I haven't tried them personally, but I have heard good things about them. People have told me that they are soft, but have a enough backbone and scritch to be good at face lathering. I don't mean to change the subject, but are those one of the pyramids behind you?
My dad has the Tweezerman. It was a PIF. I can't say anything negative at all. It is nice and soft, hold a good amount of water as well. It just doesn't have a fancy brand's logo on it.
Hi there Nathan, The Vulfix 404 Grosvenor comes highly recommended and at an excellent price (£10.20 at http://www.diamondedgeltd.com/acatalog/Progress-Vulfix-shaving-brushes.html) It's a mix of badger and bristle. There is a very informative UK based blog with numerous shaving related articles. A good starting point would be this article (http://www.bruceonshaving.com/2011/01/24/some-traditional-shaving-bargains/). It references the Turkish horse hair brush available from bestshaves.net (I've just ordered a small batch of his stuff, although not that brush, and that site has attracted favourable comments on other forums . Bestshaves.net also has some dirt cheap bowls and very good prices on blades. I'd def get some alum blocks - these have been a revelation. I've been DE shaving about a month now and it is something you can spend as little or as much as you wish. As Bruce's blog points out there are fantastic bargains to be had across the whole spectrum of the essentials - razor, blades, brush, soap. I'd be interested to hear how your purchasing goes. Good luck, Jon
Thanks Jon great info I will def be looking into all of the stuff you mentioned. Hopefully Santa will bring me something nice especially if I tell my wife exactly what I would like. Thanks again everyone who has taken the time to reply I'm learing so much I'm pretty sure I would have given up by now and gone back to the dreaded bic if it wasn't for this place thanks. Nathan
Nathan, I'm guessing you are UK - whereabouts in the country? Anyway, I think that I won't be alone in saying that the conversion to DE shaving has turned a mundane necessity into something to look forward to. I'm sure that Santa will see you right. Mind you, judging from his beard I'm not sure that shaving is his thing! All the best, Jon
I'm in the south west of the UK mate Dorset. I definitely enjoy shaving now like I really enjoy it. However a de is on my Christmas list at the mo I have got a feather artist club ss. Where in the UK are u? Thanks again.
Wow, that's a serious piece of shaving equipment. Not sure I'm ready for that just yet!! I'm in the south Midlands, just outside of Milton Keynes. Dorset - lovely part of the world. Only asking as if you were striking distance of London, there's some fine shaving outlets around Mayfair and Park Lane.
Yea its a serious piece of kit but I found it supprisingly easy to use I'm not doing it right yet by a long shot I'm sure but I have used it about 12 times always 2-3 passes and have only nicked myself once. I went straight from using a cheap disposable bic 10 for a quid for the last 13 yrs to the ss. I wanted a real straight but I know that I wouldn't have the time to maintain it. I wish I lived by some outlets then I would actually want to go shopping not just get dragged.
To get back to the shave bowl. I have a nickel plated metal shave bowl that I use and love. While shaving my first pass my brush and lather cools off. So before I lather up for my second and third pass I float my shaving bowl with the brush inside the bowl in the hot water in the sink. Make sure no water enters the bowl. This way the lather for the second and third pass is warm rather than room temperature.
Yes yes I do have one of those and I absolutely LOVE it. And its all thanks to a very kind genourous stranger!
You do not need any fancy bowls. A plastic round PVC 1 pt (0.5 liter) container ( 110 mm upper diameter, 70 mm bottom diameter, 70 mm height) works very well. It does not damage the handle of your brush, does not make noise, and will not break if you drop it.
Thanks huf I'm gonna speak to the bonders at work today about the possibility of makeing one from fiberglass? Now I have some rough mesurements.
Here it is. A 490 ml food container from Rubbermaid. It comes with a lid which I do not use. Very comfortable to hold. I used to face lather exclusively. Now I find it fun to build up a nice lather in a bowl like this for a few minutes.
I use a plastic salsa bowl from the dollar store. It has a textured finish and whips up a really good lather.
That is the only brush I own. It doesn't seem to make mountains of man eating lather like I see on the interwebs videos but it gives me enough for a 3 pass shave each morning. I use it mainly to face lather with Razorock or Arko because I'm too lazy to bowl lather.
