Dark Holler Arrived

alfredus

alfredus

Auctioneer-in-Chief + organises many group buys
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Joined
Nov 14, 2014
Location
Adelaide
My first high end badger has finally arrived - and I wanted to share my poor photographic skills :D

PalladinChiefNewBackS_zpspcozawur.jpg
 
Oooh...that is a nice brush. The handle and knot smacks of quality. Looking forward to your initial impressions.
 
Still contemplating...but I think I have decided - all will be revealed in tomorrows SOTD.
 
Can we vote upon it ? (throw up a poll of options :p)
 
Of course you can voice your options...just not sure if I will listen ;)

So the choice would be (in alphabetical order):
B&M
Haslinger Sheep
Mike's
Stirling

Definitely limited to those and unless tomorrow morning is super ugly and cold, I think I have already decided.

Have done 2 test palm lathers and...ah you can wait till tomorrow :D
 
And those who know my shave rituals, know that once I start with a Bay Rum, I have to follow up with another Bay Rum - so tomorrows soaps is an almost definite ;)
 
What was the purchasing experience like alfredus? It doesn't look too straight forward. Is there a waiting list?
 
Nonick said:
What was the purchasing experience like alfredus? It doesn't look too straight forward. Is there a waiting list?
Click to expand...
I contacted Ken at the time the brushes from the first batch were reviewed (~Feb). He told me, he didn't have any more left, but that I would be on the list for the 2nd batch. No promises and no real timelines - but super friendly replies to all my messages and questions in very timely manner. I think less than 3 days to answer Emails - often answers the same day.

About 2 months ago came a pre-order sheet with links to handle types. That was at the time he send ~200 handles to Lee. You could preference what handle, with what material and what knot you wanted. I wanted this handle and material and had a couple of questions about the knot - which were again all answered super friendly, professionally and quickly - and settled for a hybrid knot and let Lee determine the best loft for face lathering.

A couple of weeks later I got a message, that my brush was ready, a paypal invoice and again a couple of days later a tracking number.

So I got the brush I wanted and a super friendly service. Had to wait for a while, but I knew that already. So I definitely can highly recommend Ken and the brush - you just have to have some patience - but that also gives you time to save money :D :D :D
 
For those who are interested in a Dark Holler brush - you can email Ken directly chiefbroom@darkholler.com

The general ordering procedure is explained above, but I'm sure Ken will let you know everything in detail.
 
Now that I had some shaves with the brush, here are my thoughts. Just as a pre-amble:

This is my first high end badger brush.
My favourites boar brushes are the Omega 49 and the Semogue 610 - I have tried many many others
My favourite horse hair brush is the Vie-Long Epsllon with white unbleached hair (50% mane/50% tail) and a fan knot - I have tried a few others.
And my favourite synthetic brush is the Whipped Dog 24mm set with a 48 mm loft - again I have tried some others.

From my research and experience, I can't think of any current boar and horse brushes that I would like better than the above. The only other synthetics I would be curious to try out at some point are the Simpson Chubby and the Edwin Jagger XL.

I have had only limited experience with the badger brushes (mainly due to the price barrier) - my first was an Edwin Jagger Medium in Best - it was just very very prickly and floppy. I also have 2 different Whipped Dog badgers - a 24 mm Silvertip with a 48 mm loft and a High Mountain knot with the same specs. The Silvertip is a very luxurious brush - ultra soft - but requires some work to get the desired lather. The High Mountain on the other hand is very scrubby with tons of backbone - I think it is due to the pointy and very low loft.

I use 95% of the time soaps and almost exclusively face lather.

Now to the main topic: The Dark Holler Design Paladin Brush - A Chief Handle in Strawberry Amber with Blonde 2 - band Badger Hair

Here the specifications (measured by my poor man's caliper):
Knot: 26.5 mm
Loft: 52 mm
Total Height: 112 mm
Handle Height: 60 mm
Price: 160US$ + shipping

This is a spectacular brush. Of course it costs more than any of the above mentioned brushes, but for me it is definitely justified and worth the price tag.

First the aesthetics: although the brush came very simply packed - basically just some bubble wrap in a padded envelope - the handle is flawless. And it looks stunning. Ken & Co. have obviously gone through a very meticulous process to ensure a handle of the highest quality and they have succeeded. It was very very hard for me to choose a handle material - they all look so gorgeous - but now I am very happy with the Strawberry Amber. The added bonus, is that it shimmers beautifully in different lights as well.

The handle has a very nice length for me - I think you could very well also bowl lather with it - the base could be a bit thicker for my large hands, but it still feels very comfortable.

Now to the knot and performance: All I can say it is stellar - on so many points. I would have thought that a knot of this size would be a product eater - but it is not. I get 5 passes of perfect lather in the brush - but that's it. The Epsilon mentioned above for example can do easily 8 passes, but even the 2 Whipped Dogs hold the same amount of lather - although with much much more effort.

I don't know how Lee Sabini has done it - but the knot almost behaves like a synth in terms of lathering ease - just with one very important addition: I holds the perfect amount of water. And you don't have to concentrate - soak a bit and shake a bit and the brush just magically keeps the right amount of water.

Loading time is very short - again can easily keep up with a synth, and lathering is very effortless as well. The lather quality has been outstanding - nice yoghurty creamy white gold - in my opinion better than a synthetic because it is more hydrated.

The face feel is also fantastic. When I first got the brush, I was a bit worried, because the new dry brush had a lot of scritch. But after a couple of palm lathers it disappeared and now as soon as the brush gets wet, the hairs start to curl a bit, giving it a wonderfully soft feel. It is of course not as soft as a synthetic, but I like it, because you feel something on your face!

It also has a good amount of backbone - not too much like the Whipped Dog High Mountain or a new boar, just the right amount so you can massage your face while face lathering, but you still don't have to concentrate all the time on the right amount of pressure.

The last great feature of the brush is the perfect flow through - it releases all the wonderful lather it produces with ease - no need to press and squeeze.

The ordering process takes a bit of time (as described above) - but IMO the quality is well worth the wait. I am certain it will not be my last Dark Holler brush!
 
A great review, @alfredus . From what you have said and the various discussions going around on the other forums it definitely is a well made and thought out brush.
 
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