I envy some of the collections of members. I was wondering if our forebears used one brush until worn out or rotated a few?
Would an extended rest and drying beyond 24 hours for us one brush users be of real benefit?
My male family members cannot understand why I have THREE pair of leather dress shoes( as they wear $20 sneakers that stink so bad nobody could sneak up in them.)
Enable me
I'm not sure it's a good rationale for having so many brushes, but I rotate all of mine, so each gets used about every 8 weeks. Thus each is used 6-7 times a year and has plenty of time to dry out between uses. I suspect they'll have good long lives, especially since they were of high quality initially.
I used one and only one brush for thirty-five years. I replaced it only when I learned they were no longer being made but that I could still obtain a twenty-year-old example as new old stock. The second brush will most certainly outlive me and perhaps my son, too.
There is nothing wrong with having and using more than one brush. I just think it is quite unnecessary. Personally, I think that when you have purchased your fifth brush you have moved from user to collector status...not that there's anything wrong with that, either.
M6Classic wrote:I used one and only one brush for thirty-five years. I replaced it only when I learned they were no longer being made but that I could still obtain a twenty-year-old example as new old stock. The second brush will most certainly outlive me and perhaps my son, too.
There is nothing wrong with having and using more than one brush. I just think it is quite unnecessary. Personally, I think that when you have purchased your fifth brush you have moved from user to collector status...not that there's anything wrong with that, either.
Buzz
Buzz,
Out of interest, what did you do with the old Plisson?
~ Infusing the irreducibly quotidian with sensual pleasure ~
If we could go back to say 1912 we would probably
make the following observations. The average man
probably owned...
One shaving brush.
One razor and if were a DE he used what ever
blades the corner drug store or Ike Godsey
carried. If said store carried more than one
brand he probably chose the cheapest.
For soap the same would apply. Some may
have even shaved with the lather from a bar of
soap.
Chances are the average man of that era
seldom used AS if he used it at all.
Chances are he regarded shaving the same way
most men regard it today, a necessary chore but
he derived no enjoyment from it.
Many probably shaved once a week before going
to church on Sunday. The only reason he did this
was to please his wife.
I'm definitely glad that I'm not in the same camp
as " the average man " when it comes to shaving.
Think of the fun and enjoyment I would be missing
out on....
M6Classic wrote:I used one and only one brush for thirty-five years. I replaced it only when I learned they were no longer being made but that I could still obtain a twenty-year-old example as new old stock. The second brush will most certainly outlive me and perhaps my son, too.
There is nothing wrong with having and using more than one brush. I just think it is quite unnecessary. Personally, I think that when you have purchased your fifth brush you have moved from user to collector status...not that there's anything wrong with that, either.
Buzz
Buzz,
Out of interest, what did you do with the old Plisson?
Its packed away in the attic but I don't think it has any value other than as a curiosity. I have boxes of stuff that my kids and grandchildren yet un-born are going to have a blast exploring when I've gone west, such as my old drafting tools, some bookbinding supplies, a few mechanical cameras, my Hermes 3000, an old Plisson brush, et alii...et alii...et alii.
Well, I just counted to make sure... I have exactly 6 brushes in use. 3 badgers and 3 boars that get regular use. I have more brushes than that, but that's a long story, and they're for giving to local noobs when they need gear, I don't use them other to break them in.
I'm not a collector, I'm a user, and all of the brushes were bought to test brush qualities for myself since brushes are also a YMMV item. I read so much of what I considered to be BS on other forums, I had to see for myself. It was as I figured, BS.
Everything that follows is based on face lathering and my experiences.
Basically I found that it isn't the bow it's the Indian. There is no such thing as a soap brush or a cream brush, just folks who can't use certain brushes for certain items. They all work for anything I put to them, it's up to the user to figure out how to make it work. One must work out of ones own head and not blindly do something merely because it works for someone else.
I have in use brushes from a $.50 chinese boar brush, surprisingly good BTW, to my most expensive brush, a Rooney 3/1 SuperSilvertip. They all do the job with everything I put them to. The past 2 days I've used the $.50 cent brush and the thing is fantastic. But it was broken in months ago, it was just put away for a time since I was playing musical brushes and musical razors at the time.
In the case of a boar brush, in order to break it in it must be used and then allowed to dry. At least that's my understanding of the process. I have no idea how extensive the drying must be, but the last one I broke in was used every day for about 2 weeks and I know the knot base didn't have time to dry out between uses and it's nicely broken in today just 2 weeks later. But this time of year our home environments here in Maine are extremely dry. Walk on carpet and get a huge static charge.
How long will 6 brushes last me? Easily my lifetime, since, as has been previously written, our forebears used one brush for their lives.
