Ol' Bedraggled Gets Retired
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 7:16 pm
Well, many of you know I've been using a T&H turnback as my daily brush for about a decade now. I like turnbacks because they are standard size brushes adapted for travel and if used as a mainstay brush one will never have to adjust to a brush for traveling (which many of us do for business on occasion).
My lathering technique includes mashing the bristles against the cake of soap to release it's soapy water content.
Of late, I have to concede that mashing the bristles may shorten brush life. Ol' Bedraggled has completely lost it's crown and the center is but broken bristles, sunken and scritchy while lathering. Of recent, I have noticed that this may be causing me irritation. My solution has been to move on to one of Ol' Bedraggled's successors - from one of two other turnbacks I own from T&H that I have picked up for very decent prices when they've been on sale AND an SMF discount can be applied over the years.
The successor I chose was the most recent acquisition from T&H from about five or six years ago.The other successor is actually older than Ol' Bedraggled itself by about three or four years. Ol' Bedraggled is actually the middle brush in an acquisition of three. The original turnback was acquired about fourteen or fifteen years ago, a few years before Ol' Bedraggled itself.
I chose Ol' Bedraggled to be my mainstay brush because it was the successor to the earliest turnback I purchased and therefore I could be assured that if it ever gave out I could go back to the original turnback I purchased, which was near identical except for the font of the name on the brush handle. But most importantly because, like it's predecessor, it was an excellent every day brush with the long handle I desired and soft bristles.
Well the latest turnback acquisition was different from the other two earlier ones. It's much denser, denser than even my BK4 from Kent. And it's handle is much more polished - a very shiney black finish compared to it's older cousins. Also the font and emblem was of silver, not white lettering like the older versions of turnbacks I own nor like what is seemingly offered today by T&H. The lettering and emblem of this latest acquisition washed away almost entirely with a few weeks of shaves breaking it in while Ol' Bedraggled's lettering is still as prominent and full as it was the day it was delivered, even after a decade of use.
In short this latest turnback is something special and very different from what was offered early on and seemingly today. The bristles are very soft and very dense, like my Kent, but denser. The lathering effect is very much like a Kent, pillowy as it's been described. The other turnbacks I have come close but are not quite as pillowy, as say, my Kent nor this special turnback.
What else is interesting is that this turnback's construction is slightly different from the other two. With the other two you could easily swap out the heads to the handles and they would fit perfectly. This turnback is different in that it will not fit the other two brushes' handles. It won't swap out. The collar, head and screws are bigger and won't work with the earlier iterations of this brush.
Now this brush was purchased when Rooney was still producing the High-End brushes for T&H. Now I don't mean to imply that this brush is a Rooney but it's definitely different from it's older cousins and seemingly different from what's offered today (which seems identical to the oldest T&H Turnback that I have, going by website photographs - bristles, font and all). Of course, it looks like Rooney is no more a producer of brushes.
Also, at that time, Vulfix had acquired Simpsons and Vulfix produced many of the brushes for T&H for it's lower end brushes, including the Turnback. The T&H turnback was traditionally produced by Vulfix and it was near identical to it's own Vulfix turnback except for the color of the handle and collar.
I've never owned a Simpsons brush but I wonder if at that time Vulfix didn't try to produce a hybrid Simpsons turnback for T&H under it's direction in an attempt to one-up the market on traveler brushes. This brush is superior to the old T&H/Vulfix turnback, which was superior to the Simpsons Major turnback IMHO.
What I have may be a White Elephant, a short-term experimental production. But I very much enjoy it's lathering properties and will be doing everything I can to preserve it for as long as I can - painting strokes only (following Buzz's advice) and no bristle mashing. I've adapted my lathering technique to accommodate this.
I mention this because there may be a few white elephants left out there. And if you're a traveler brush preferer and you see them then pick them up, they are excellent. Though they may no longer be produced I wish T&H would commission them again as they are the pinnacle of every-day standard knot brushes as well as one of the most luxurious travel brushes ever produced IMHO. Plus, I wouldn't mind picking up another to keep me going until the end of my days.
