I'd like to preface this by saying my favorite brushes are generally made of horse hair and I have a fondness for a couple of boars. That said I've been on a badger shave journey for a while and have developed a fondness for Frank's. I've realized that all Franks are not equal. So here's what I've tried and my impressions. Franks Butterscotch with a 21mm silvertip. Not dense, too floppy, maybe ok for painting on creams, but for me a small knot of loosely packed silvertip was a waste of money. Franks Fan tip 22mm knot in finest. Acceptable but that's about it. But it was a big improvement over my first Franks the 21mm silvertip. Franks Richmond 24mm Finest. For me this brush rocks. Enough backbone with good flow through. It's perfect for a dedicated face lather such as my self. With just a hint of that feel good non prickly scritch that I enjoy. This could be my daily driver and I enjoy it as much as I do my horsehair brushes. It's scrubby but soft. Franks Richmond 24mm Best. It was a big disappointment to me I was expecting a dense well packed soft knot. What a got was a soft knot that would be lots better if it were denser. I use it but it leave me wanting a better brush. Franks Richmond 28mm in silvertip. This is the Franks Luxury brush. And it delivers! Soft and densely packed with great flow through. I have a TGN 28 mm silvertip and IMHO this Franks is many times better. This brush discouraged me from buying a "higher end" brush. I can't imagine using any more Luxury and quality brush than this one. Sure it would be better if it had a hand turned handle, but at a cost of 50 bucks shipped I'm very happy with the moulded handle. Franks newest 22mm finest in the long handle. What kind of brush can you really get for 20 bucks? This One. It a darn good brush and may IMHO be Frank's best value. If your looking for a cheap badger that can deliver big time. IMHO this is the one you want. I look forward to using it in my rotation. Finally Frank's custom stubby. I went against my better judgement and ordered it in a 24mm overstuffed Best. Well, the overstuffed best turned out to be an excellent choice. Softer than the finest but with the overstuff, it's a dense, soft, non floppy brush that is a true joy to use. It's too bad that all of Franks best knots are not packed this dense. So if your looking for a decent badger brush and don't want to spend a ton of money. Frank's Shaving may be just what your looking for. Of coarse these brushes probably don't compare well to a Higher end brush but they have lot's to offer at an affordable price.
I loooove my Frank's Fine Badger Brush. Oh man. I got it from Moe a while back, and I love the brush...Thanks Moe!
Excellent exposition. I'd love to see some pictures of your Frank Family. I also have the 24mm Richmond finest & it's my daily brush, but it'd be great to see how all of those compare to each other.
newb good review , looking for first two brush with Frank's .Do you recommended to me Finest badger 24mm (new handle ) and silvertip 24mm ivory handle ? actually always loading soap or cream and soak into bowl
I think in the Frank's line up it's hard to beat the finest. IMHO I do not think the Best or Silvertip standard knots are packed dense enough.
Left to right Fan tip, 22mm Silvertip, 24mm Richmond Finest, 28mm Silvertip, 24mm Best, Custom 24mm overstuffed Best, Long handle 22mm finest, Star Shaving Synthetic
Nice collection! I too am quite the Frank Finest lover! I have the butterscotch handle and honestly have only lost 1 hair after some pretty rough workouts!
