For those interested, Charles and I put together a discussion on the subject of shaving brushes. It's not limited to method shaving only, but brush characteristics in general. You can check it out on the RMWS forum located here: http://www.hydrolast.com/shaving/index.php?topic=142.0 Enjoy!
Thanks Mike, I had no idea that was out. Looks like it'll be a good read, many thanks to you and Charles for putting it together ::
Now that is relevant information for newbies and experienced wetshavers alike. I am dissapointed in the fact that my shovel/brain tumor removal experiment will no doubt fail. But seriously, Thanks to Mike and CAR for taking the time and effort to put this together. I was hoping to see some discussion as to how the shape of the brush affects the wet media. In other words is one shape of brushes better for creams or soaps? Nevertheless I am looking forward to the next installment. Raf
So this may just be me, but I found the actual 'brush' information to be very confounded with what came across to me as method shaving information. I preface this by saying that I am not a 'method' shaver, and I am not fully informed as to what the process even entails beyone a vague reference here and there, but from reading the entire thread above the tone also seemed to come across as somewhat haughty. I'm not certain how much of this was written by whom, but had I read this while first getting started I think I might have come out more confused, and generally put off on the whole process. No offense intended to anyone, just wanted to provide my two cents. Feel free to remove the comment if this is inappropriate. Thanks. J
Sandoval + Roberts = a fine, thought provoking read. Agree? Disagree? Confused? Enlightened? Kinda immaterial but it definitely gets you to thinking about the topic. And what a Topic, that's a real Fav Topic for quite a majority of SBAD sufferer's. Nice to have the brain in-gear & engaged once in awhile !!! I particularly liked the part where CAR suggested that owner's of Simpson's Harvard 6's "marry" them off to guys whose usernames start with Hyper who will bury their whiskered face in them like the good Lord intended !!!
Even though the interview had nothing to do with method shaving other than to make reference to the process, I believe the information was precise and thought provoking. Of course, if there are preconceived ideas about CAR and method shaving then the resulting opinion is a given. I am also not a method shaver but I do use some of his products because they happen to be of the highest quality. Just to reiterate our point of view, we do not remove posts just because someone expresses their opinion on a specific subject. We would only take action if posting guidelines are violated. Raf
Thank you for the clarification. I should add that I'm flying completely blind regarding method shaving, no opinions of which I am aware, whatsoever. Also the above comment should not be taken as a reference regarding the quality of the process or products (with which I have no experience), just my take of the one article above. Thanks. J
Well if you ever want to ask any questions about method shaving we have members that will be more than glad to answer any questions you may have. Glad to see you here. Enjoy. Raf
I appreciate all the kind comments on the article. This is really something evolved out of the numerous discussions Charles and I have had in the area of brushes. When we meet for dinner our conversations are dominated by shaving so needless to say the wives never bother to come along with us :rofl So, there is obviously going to be some method terminology in here given that the article this is written by the creator of method shaving. We'll kind of call me the contributing editor Being both a method shaver and "traditional" wet shaver (straight razors, etc.) I'll elaborate a bit here. The main point that Charles and I wanted to get accross with this article was that whatever shaving style you choose, be it method or traditional, you need to make sure you are choosing the right brush. A Shavemaster, being made specifically for method shaving, really wouldn't be the ideal option if you like to use traditional hard soaps or creams. I personally think traditional soaps are best suited for the smaller, denser knot brushes a la Simpson/Rooney variety. If you like to use creams, the bigger and floppier brushes really excel because they hold a good amount of water and can properly mix in the right ratio of air/water required to lather a tub cream like Trumper/Truefitt/Taylors. It's all about the right tool for the job. It's hard to really dig in to hair grades without stirring up a big mess and I think that y'all will have something to look forward to on that topic in the future.
Indeed chosing the right brush is as important as chosing the right razor and blade that works best for you. Soaps work better with a specific type of brush as well as creams prefer a floppier brush. The choices are wide so doing research before buying your next brush is important. After all I like to maximize the quality of my lather so I believe that if I take my time to choose the right brush will be of benefit in the long run. Note to self...dont post at 3am brain not engaged.... Raf
I’m not done reading the whole discussion, but I find the distinction between the “European” and “American” schools forced if not plain wrong: Most wet-shavers use straight or DE razors. Actually the most popular brand of DE razors still in production is European.
I can agree the argument does sound a bit liked a forced division, but consider this... The wet shavers (DE and straight users) that we all know are really only a minority of the wet shaver shaving population as a whole. Trumpers has removed all the DE's from their catalog. Art of Shaving, which is present in retail stores such as Saks, Niemans, Nordstrom, etc in addition to their on branded store, all hinge their system around Mach 3 or Fusion cartridge razors. They alone have a huge customer base or the products wouldn't be everywhere. All those products are based around the same European concept of the 3 T's. Truefitt & Hill does not offer any DE's in their product line, all cartridge. This is were the generalization of the "European" style of wet shaving comes from. There's thousands of wet shavers out there who have never even visited one of these forums and are happily going along with what they learned from AOS through retail purchases and learned to wet shave with a brush and multi-blade razor. I started out this way myself. We continue to pray that they all see the light someday :rofl I'm not trying to argue Charles' wording, he has many more years of experience and does this stuff for a living. Just wanted to try to clarify a bit where I can.
I’m still confused. Trumper does sell DE razors. AoS, an American company, offers American multi-blades razors as well as rebranded German DE razors. Truefitt and Taylor indeed sell Mach3/Fusion clones. I still fail to see how a generalisation around a European style can be established. For me, there are no European or American schools per se, just DE or straight, soap or cream users that can’t be categorised in a Europe or America duality.
