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Jaco

Jaco

Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2023
Location
Scotland
https://imgur.com/WXV1EQh

Well, I finally did it!

I bought my first two-band badger brush, after being perfectly happy with my Yaqi synthetics the past five years.

Having spent way too much on razors, I more or less limited my spending on the endless rabbit holes, and I am proud to say I stayed well clear of most, buying only what I needed, when it made sense that more money spent will be worth it.

I successfully ignored the hype about badger being better than synthetics, because nobody could really give me a clear answer why it will justify the spending, so it was real curiosity that prompted me to order my first badger brush.

Having once ordered a brush that could not hold enough lather for my normal two-pass shave, I went for the biggest, so I ended up with the 26mm Yaqi two-band badger Mocha Express. Total cost, postage and tax included £40.

When I took it out of the packaging I was not overly impressed. Beautiful handle, the bristles feeling decidedly more scratchy than what I am used to, and about the same size as my favourite 26mm synthetic brush.

Couple of hours later I had to have a shave with it.

Soaked it in warm water and here is where the magic happened. The knot expanded to almost twice the original size! It's enormous! It genuinely does not fit in my transfer tub of cream that I use on a daily basis. I don't like the wet mess that happens towards the end of a tub of TOBS, so I transfer from the big tub to a smaller one for daily use. I had to turn it sideways to gather some cream. It was difficult to judge how much cream to use because it's so much bigger. First lather was not great, user error. I think being used to synthetics that does not retain water, I over-hydrated the lather.

The feel on my face was ok, but after brushing vigorously to work up a lather I could feel some skin sensitivity towards the end.

Today I used it for the second time, and things went a lot better. Used more cream, less water and had a great, if somewhat dense lather, Way too much, but I am sure I will dial it in within the next few shaves.

Do I like it? - Undecided, I will stick with it for a while and get better with it.

Do I think it's worth the money I spent? - I love the look and quality of the brush. Cant imagine spending five times more on a Simpson or Paladin, it's just not me.

Maybe a smaller one would have been better, but you don't know until you have tried. I have been disappointed with smaller brushes before.
 
Exactly how things started for me (although via boar and horse as well). In a year or 2 you will spend the money on a Paladin or two - and they are well worth it 😉
 
Nanook said:
Boars have always been the favourite of mine. Once they are broken in, they leave everything else for dead.
Click to expand...

I'm only recently on the bandwagon. Initially, I was put off by comments about the funk and extended break-in. My first, a Semogue 820 bleached boar, had no funk and broke in quickly. It's a lather machine.
 
silverlifter said:
I'm only recently on the bandwagon. Initially, I was put off by comments about the funk and extended break-in. My first, a Semogue 820 bleached boar, had no funk and broke in quickly. It's a lather machine.
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@Mycroft47 advice helps with a boar that doesn't want to be tamed.

Sit it in a glass of water for 24 hours, dry the brush by vigorously wiping on a towel and repeat 3 or 4 times. This helps speed up the process.

Another is to use a new boar to whip up the lather, clean it and then use another broken in brush to shave with. Repeat this over a week or so and it will break in nicely.
 
Probably should have posted this thread in the brushes section, but being mainly a straight razor user, I thought to add it to our section as a general discussion.

Used it today for the third time.

It's a learning curve, biggest issue now is to judge how much shaving cream to use. 1st shave too little, second shave too much, today I thought I got it right, but the brush seems to hog the lather and won't give it back. When I squeeze it there is plenty, but it does not give it up when brushing onto my face.

It feels strange, but I soak it in warm water for about 5 minutes, shake of excess water, load it with shaving cream, and then start brushing straight away with what I would have thought will be too little water. Looks too dry, but it seems to be about the right amount. That's the biggest difference between natural and synthetic brushes, the synthetics don't retain water, so you have to add plenty.

There is already a improvement in the softness of the bristles, very comfortable. No funky smell. It doesn't shed any bristles at all.

