I have been using shaving brushes since... way too long! Though I dropped out of traditional shaving for a number of years, I still have 2 brushes in my collection that are over 30 years old. And since rejoining the traditional shave world about 8 years ago, I have been using them. And neither of them has (yet) lost a bristle when lathering up for the shave. QUESTION: Are some modern shave brushes made with cheaper knots? Is 8-10 years hard service too much to expect? I have also acquired newer brushes since my return to traditional shaving. The 1st was the iconic boar brush in the VDH Premium Shave set. I really like this economical brush ( I have multiples). It has served my well. But recently, this brush has self destructed (after 7+ years of hard use). It started like this: I tried to preserve it as is. But after I had to remove the glue hump (where I tried a fix), it ended like this: I also have a (cheap $5 drugstore) BurmaShave brush that I have not used very much. But once putting it into the rotation, it also has developed a center shed: I will likewise try to preserve the Burma Shave brush with the hole in the middle. After all, in my experience, these brushes were not diminished by the hole in the middle. In fact it may have improved their performance. But I think that once the glue base is compromised, the knot will not last. Now, I admit, I have contributed to this problem. When a brush begins to shed during lathering, I spend time before the next shave pulling at the knot to get rid of loose bristles. Trying to eliminate the problem so that the next shave is not plagued with shedding. And the loose bristles always seem to come from the middle of the knot. I do not store my brushes handle up. I just shake them out and stand them on the handle. I have yet to replace a knot, but as you can see, it appears that I will eventually need to on these. Though it may be cheaper to just replace the entire brush. YMMV
Just my two cents, but there are a lot of sub $20 brushes out there right now that would cure your problem, and just be nicer in general. -Omega Boars -Semogue Boars -Stirling Boars and Synthetics -Maggard Synthetics
Thanks for the response. I did treat myself to a very nice Fendrihan Synthetic Tuxedo knot brush earlier this month. I am very impressed with this $14 brush.
I've used a bestshave.net #6 horse hair brush for at least 8 years now. I think it cost me like $5 shipped. I just tried to take a look on their site but it's all mucked up a real PIA to try to navigate. But anyway a brush doesn't need to be expensive to be good.
It seems that the selection in decent economical brushes is huge right now. Or maybe I just started noticing. I was considering getting a horse hair brush, because I am not sure that I have ever tried one. Was looking at Vie-Long and reading reviews. It happened that I was on a call with my 2 sons, lamenting the state of my favored VDH brush, when my youngest helped me acquire the Fendrihan. I am very pleased with this brush. It is probably my most luxurious brush. At $14 it is probably my most expensive brush. Yet I will still probably get a horsehair brush sometime in the future. Just depends if I find the right deal. Thanks for ALL the replies. I appreciate it.
May I suggest taking a gander at Gifts and Care. They have an unequaled (at least that I’ve ever seen) selection of Vie Long and Epsilon horse hair brushes. They are insanely friendly to deal with, and ship stuff from Spain cheaper than some vendors in the US. I have bought a half dozen horses from them, and am really pleased. If nothing else, it’s a fun site to look at.