Chris
My lathering technique includes mashing the bristles against the cake of soap to release it's soapy water content.
Of late, I have to concede that mashing the bristles may shorten brush life. Ol' Bedraggled has completely lost it's crown and the center is but broken bristles, sunken and scritchy while lathering. Of recent, I have noticed that this may be causing me irritation. My solution has been to move on to one of Ol' Bedraggled's successors - from one of two other turnbacks I own from T&H that I have picked up for very decent prices when they've been on sale AND an SMF discount can be applied over the years.
The successor I chose was the most recent acquisition from T&H from about five or six years ago.The other successor is actually older than Ol' Bedraggled itself by about three or four years. Ol' Bedraggled is actually the middle brush in an acquisition of three. The original turnback was acquired about fourteen or fifteen years ago, a few years before Ol' Bedraggled itself.
I chose Ol' Bedraggled to be my mainstay brush because it was the successor to the earliest turnback I purchased and therefore I could be assured that if it ever gave out I could go back to the original turnback I purchased, which was near identical except for the font of the name on the brush handle. But most importantly because, like it's predecessor, it was an excellent every day brush with the long handle I desired and soft bristles.
Well the latest turnback acquisition was different from the other two earlier ones. It's much denser, denser than even my BK4 from Kent. And it's handle is much more polished - a very shiney black finish compared to it's older cousins. Also the font and emblem was of silver, not white lettering like the older versions of turnbacks I own nor like what is seemingly offered today by T&H. The lettering and emblem of this latest acquisition washed away almost entirely with a few weeks of shaves breaking it in while Ol' Bedraggled's lettering is still as prominent and full as it was the day it was delivered, even after a decade of use.
In short this latest turnback is something special and very different from what was offered early on and seemingly today. The bristles are very soft and very dense, like my Kent, but denser. The lathering effect is very much like a Kent, pillowy as it's been described. The other turnbacks I have come close but are not quite as pillowy, as say, my Kent nor this special turnback.
What else is interesting is that this turnback's construction is slightly different from the other two. With the other two you could easily swap out the heads to the handles and they would fit perfectly. This turnback is different in that it will not fit the other two brushes' handles. It won't swap out. The collar, head and screws are bigger and won't work with the earlier iterations of this brush.
Now this brush was purchased when Rooney was still producing the High-End brushes for T&H. Now I don't mean to imply that this brush is a Rooney but it's definitely different from it's older cousins and seemingly different from what's offered today (which seems identical to the oldest T&H Turnback that I have, going by website photographs - bristles, font and all). Of course, it looks like Rooney is no more a producer of brushes.
Also, at that time, Vulfix had acquired Simpsons and Vulfix produced many of the brushes for T&H for it's lower end brushes, including the Turnback. The T&H turnback was traditionally produced by Vulfix and it was near identical to it's own Vulfix turnback except for the color of the handle and collar.
I've never owned a Simpsons brush but I wonder if at that time Vulfix didn't try to produce a hybrid Simpsons turnback for T&H under it's direction in an attempt to one-up the market on traveler brushes. This brush is superior to the old T&H/Vulfix turnback, which was superior to the Simpsons Major turnback IMHO.
What I have may be a White Elephant, a short-term experimental production. But I very much enjoy it's lathering properties and will be doing everything I can to preserve it for as long as I can - painting strokes only (following Buzz's advice) and no bristle mashing. I've adapted my lathering technique to accommodate this.
I mention this because there may be a few white elephants left out there. And if you're a traveler brush preferer and you see them then pick them up, they are excellent. Though they may no longer be produced I wish T&H would commission them again as they are the pinnacle of every-day standard knot brushes as well as one of the most luxurious travel brushes ever produced IMHO. Plus, I wouldn't mind picking up another to keep me going until the end of my days.
Chris