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Brush jargon for a newbie!
eg, why varying number of bands, fan/bulb, backbone etc
My wife has asked if I would like a special shaving brush and de razor for my birthday, obviously I said do bears .....in the woods!
Then she asks in what knot etc etc
Help please?
Cheers,
V.
 
Bulb and fan are the difference in knot shapes. Some have a bulb apperance whils a fan has a flat top, for example a boar brush.

The back bone refers to the strenght of the bristles. The stiffer the hair, the greater the back bone.

Its all personal preferance, whether you bowl or face lather.
My personal fave is a Finest bulb shape. Soft enough but loads of backbone. I only ever face lather.
After that a good scrubby boar knot.
 
Then you measure the knot in mm mainly from 20mm to 30mm... there are some even bigger. the length of the knot is called the loft and it's also measured in mm or even cm.

I think 2 or 3 bands defines the amount of backbone but I also understand the loft size also determines thr amount of backbone.

Then there's the hair type to consider..... :) it gets very tricky to understand badger hair classification cause not everybody classifies the same type of hair the same. At the bottom end is pure badger, followed by best badger and silvertip at the top end. Some manufacturers have different names..... Simpson don't use the name Silvertip but finest badger I think.

I think the difficult part for a newbie is to decide what is what. I bought a Silvertip brush instead of a best badger from a reputable company and the difference was big, the best badger brush would have been the better choice. I thought I was getting a good deal, asilvertip brush for about the same cost of a best badger brush from Simpson for example.
 
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What type of brush do you want, badger boar or synthetic ?
What kind of budget have you at your disposal ?
If it's a special brush from a special person then you can't go far wrong with a Shavemac two band silvertip badger, super soft tips but with great backbone, I would go for a 26mm knot with a 58mm loft and you will have a brush you will look forward to using.
There are many other makes you may wish to consider but I can recommend the Shavemac because I have two and I love them.
You can buy some inexpensive boar brushes that once broken in can be as soft as badger....the Semouge 2000 springs to mind , I got one a while back and it's now my top boar brush. There is lots to get your head around so best to decide what type of brush you want and then start from there. And the search begins!! :)
 
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as you see, there are as many answers as there are forum members! - for me, if i were you, i would start simple and build up as your experience grows. my favourite brush is the Omega Pro 48. it is a large boar brush and once you have broken it in, it will be surprisingly soft. the handle isn't anything to write home about but for 10 quid it's fantastic. i believe the Zenith brand do a similar brush with a better handle. You will learn all the jargon once you've experienced a couple for yourself and felt the difference. no need to spend the kids inheritance learning
 
As well as @Blademonkey questions, to help guide a recommendation;
what brush or brushes do you use currently & how do like them?
Do you have a preference for face or bowl lathering?
Use creams, hard soaps or both?

I've recently bought a semogue 830 boar, it's the best all round brush I own.
It really does everything very well indeed and is incredible value.

For something a bit special Shavemac or Cadman badger brushes are truly top tier.
I would go for at least a 24mm knot (to feel luxury, a step up from the norm), 26mm is very nice, I wouldn't go beyond that. A good rule of thumb is a loft of twice the knot diameter as a minimum (that will be quite scrubby) & go up from there depending on what you prefer.

I've read very good things about the new stirling soaps badger brush.
I love spending other people's money!

If you're thinking about a custom badger brush there was a good explanation of the hair types & grades on "the golden nib" website (TGN). TGN sell knots that are well regarded.

For the razor, birth year vintage.
 
as you see, there are as many answers as there are forum members! - for me, if i were you, i would start simple and build up as your experience grows. my favourite brush is the Omega Pro 48. it is a large boar brush and once you have broken it in, it will be surprisingly soft. the handle isn't anything to write home about but for 10 quid it's fantastic. i believe the Zenith brand do a similar brush with a better handle. You will learn all the jargon once you've experienced a couple for yourself and felt the difference. no need to spend the kids inheritance learning

I agree with starting with something simple an inexpensive like a boar brush. You need to find out what works for you and with experience you will be able to judge which way you want to go. Lots of people are quite happy with boar brushes, once broken in they can be very soft and nice, in my experience not as soft as a quality badger brush but still, not everybody likes a very soft brush. Synthetics are very soft when dry but I find they are not as soft as a quality badger when in use.
 
