I completely agree. I think all 3 main types have there advantages and no one can prove 1 is better than the others. Boar has more backbone and whips up lather from soaps that are harder to use. Plus they are cheap. Badger is soft and more luxurious. The knots are more densely packed and hold a ton of lather for multiple passes. Synthetics require no break in. Are cheap. Are very soft. Dry quicker than the other 2. Im not trying to argue. Use what you enjoy and can afford. I have equal amounts of all 3 types and i enjoy them all for different reasons.
I have all three types and do enjoy using them. I'm thinking about trying my Maggard's synthetic with the presoaked Williams this morning. Clayton
I actually like intellectual argument. What blows my mind, is that no one will engage in debate. Telling someone you disagree and then attacking the other party is what happens. Read my posts. I literally present facts and then get attacked. I've never even told anyone they must use synthetic. @Primotenore That answer doesn't help newbies. It leaves them just as uninformed as before.
There is nothing wrong with friendly debate. But is there any real scientific proof of which is better? All 3 have characteristics that different people might find better for their own reasons. Personally i perfer boar because i tend to like backbone. Synthetics dont tend to have backbone to me. They get springy when set low in a handle. Badgers can have good backbone but they generally need to be very dense and usually that costs alot of money. If im in a hurry and dont want to soak a brush or if i want something that splays easier i reach for a synthetic. Still very soft and fun to use. It is just my opinion that they all have their place in someones den.
The way you use the word scientific, yes. I believe a purely objective judgement is indeed possible. There are many objective differences, soap and consumption, ease of lather and non porous fibers being the most important. Take into account price variances and you've made a non-subjective judgement. Newbies generally want info, not a bunch of people who have no ability to discern anything in a concrete way. It gets old reading "thread is no superior choice" simply because people are placating emotion and notion. It's also not reflective of the reality of brushes today.
I honestly dont think 1 is overall the best. For a newbie synthetic would probably be the easiest since its cheap, soft, no break in, dries quickly. But there will never be proof that a synthetic is better than a boar or badger. It might be better in some areas but it fails in other areas that boar and badger dont. To me they all compliment each other and i believe if people can afford it they should have all 3 types.
Please name the failure you write of? Skin feel? Right, the only criteria (totally subjective though) that natural hair might win Explain how paying more (natural fiber) for increased soap and water consumption, more effort to lather, presoak requirement and a brush that never dries out is a superior knot? (note: no subjective information above) I know it's absurd for me to keep going. But no one ever has an objective counter to the above. The fact that it quickly degrades into people attacking me tends to indicate they cannot counter the argument, because it is correct and is reflective of reality. So when their fave loses out in an objective critique, they lash out. The lack of critical thinking around products on shave forums is amazing, but most people don't engage in variable controlled, multi year, monthly test sets. I did. It's why I offer actual objectively focused evaluations. I actually enjoy Badger skin feel, but it's too far behind in every other meaningful area for me to advocate for it in a this versus that scenario. Saying "they all have a place" or whatever is a certainly true, but it utterly fails to address the question of how to choose your knot.
I already have. Backbone. Synthetics dont have much unless its set deeper in the handle. Then it becomes springy and pushes back against you. Unlike boars that have backbone but dont push back. Knot density. There is not a single synthetic that is a dense as some of the upper end badgers. Which helps create lather on more finicky soaps like mystic waters. I have problems lathering it with synthetics but no problem with boars and dense badgers. Holding enough lather. Im a head shaver now and synthetics dont hold enough lather to do 3 passes on my head and face. But my bigger boars and badgers do. Like ive said. There are areas that each type is better at. If you are saying based on only price that synthetics are better. I might agree with you. Ive been wet shaving for like 5 years now and have about 20 brushes. One third being boar, one third being badger, and the other third synthetic. I have over 100 soaps and have lathered almost all of them with each type. I have plenty enough experience to see that its impossible to say 1 brush type is the best.
Badger & horse hair isn't porous and doesn't absorb water, rather water is retained by capillary effect between the hairs. That's why silver tips hold more water because the hair are finer. They don't benefit from 'soaking' the brush aside from absorbing heat for warm lather. That only applies to boar hair which is hollow and soaks water up. Soap consumption has more to do with brush size and loading method. I don't see how synthetic hair is any more hygienic than natural hair in a properly maintained brush?
Hair is made of keratin. Keratin absorbs water. All hair is composed of scales that allow water to penetrate to some degree. Porous and hollow aren't the same.
I used the same advise my First SGT gave me when I took up golf " Buy the best you can afford and think its best for you",,,, so my second razor (first was a Ambroley (sp?) the wife gave me for Christmas and started this mess) after lots to hours researching I bought a Feather AS-D2,,, now I am looking for what I consider the best brush for me,,,,,,, Being a avid putter collector, I can easily to the "arguments" and "discussions" here, what I think its best for me, might be totally wrong for you, that why I bought the AS-D2, I have sensitive skin but tough beard, the AS-D2 reviews sold me, and yes, love it!! Now let get back to discussing what is best for us,,,, is it possible to have a "stiffer" silver tip brush ??!?!
I like where this is headed. If you could advise a new wet shaver on a brush, what would it be (brand and type), and why?
