their favorites. I think sometimes it's peer pressure that makes some folks sell their BK because someone else is declaring it to be floppy. I laugh at that. I really like my BK8 better than the BK4, because I prefer larger lofted brushes, but I will always have my BK4 and will use it simply because it is what it is.

[Antique Hoosier]

There is something about that BK4 flop that just "works". It is just about as utilitarian as it gets, but has a bit of soft luxury too. I am looking forward to using mine that will arrive tomorrow! Should take me back to 2007-2009 when I had one (actually 4 separate occasions of owning one). Should have probably never let it go but I let go about 30 plus brushes go in the years between 2007 and recently. I am tempted to use it with the Edwin Jagger Limes & Pomegranate again since I enjoyed it so much today. I have quite a bit of lathering agents to try if I change my mind.

[Squire]

Happy decisions Michael, happy ones.

[Thalay Sagar]

Gil, your journey reflects mine. While i still love my Emillion, Alibaba and SR's, the BK4 is what I go for pretty much every day. It just flat out works. Maybe one day I'l return to my roots and pick up a Vulfix.

[ShadowsDad]

I don't have any BK brush and have never used one, so they clearly can not be a favorite brush of mine.

But I do have an extremely floppy, with no backbone, brush from another manufacturer that does everything the OP states- it works with everything ever put to it. It's far from my first choice in brushes however. I simply can't feel it on my face. It's just too much of a cloudlike experience. Not my cup of tea, but it is different, so It's more or less permanently in the rotation. One of them is plenty for me.

Just another case of YMMV. (I continue to swim against the current. Welcome to my life.)

[Squire]

the BK4 is what I go for pretty much every day. It just flat out works.

Pretty much says it all.

[Antique Hoosier]

Mine arrived today and was a joy to use. Simple as that.

[Gene]

I've always wanted a BK4 - never had available funds at the right time to get one. The size seems nice for travel.

But my Colonel X2L is my daily go to at home - it does all I want, and seems fairly stiff.

I don't think I own any brush I could rightly describe as floppy - not sure I would recognize that characteristic.

[Squire]

I think it's an overused if not abused way of describing a shave brush. If it actually was floppy it wouldn't work.