DO NOT start with a boar. Or continue. Just forget boars altogether. If you like a feel of a dead animal on your face though, Simpsons best badger should do the job. Otherwise, if you're after a price/performance ratio and ultimate usability, synthetics cannot be beat. And among synthetics Muehle brushes reign supreme. 23mm will do the trick, and only costs 40 quid.
I've owned this brush for several years now, never looking back - sold all my luxurious badgers, and bought another one, deluxe edition in a horn handle. That's just how good they are.
 
DO NOT start with a boar. Or continue. Just forget boars altogether. If you like a feel of a dead animal on your face though, Simpsons best badger should do the job. Otherwise, if you're after a price/performance ratio and ultimate usability, synthetics cannot be beat. And among synthetics Muehle brushes reign supreme. 23mm will do the trick, and only costs 40 quid.
I've owned this brush for several years now, never looking back - sold all my luxurious badgers, and bought another one, deluxe edition in a horn handle. That's just how good they are.

I bloody love a nice bit of pork o_O
 
All I will offer to the conversation is this: Do not buy a pure grade badger brush and expect it to give an accurate representation of what any good badger should feel like.

New shavers often start with these because they are cheap. They are also (most of them) scratchy and very floppy.

There is a place in my den for every type of brush, and I own a couple of pure badgers that I enjoy when I'm in the mood. Some people shave with them every day. But for someone new to brushes, I would never recommend one.
 
If it's a special brush from a special person then you can't go far wrong with a Shavemac two band silvertip badger, super soft tips but with great backbone, I would go for a 26mm knot with a 58mm loft and you will have a brush you will look forward to using.
There are many other makes you may wish to consider but I can recommend the Shavemac because I have two and I love them.

Excellent, simply excellent recommendation!
 
As you can see from the replies so far Brushes, like everything in shaving are a minefield. Everyone has their own opinions, likes and dislikes. For some an expensive Badger brush is the epitome of luxury, others will not use it and prefer synthetic brushes and then there are boar lovers...They are just plain weird ;).
In all seriousness for your first decent brush pick what you fancy be it synthetic, Badger or Boar and take it from there.
Badger is good to go out of the box. It is expensive as Badgers aren't easy to come by and only the best part of the pelt is of interest to shavers so there aren't a lot of hairs from each animal so you pay for that. If you want to try Badger then stay away from the lower grades as they will not represent Badger to its best, so you want 2 band finest hair as the minimum grade on the knot. Silvertip is nicer but not by much and can be floppier so watch the loft (height from the handle to top of hair) on Silvertip I'd say 50mm max. Badgers need soaking time to absorb water ,lukewarm only or you may damage the hairs in hot water.
Boar. Boar is robust and a brush probably would last you a good 20yrs. It has tremendous backbone at first and will be stiff but breaking in periods vary from a few uses to "Oh I can't be bothered". The handles tend not to be as pretty but still nice. Lofts are much higher though or it would be unusable so expect lots of height on the knot. You need the hair to develop split ends to give the softness. When going for a Boar get the best you can afford from a good maker such as Semogue. Some love Boar brushes, you will not know until you get a good one and it is broken in if it is for you though. Boars also need soaking before use.
Synthetic. It's man made fibres are usually good straight from the box. They do not need soaking and whip up a great lather. The newer ones are best as fibre quality has moved on recently and the newer knots are very good now. They are renowned for being super soft on the face and still stiff enough to use with soft creams and hard soaps. The handles are better these days too so getting a good looking one is easy now. Synths need no soaking so are good for travel brushes as they dry faster too.
Hope this helps a little. Good look in your brush search. I love my brushes.
 
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