Hello. I have only one shaving brush from November 2014. A silvertip 22 mm knot from whippeddog.com with a 50 mm loft but I choose for the loft to be drilled an extra 5 or 10 mm(I don't remember exactly). Now the loft measures 35 mm. I don't know how this happened. Anyone else experience this? Maybe this is one of the reasons I can't make a decent lather. Images with my shaving brush: http://imgur.com/gallery/gK8mhWp. The brush has been photographed right after a shave, that's why it's damp.
OK, if you say so. It looks like you have been rubbing this knot on sandpaper for about two years. I have NEVER seen a badger knot look like this. Not one that has been used properly anyway.
It's time, my friend. You got every nickle worth of your money outa that one. The bright side is, the new one will feel like luxury on wheels. If you happen to try synthetic(which I'd recommend, because if the condition of this one), you'll need to use less water to start. But scrub away, synthetics aren't nearly as shed prone.
Time to buy a nice synthetic brush, modern Synthetics are better for daily use and gives a great scrub and painting is far superior than my boar brush. I have seen badger brushes that look and perform very well but I do not own a badger.
I think when you use a animal hair brushes you should have at least 3 in rotation(minimal 2) so one is drying and the others are ready for shaving that day. I find synthetics well priced and are superior in drying out properly & easy to clean out daily. Some folks will never change their preference to animal hair which is fair because shaving is so opinionated anyways. I don't think I spent more than $100 Can on all of these beauties, most were bought on sales. Have some great shaves!
Hard to say without knowing how you work the lather. Off the cuff, there are a few things you can do to prolong your brush's life (not that one though... It's dead). Rinse thoroughly. This involves cupping your hand around the knot with the handle sticking out the bottom of your grip. Run the water right into the knot. Dry thoroughly. Squeeze the knot, then brush it on a towel like you are making lather. Use an 'X' pattern of strokes, rather than circles. (It's best to load soap on a brush using an x pattern as well, though few people do). Badger hair can take up to 36 hours to completely dry out. I've never subscribed to the belief that a person needs a "rotation" of brushes in order to let one completely dry out. You should have a rotation to avoid wearing out a prized brush. You should expect a 25 year working lifespan on a brush, and it will theoretically triple if you add two other brushes to the rotation. Expecting badger hair to remain perfect and usable for 75 years is a bit of a stretch though. The glue is usually the failure point on older brushes, not the hair. That's about all the advice I have. I can say that on all of the brushes I've seen with that degree/type of damage, the damage was caused by operator error. I expect that since it was a whipped dog silvertip, it was fairly floppy, and you pushed it harder than you should have for years. It's one of the things that could cause what we see here. If that is the case, switching to a two-band or finest badger would go some ways towards giving the brush some stiffness and backbone. So would switching to boar or synthetic. Storing it in an enclosed cabinet or drawer is also a good way to shorten the lifespan. Leave it on the counter or a shelf with plenty of airspace around it.
I would say give that brush a proper burial. Since you are hard on brushes, then I would say go for a synthetic knot. They are so easy to use and you get a great lather to boot. If you want natural hair, then go for a boar brush. Yes, there is a breaking in period, but they can be just as soft as a badger. These alternatives are less expensive so that if you ruin these brushes, then your not out too much money. You can get an Omega boar for 10 dollars or a synthetic brush for a similar price.
Soak the brush, this is what happens when you use a dry brush to build lather, the hairs or bristles don't bend, they break.
