Disclaimer: I noticed that another member reviewed this brush (some time back in June of 2009) and read his review. I wonder if they are talking about the same brush here, as this one will be released March 24th, and was mentioned that the handle is wood. The handle is acrylic. The new Badger Brush from Van Der Hagen's Luxury line is quite nice. Its solid, black acrylic handle sports a high gloss shine along with their new windmill logo. The base (knot) of the hairs are surrounded with a metal ring, which is a nice touch. The handle is heavy, with no seams (I assume it's been lathe-turned), and is designed very well, as it is a nice tool to hold onto for my fingers/hand. The badger hair, in my opinion, is somewhere between a 'Pure' and 'Best', and is very soft against my skin. The knot is not overstuffed by anymeans, but had no problem generating lather from the VDH Luxury Scented Shave Soap. At first, I thought the hairs might be a bit droopy, but then when making the lather and applying it to my face, the brush performed nicely. It made lather very quickly, which kind of surprised me. The lather remained in the brush well, and then gave it up nicely when lathering my face. The price is quite reasonable (about $25.00) for this nice of a brush. If Van Der Hagen is trying to run with 'The Big Dogs' of luxury shaving goods, then they are hitting the mark with their new Luxury Line, complete with two new soaps, this badger brush, the new apothecary mug, and the new acrylic razor and brush stand. Its nice to see VDH upscale their products, and its nice to see they've come out with such winners.
This is my second brush; my first being the brush my dad gave me, along with a mug and soap, when I first started shaving about 25 years ago. That original mug and brush, sadly, are long gone, so, for my return to traditional wet shaving, I needed a new brush, a new mug, some soap, and, hey, a brush/razor stand would be nice, too. All this is to say that I haven't owned/used a wide selection of shave brushes to offer in this review an apples to apples or apples to oranges comparison. What I can comment on here is whether or not I feel I made the right choice and got my money's worth. After hours spent online, reading up on the current state of the wet shaving accessories market, I eventually settled on the Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave Set that included this brush. I couldn't be more pleased with my decision to step beck into the world of traditional wet shaving with this brush and the accompanying kit. I've used this brush for a solid month and, if things continue on this path, it's a brush I'll be using years from now. I've found it produces lather quite easily with all soaps I've tried, save Williams, which I'm learning is notoriously difficult to lather with any brush. Overall, the quality of this brush is outstanding, especially considering the price-point (even better with the Luxury Set!). The loft on this brush did have some animal funk right out of the box, but after soaking in dish soap & water, and a couple lathers left to sit for an hour, it was wiped out completely. I found the bristles on first use to be very agreeable with my face, offering plenty of backbone to load soap and exfoliate my skin without feeling like I was tearing up my face. I have big hands, and found the resin handle to be very comfortable to hold and work with. The loft has shed some hairs over its first month, only two or three a week, which, from what I've read, is totally normal for a brush during its first three months of use. Overall, using this brush has been a pleasure, and a luxury I can't believe I've been denying myself all these years...instead using canned goo and dreading my daily shave. Well, no more! If you're looking for a badger brush to get you started, give this one a serious look. And, if you're in need of a mug, soap and a stand, drop the extra 10 or 12 bucks for the full kit. You'll be very glad you did.
