Sometime in the next 48 hours I am thinking to pull the trigger on a new badger. I already own a C&E branded EJ Super Badger which has been my preferred badger brush for a very long time. My first badger - an OEM version of a Vullfix 849 from Rose and Co Apothecary is very scratchy, and while I still use it, it doesn't have near the staying power of the super badger.
As some of you know, I have been eyeing up the Kent BK/BLK4 for a very long time and am interested in a couple of things before I order:
Looking for owners who can rave or rant about the BK4 first hand. What do you like/dislike about it.
Looking for similarly priced brush options.
Essentially I am after decent backbone and good lathering capabilities but nothing too scratchy. I like the BK8, but it's out of the price range this time around.
Wendell, I have wandered through many brushes over the last few years and have returned to the near beginning, settling on the BK 4 for my primary brush. I'll grant that its face-feel is not as comfy as my denser brushes (I love the plush feel I get from the Emillion and T3 especially). However, the BK 4 is still comfy, whips up lather as well as anything else out there and then gives it up. The handle ergonomics work for my medium/large hand, plus, it just a good looking bombproof brush. You can't go wrong for the price. Buy it.
Best,
Chris
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I received my BK4 as a gift about 3 years ago. It's a workhorse, and I have no complaints with it. Over time I've moved up to larger brushes including the BK8 and others, but the BK4 always performs well, with soaps or creams. I can't say it has a lot of backbone. I like mine a bit on the floppy side. The BK4 makes a great travel brush too. As far as comparisons, you might take a look at the Vulfix 2234 or 2235 in either Super or Silvertip. It comes in faux ivory or faux horn and looks good, and feels great in the hand.
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
I have the bk4...very very soft, tips ,shaft and spine...not much backbone,but the density of the hair compensates for this,and I do just fine with creams or soaps....it's a quality made brush for sure.
Wendell, I have just acquired a Simpsons Colonel X2L and I can't say enough good things about it. The best badger is soft on the face, but has plenty of backbone. It has bloomed very nicely, made great lather from the outset and is not a lather hog. I think it is great value: Fendrihans currently has them on sale for Can.$69 and postage is free.
I've owned a BK4 for somewhere around four years. It's my "luxo brush". I've used it with Tabac soap, Cella, Speick cream, and TOBS cream. Face and bowl lathered. Very much a soft, luxurious experience. Comfortable in the hand, releases lather well, and rinses clean.
That said, I use my C&E BBB for glycerin soaps and on "non-luxo" days or days when I'm looking for just a touch of exfoliation.
I don't think you could go wrong with a BK4. It may be a bit lacking in backbone and that could affect your decision if that's high on your criteria list.
Wendell to me the Kent BK4 is a felicity brush in that it has all the elements I look for in a well designed quality shaving brush. Not too large, not too soft, backbone enough for the job without being stiff, equally suited for cream or soap and a beauty to behold just sitting on the shelf.
I have the full BK range and love all of them. Very soft tips with an incredible facility to generate lather. The only concern might revolve around your need for a brush with backbone - these decidedly don't! That being said I fully concur with Squire's observation that the BK4 is "just right".
I just have plain fun whenever I pull out one of my Kents.
Last edited by Blue As A Jewel on Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Ravi -
You can mistrust me less than you can mistrust him. Trust me.
To be fair, backbone isn't necessarily the be-all-and-end-all for me. It's just that the Vullfix OEM brush has no backbone whatsoever, and so using it leaves me with that "meh" feeling every time I use it. It does the job, and is OK, but is just OK -- not earth-shattering. I am leaning closer and closer to the BK4 -- would like one in black or horn if I can find one at a supplier stateside who also stock and ship My Nik is Sealed -- which I need to replenish. Want to save on shipping costs. Might buy some Gold Dachs soap as well, I hear it's excellent stuff, and I can't resist the urge to buy more soap.
my bk4 was too floppy for me. hated it. my favorite brush now is a savile row. very nice! another option would be a thater (softest tips i ever encountered with savile row density
Gil
futur/EJ357/ gillette redtip
iridium ,blue IP
thater, shavemac.anchorset/tgn,sr3226
dirty bird
and a prayer
Rufus wrote:Wendell, check out Fendrihans: They have a BLK4 with a faux ebony handle for Can$129 and shipping is free.
Right --- I make it a habit to check out Fendrihan every time I want to buy something before I order and actually buy from them the most of the time.
Since I needed some My Nik is Sealed, and they don't sell that, I thought I'd check my US suppliers anyway -- price and shipping is going to be around the same by the looks of it right now.
I guess Em's doesn't carry the Kent range. Too bad, as she has both the Gold-Dachs soap you want AND My Nik is Sealed.
Given your modest preference for that stuff from overweight sheep, I guess it surprises me "backbone" isn't more of an issue with you.
When MWF is in my rotation. my brush choice is a Simpson with real guts...and because of the mug used with MWF is deeep...one with a longer handle. The Polo is that choice.
IF, and it's a big if, I could ever make some sense out of Rooney's name/grading system, I'd get serious about adding one to my line-up.
I am in "mainly soap" phase, again, so your final choice will be of real interest to me and others!
JRTASTER wrote:...
I guess Em's doesn't carry the Kent range. Too bad, as she has both the Gold-Dachs soap you want AND My Nik is Sealed...
Precisely ---- I was hoping to get it all from the same vendor --- and running out of choices at the moment ..... of course I can just try to source the My Nik is Sealed and go to Fendrihan here at home ---- but the pricing is still better in the US at the moment - even with shipping costs, which are quite cheap when shipping within the US.
Well --- Royal Shave are out of BK4s at the moment so the entire thread is not moot - at least for now I won't bother rushing to buy a new brush anyway. Still after a BK4 or BK8, a Simpson and possibly a Rooney some day.
jww wrote:Well --- Royal Shave are out of BK4s at the moment so the entire thread is not moot - at least for now I won't bother rushing to buy a new brush anyway. Still after a BK4 or BK8, a Simpson and possibly a Rooney some day.
