I think you may have a misconception about myself. I too have silvertips, though I do not own a Parker, I'm sure it's a good Brush. I can assure you that a Silvertip does not make a richer Lather. (it will though make you wallet lighter) And a Silvertip actually does not work as quickly in building lather on some hard soaps. Give your silvertip a whirl on MWF, Williams Mug, or Wilkinson Sword...I'm not saying you lather will be bad with a silvertip, but it may require a little more effort.. I'll use a Silvertip and a 3 dollar Turkish #6 with MWF in my SOTD tomorrow and compare the two lathers. Why don't you be as scientific and try to build some lather with your silvertip and boar with some MWF or Williams mug (less than 2 bucks) and give an honest comparison. What I see you saying is a silvertip makes your shaving cream richer ? Any brush can whip up a rich cream. Quality lather and shaves are based on technique.
I gotta be honest, Jason. I'm glad to hear the silvertip works for you, but I can't help but get the feeling from your posts that if you're not a silvertip user, you ain't squat. Again, that's just the vibe I'm getting. I'm sure you don't mean it that way, but I see it as a knock. There is a reason I advocate, "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way." It really bugs me when people tell me what I "must" use, or "have" to use because all others are "less than." I use what I like and can afford. By the way, I do own a silvertip. It's a 24mm set into a custom red mallee burl handle. It's a beauty to behold, for sure. I have other brushes, some of them are *shudder at the thought* boars, that perform for me just as well and I like to use.
I want to say I'm a bit disappointed in the way this thread is going. TSD tries to be a friendly, helpful place. If you're posting further in this thread, please keep this in mind.
indeed I like a soft tip brush. My silvertip meets that goal. I even have a large BK12 and love the way it feels on my face and in my hands. I don't like to get technical on knot size, loft, handle size. I just like something that fits my hand, and I have large hands( palm basketball no sweat). I also like restored brushes.
What I see you saying is a silvertip makes your shaving cream richer ? Any brush can whip up a rich cream. View attachment 22160 Quality lather and shaves are based on technique.[/QUOTE] No sir. You are saying it makes cream richer. GRANTED any brush can whip up a lather, THAT'S what I've been trying to tell you, BUT there are 2 ends to the spectrum. The 5-star suite & the youth hostel. The badger & the boar. The lathering is different & I am exhausted trying to illustrate my point. What I said was the quality of the lather was better, it'll sink in this time, I hope, LOL! I get a better consistency. I get a better application. I think you're misunderstanding lather for the cream itself? As I've also said before, but will say again, along w. everything else, but I DO have a boar, & I haven't used it since March BECAUSE of the spectacular difference & the quality enhancement of the shave. Like I said, the "whoa" factor. I notice no time difference between silvertip & boar. I have no issues whipping up a lather with soaps. (I use a scuttle)
Once the technique is down, tools baby, tools...... what's with the wabbit season, duck season, wabbit season???? SHEESH!!! LOL!!!!
Doesn't sound like there are any die hard fans of silvertip here. I'll come right out and say it: I love silvertips. They're my favorite. Top. No parallel. Boars are the worse thing that ever happened, imo. Pure is great for a day of hard work. Best is great for day to day. Silvertip is a pamper. I'd like to use it every day, but i'm afraid i'll wear them out before their time. My favorite brush is my Kimson silvertip. It's my least used brush. I want it to last forever. I find it can be a great, soft scrubber. With the right loft, I like a 22:45 knot/loft ratio, it's the best thing ever to me. Also, some soaps seem to work better with certain brushes. Creams are no match for my silvertip but my silvertips can't lather MWF for sh**. My pures can lather anything. My best is a common ground. Then there's my boar/badger and boar.... I don't know where i'm going with this. Silvertip rocks.
Soft scrubber now your talking my language. Hmmmm, Maybe I'll set that old Double Duck brush handle that's in the mail with a TGN grade A @ a shorter loft an see if I can improve my impression of silver tips. (a double duck handle with a Turkish Horsehair knot just doesn't seem right) Thanks, my shave brother for the great deal on the handles. They will be put to good use.
You betcha... now if only I could make it to the post office around my school hours They should be out sometime mid this week.
I do enjoy your passion for your Brush. Your lather may be better with your silvertip, but I would also guess ,so is your technique. Maybe you can get the H20 cream ratio easier with silvertip? You've only been wet shaving, what a couple of months? A brush is just a tool and all tools have limitations. I doubt you can make Lather with Wilkinson Sword Blue bowl using a silvertip. I can't, and many others (more experienced than myself) have sent the sword to the trash for that very reason. Funny thing is, I can make the sword explode into rich creamy luxurious lather with a cheap Turkish horsehair. Does that make the 3 dollar Turkish horsehair superior? Well, Yes it does (just kidding) You are correct that there are two ends to the spectrum. But neither end is better than the other. It's all preference. I find silvertips too soft and too floppy, but I may try some with a shorter loft due to suggestions that have been made. (I've been eying a couple of Simpsons for a while) Let the SILVERTIP AD BEGIN !!!!!
YES!!! SUCCESS!!! I find lathers all around better when I use a silvertip. I'm not even passionate about it, I think I was more passionate about being understood, lol......it IS just a brush.....it was more the point I was trying to drive home, LOL! NONE are superior. A sai master & sword master are masters of whatever they wield. Same w. a brush. I like what a silvertip does. As I've said, I DO have a sweet VDH boar brush WELL broke in. (been using a brush since puberty, just began the DE/SE shave.) they CAN be floppy, but bristle control is key. As I said, simply pinching the base of the knot with the thumb, index & middle fingers, you can control the flop SHOULD the bristles be too long. SOME people have what I call POOF-daddies...LOL! If you can do with a horse hair what a silvertip does, then YOU & your technique are awesome. I on the other hand am lazy & got a power tool called the parker silvertip, LOL! I'm not even gung ho about them, it's simply the point I was trying to drive home, which is simply my lather is better when I use a silvertip, LMAO!!!!! MY lather.....lol.... The brush DOES have moisture retention that IS second to none, but if you're adding water to the bowl, scuttle, etc, then water retention is compensated for...LOL! YES!!!!!!!!! (sorry mods....lol) Awesome hobby, we get into it, & sometimes a bit eccentric, afterall, we're the few....the proud...the WET SHAVERS...LOL! Sorry mods....no smoke here....sorry if I attracted attention!
