Shaving brushes

[alden]

Well the Plisson high mountain white is readily available in Paris, and in fact is one of my souvenirs from Freedom -- it's very nice.

My current brush is a Plisson high mountain and its over ten years old. I thought I would give some of the English brushes a try and with the help of a friend lathered up a Jagger, Vulfix, Taylor of Old Bond Street, and Kent. The one I really wanted to try was the Simpson chubby 2, but alas it was not available.

The verdict after these trials was resoundingly clear. The Plisson crushed them all. A speckle of good cream lathers into a rich thick foam with the French brush. The other brushes needed a large dollop of cream and even then, the lather was thin and watery. I would never have guessed that the brush could make such a huge difference! Then it was explained to me that the density of the pack as well as the quality of the badger used, made all the difference. Upon inspection, the Plisson feels like a soft, thick carpet compared to the thinner, more loosely packed brushes.

So I am about to jump on onto the Eurostar with zero UK brushes in tow, and a great desire to buy a new Plisson.

Cheers

[sartorius]

I have used a super badger from Taylor of Old Bond Street for many years. It gives a nice shave, but I must say I have never been blown away by the lather it creates.

I'm interested in Alden's comments about the Plisson. I have always put the quality of the Taylor's lather down to the quality of the water in London, but perhaps I am making excuses for the quality of my brush. Can anyone else comment on this particular factor?

[rjman]

Thanks to the depredations of my cleaning lady, I switched from a Taylor Super Badger with a now much-chipped handle to a Plisson High Mountain Badger. The High Mountain Badger does appear to lather very nicely, more so than the Taylor, although I was very content with the Taylor. A note -- Plisson makes a wide range of brushes.

[alden]

I have used a super badger from Taylor of Old Bond Street for many years. It gives a nice shave, but I must say I have never been blown away by the lather it creates.

I have Taylor brush, a rebranded Vulfix 2235, and it lathers almost as well as the Plisson. I am quite pleased with it.

Cheers