Maybe a little late to the party, but decided to try a Whipped Dog Silvertip. I opted for the 22mm, set for a loft of 52mm. Still can't believe the price of these brushes! $26 for silvertip, + $5 for drilling the handle to a custom depth. Hard to find a prickly, substandard "pure badger" for that price! I had heard that Whipped Dog brushes came quite dirty and smelly, and this lack of refinement was one of the reasons for the low price... Mine really didn't have much odor when dry. I went thru the Oxyclean routine - Larry includes a tiny packet of Oxyclean with the brush, along with instructions for use. After the Oxyclean treatment I shampooed the brush a couple times, and there was no odor whatsoever. On to the shave. I have 6-7 badger brushes already, and I enjoy them all thoroghly. This WD silvertip is far and away the softest tipped brush I have ever used! Absolutely fantastic! If you really like a stiff scrubby brush, this may not be the brush for you, but to my tastes it was simply pure luxury. Very, very pleased. I have enjoyed this brush so thoroughly that I can hardly wait to try another. I'm thinking 24mm set at 50mm loft... At any rate, here are before and after bloom pics. Can't, of course, speak to long term quality or anything, but based on initial impressions I highly recommend this brush.
I had some problems with his Black Badger http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/whipped-dog-silver-tip.31839/#post-560399 I hesitate to order a Silvertip from WD I am afraid about the backbone.
Well, the "feel" we look for is different for each of us. This brush face lathers very well for me, but I am not looking for a "scrubby" brush. If you are, this is not the brush for you. I do my scrubbing as part of my shave prep. But developing lather gradually on the face, and working it under the whiskers in the process... Love this brush! Looking forward to trying a short loft (50 mm) 24 mm Silvertip as well. Expecting a little more backbone, but still with this fantastic softness. We shall see!
Jerold, I did my 30mm WD ST @ 50, very nice feeling brush. If your doing your own drill the hole a little deeper and you can experiment with different lofts before you glue it.