Re: SilkSmoke synthetic brush
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 3:09 pm
Thanks for the update, Gary.
1. What size knots have you used?
2. Does Vladimir Ferdman sell finished brushes, or do you have to provide the knot?
3. Are these knots available in finished brushes by anyone else?
I have mixed feelings about synthetic brushes. I think I have several decent ones, but they definitely require an adjustment in lathering technique.
Back when I used to lather in a bowl, I preferred badger brushes, and the best I found anywhere were those by Semogue. At that time, I would load the brush from the soap cake, after which I would work it in a bowl, using both swirling motions and light compression. I began to suspect, however, that the lather in the brush just from the loading process was already pretty good. When I tested it with a shave, I found that it was.
So, I abbreviated the process to simply lathering on top of the soap cake, spending a little more time at it than the previous simple loading. I also found that I preferred boar for lathering in this manner. (Maybe there is something to the practice by Italian barbers of lathering on top of the soap with a boar brush!) For this, the best brush I have found is the Semogue 1305 boar.
The Semogue 1305 and 830 share a quality of boar bristle distinct even from that of other Semogue boar brushes. While other boar bristle typically reminds me of "straw," these are different. They are still definitely boar, but they are unique within the boar paradigm. My 1305 and 830 are from 2009, so I don't know if the new versions of these brushes are still the same. Hopefully they are, as they still use the same description for the bristle.
At this point, I wouldn't buy any more badger brushes, based on the latest information about cruelty to badgers in China. Synthetic brushes are really attractive for their ease of rinsing and quick drying, not to mention no animal cruelty. At the same time, nothing comes close to my Semogue 1305 boar!
- Murray
1. What size knots have you used?
2. Does Vladimir Ferdman sell finished brushes, or do you have to provide the knot?
3. Are these knots available in finished brushes by anyone else?
I have mixed feelings about synthetic brushes. I think I have several decent ones, but they definitely require an adjustment in lathering technique.
Back when I used to lather in a bowl, I preferred badger brushes, and the best I found anywhere were those by Semogue. At that time, I would load the brush from the soap cake, after which I would work it in a bowl, using both swirling motions and light compression. I began to suspect, however, that the lather in the brush just from the loading process was already pretty good. When I tested it with a shave, I found that it was.
So, I abbreviated the process to simply lathering on top of the soap cake, spending a little more time at it than the previous simple loading. I also found that I preferred boar for lathering in this manner. (Maybe there is something to the practice by Italian barbers of lathering on top of the soap with a boar brush!) For this, the best brush I have found is the Semogue 1305 boar.
The Semogue 1305 and 830 share a quality of boar bristle distinct even from that of other Semogue boar brushes. While other boar bristle typically reminds me of "straw," these are different. They are still definitely boar, but they are unique within the boar paradigm. My 1305 and 830 are from 2009, so I don't know if the new versions of these brushes are still the same. Hopefully they are, as they still use the same description for the bristle.
At this point, I wouldn't buy any more badger brushes, based on the latest information about cruelty to badgers in China. Synthetic brushes are really attractive for their ease of rinsing and quick drying, not to mention no animal cruelty. At the same time, nothing comes close to my Semogue 1305 boar!
- Murray