BTW, a few of the things I'd read on other forums that I considered to be BS was soaking the brush in very hot water for 1/2 hour before use. I basically dip the brush tips in the sink right before use and it works fine. The reason for that follows.
The other big (IMO) BS item was that the brush needs to hang upside down to properly dry. That was the big one that made absolutely no sense to me. There is such a thing as capillary action, and a badger brush has phenominal capillary action. That means that the bristles hold the water and hang onto it and also transfer that water along the length of the bristles (basically). If you're following this, that means that no matter how it's dried, bristles up or down the knot is soaked. Now to continue with the drying... water vapor is lighter than air. So when the water evaporates it wants to rise. If the brush is above the bristles it's basically hindering the drying process. Stand the brush on it's handle and the water vapor can easily escape upward where it wants to be. Forget about the water going into the knot; remember capillary action, it's already there. Capillary action will also move the water back out of the knot (suck it out actually) and into the bristles and actually facilitate drying.
I stand my brushes on their handles for all the reasons I just stated. I bet our forebears did too. Has anyone ever seen a vintage brush stand?
Brian
Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
I think my grandfather that shaved with a straight razor on Sunday would be shocked and probably disgusted to see what I shave with and how I shave. He was a frugal hardworking farmer with a huge family. I can't say whether he would even like me (us). It's quite a decadent and wasteful life we see. If I may be so bold.
Back on point Kav, it took me 3 years to progress from the Tweezerman to the Plisson. I've been using it daily for almost 4 months now, with no end in sight. I hang it upside down in the stand that came with it, for no reason at all, except that it looks good in the stand, and seems to be completely dry every morning.
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
Better to be laughed at for a bit of personal excess than the barechested male models daubing $100 1.2 oz bottles of goo on their faces while a model wearing her man's shirt looks on in adoration.
Well I do rotate my few, but not a lot. It is probably more of a switch based on season/climate.
For most of 2011 it was Kent BK12, with the odd appearance by a Simpson Chubby 3. For travel it is a Rooney travel thing that is so tiny to me, after my lavish use of the BK12 and CH3 that I almost don't like it.
I have a boar brush for periodic use during the summer season shaves that are sweaty no matter the time of day or room of the house (scrubby to take off the layer of sweat that accumulates in between shower and shave). The Kent just doesn't do it in the heat of the summer here.
I have to admit that I did buy a Coate's Kennet brush. A great brush. And I also admit to having jumped on the Manchurian bandwagon that Simpsons is driving (custom brush on order).
Over the years I've found that one can get by with a couple of brushes. They don't have to be expensive either but trial and error is involved unfortunately for some of us. Then we become collectors after a few brushes......
What I found to be amazing brushes a few years ago, I now find them to be drab, floppy, and wonder to myself, why did I buy this brush?
I now like small knot brushes, around 22 is perfect for me. I have some that are 30 and still can't use them on a regular basis. A smaller handle and bristle that is fairly stiff yet soft at the tips. The M&F blonde badger is one that I keep using very often, as well as the Simpson T2. And can't forget my beloved Plisson #14. These brushes seem to work best for me.
Bruno
"Shhhhhaving cream, be nice and clean
shave every day and you'll always look keen."
My dad used an Erskine boar brush for many years, it's the only one I remember him using. I still have it, actually use it once in a while although it's getting a bit on the scragly side.
I like using different brushes for the vartiety and because I can.
I can see some recovery to a brushhead over a couple of days, from drying out overnight (I live in the desert) to recovery of the shape/reduction of bloom. As such, I tend to see a rotation of 3 brushes as ideal, but undoubtedly not necessary.
I have a few more than that in my rotation, all Semogues, in badger and in boar. And I have some other very nice brushes in other brands that I bought along the way and once used, until I found Semogue.
My paternal grandfather had to my knowledge two boar brushes, both made by Gillette in England, one small and one large that he used with Old Spice SS. I have the large one (my first brush btw) and still use it along with my Semogue OC and four badgers. I like to rotate them for the change in face feel, and I don´t have any specific order of rotation other than what I fancy at the moment.
My maternal grandfather used a small pure badger, also with Old Spice SS, that my grandmother still keeps in her bathroom cabinet.
I have retained quite a few brushes I collected for my brush blog. It's one of my pleasures to cast my eyes over the collection each day to make my selection. And my choice varies from a small short lofted scrubby brush to an extremely soft and floppy one, according to my mood of the day. Each has its merits and a particular method of use that the brush is best suited for. I cannot now imagine having only one or even just two or three. Yet for most of my life I was content to spread goo over my face and quickly shave it off with the latest razor on the market. It's one area of my life where I am pleased to have gone backwards.
Then we become collectors after a few brushes......
r?