I still think it would have been better if I bought a smaller one, it's huge! I have not measured it, but the spread of the bristles is so big, you will not be able to push it into a standard sized coffee mug without touching the sides. I guess it's around 3 inches or 75mm.

I have not tried it with hard soaps like Tabac, maybe I will experiment with that as well. I have been using TOBS cream for a long time after trying out Tabac, Prorasso, Cella, Haslinger and a few others that didn't impress me. Another rule for me is to have no more than 3 different shaving soaps at a time, and finishing something before trying another. Somewhat limited experience, but as you know, these things very quickly get out of hand and takes up way too much space if you don't have some discipline. I just don't trust artisan soaps enough to invest in something that's going to be with me for a long time, and I hate wasting money.

Practical questions:
1) Does it improve my shave? - Don't think so.
2) Is the lather better? - Can't notice a difference.
3) Is it easier? - No, but then if easy was the only criteria, we would still be shaving with cartridge razors and canned foam.
4) Does it feel better on my face? - It's fine and I know it will improve once broken in properly.
5) Will I keep on using it? - Yes, at least until I get it right consistently, maybe it will then be relegated to the "Use it when in the mood" section, like my DE razors and Feather AC.
6) Do I consider it wasted money? No, it's clearly a quality brush for the price, and I don't grudge spending some to learn something new.
7) Did it awaken my interest into exploring natural bristles further? Yes, but I can't see a rabbit hole opening up before me.

I have seen discussions about loft, spread, backbone, softness, size and heaps of other terms that I can only guess at, at this time. I guess it's helpful to know these specs when you find something you like, but with my limited experience now, it's about learning something new to see if it's worth the effort.
 
When applying the lather to your face, really swirl the brush around vigorously, that should help it give up the lather and apply it to your skin.
 
@Jaco badgers are great, broken boars also but my recent purchase of a zenith 'extra soft' horse brush I reckon is becoming my favourite of all, including synthetics...

I personally found the synthetics are easiest to lather with untill the zenith horse, this brush creates an awesome lather with the ease of a synthetic and has the feel of a badger
 
StratMan said:
@Jaco badgers are great, broken boars also but my recent purchase of a zenith 'extra soft' horse brush I reckon is becoming my favourite of all, including synthetics...

I personally found the synthetics are easiest to lather with untill the zenith horse, this brush creates an awesome lather with the ease of a synthetic and has the feel of a badger
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Hmm, you've given me something else to chew on. I had a Boti horse installed in my big Forgotten Art "Southern Skies" handle until my wife smashed that with a flicked towel. I never did succeed in getting the smell of the horse's ass out of that knot, and I'm not going to try again with that one. Does the Zenith stink?
 
Gargravarr said:
Hmm, you've given me something else to chew on. I had a Boti horse installed in my big Forgotten Art "Southern Skies" handle until my wife smashed that with a flicked towel. I never did succeed in getting the smell of the horse's ass out of that knot, and I'm not going to try again with that one. Does the Zenith stink?
Click to expand...

yes absolutely.. When I first got it the brush was extremely smelly when wet (but dry has no scent at all). Funny thing was this stink only came when wet, once it dried was all good, strange.. but the stink is barely there now and should be totally gone at some point.

I have only persisted with it cos its such a good brush, and will do it again with another at some point. IF you decide to get one go for the 'extra soft' I have not used the other one but from what I have read online the other isnt worth getting
 
My perspective is changing. The more I use it, the more I like it.

Difficult to say why. Maybe it's just the character of the natural bristles. Definitely gives a better scrub, and it's soft enough now to not irritate my skin. Maybe because it requires a lot more scrubbing to work up a lather, the whiskers are better hydrated, and it may be pure imagination, but it feels like my shave results are better.

Because it is so big, it needs a lot more soap, so ideal for using up some long forgotten soaps lingering in the cabinet.

I have tried it with Tabac with excellent results, now I am using it with some Prorasso Green, also working great.

It's been a while since I have made a substantial change in the way I shave. It's nice!
 
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