Member
Pasadena, California
Hello Gentlemen of DFS. Thanks for your comments in our thread.
To Freddy, they did switch to a durable hard plastic but we also keep a bit of old stock glass jars in the scents in case someone happens to request a glass tub of MDC.
To bakerbarber , thanks for asking this question. vtmax is correct that these are available on Shavemac's website. I can highly recommend working with Bernd to get a brush together that you may want. This is why I decided to do an order with Bernd. He has an excellent reputation when it comes to sharing his expertise and giving you some direction if you tell him what you want. He is also able to do quite a bit when it comes to badger brushes. But I also did not just email Bernd once and say "I will take 30 brushes and here is the payment." I spent the time telling him exactly what I was after and we worked together through to come up with we had made.
So why would you order with us if you can get it direct from him? Well so far we have already sold a good handful of the D01 Silvertip 3 bands and the Silvertip 2 bands. Ask the gentlemen who bought them if they enjoyed purchasing with us. The second we got them in, I had an interested customer who wanted to see what we got in. I discussed what handles and resins we choose. He then told me which ones he might be interested and I sent him pictures of the actually blue marble handles to see the variation. After that, he decided on a Silvertip 2 band. I had a chance to talk with him on the phone and I told him that I was looking at the two exact models he was looking to get and that the lofts differed by about 2 mm. I asked him if he would prefer a lower lofted or higher lofted knot of the two. He choose the shorter knot and called me the next day to tell me how excited he was to try it. I was happy to be able to offer that level of personalized service, especially with a personal shave item such as a badger brush.
Over the weekend, I had a gentleman who is a local and has come in many times. He was wanting a Blue Marble handle with a D01 Silvertip 3 band knot due to the backbone, density and scrub. When he came in, we had the works ready to go. His brushes to choose from, a few towels, a hot water maker, a scuttle, and a new tub of Razorock's "Inauguration" Italian Lemon soft shaving soap. He was able to lather the brush up in the store to actually get a feel of the different aspects of the knot. I decided to do the same with another D01 knot so we could share our initial impressions. We have been messaging each other the last couple days as we both race to get to around 40 lathers and document the development of the knot.
I am currently 1/4 through the remaining stock, taking exact measurements of the knot diameter, loft height, handle width, handle height, and overall height. It will be useful so that when someone contacts us wanting to know more about a specific model, it is ready to go and a variety of pictures can be sent to them as well as the measurements that they can expect between the available brushes.
I am planning on taking more pictures of the knots but I can share a bit of quick thoughts before I log off. Initially, when I came up with the differences in the knots, I thought I wouldn't like aspects of the D01 Silvertip 3 Band. I also thought I would absolutely love the Silvertip 2 band bulb. But as I felt them and got a chance more to play with them, break a couple in that I got, I actually prefer the D01 Silvertip 3 Band for it's knot construction. I normally do not ever get along with dense or scritchy brushes. This brush though has an excellent release of lather in a sweet spot of the knot. I will try and demonstrate this through video possibly as well explain through tips.
The Silvertip 2 Band Bulb really is a unique knot. The hair and shape reminds me of some brushes made in Europe that I like and appreciate. The way this knot splays and gives while using circular motions is very good. I thought about how this knot digs in to soap and moves through it like a badger using its long claws to dig through dirt when it is making a tunnel. I find that this knot is going to require more playing around with for me to dial in. The painting strokes are a bit more specific and have a certain finesse to really use it to it's best. It seems like you want to paint with less sweeping and stay at the tips to paint the face with lather. The knot will release the lather towards the outside of the bulb face and requires just a bit less pressure into the breach.
Again, thank you for all that have visited this thread and read so far. We are lucky to have a forum such as DFS to welcome vendors of all varieties to interact with the members. Cheers!
My best regards,
Zachery Hould
Manager
Old Town Shaving at STATS
To Freddy, they did switch to a durable hard plastic but we also keep a bit of old stock glass jars in the scents in case someone happens to request a glass tub of MDC.
To bakerbarber , thanks for asking this question. vtmax is correct that these are available on Shavemac's website. I can highly recommend working with Bernd to get a brush together that you may want. This is why I decided to do an order with Bernd. He has an excellent reputation when it comes to sharing his expertise and giving you some direction if you tell him what you want. He is also able to do quite a bit when it comes to badger brushes. But I also did not just email Bernd once and say "I will take 30 brushes and here is the payment." I spent the time telling him exactly what I was after and we worked together through to come up with we had made.
So why would you order with us if you can get it direct from him? Well so far we have already sold a good handful of the D01 Silvertip 3 bands and the Silvertip 2 bands. Ask the gentlemen who bought them if they enjoyed purchasing with us. The second we got them in, I had an interested customer who wanted to see what we got in. I discussed what handles and resins we choose. He then told me which ones he might be interested and I sent him pictures of the actually blue marble handles to see the variation. After that, he decided on a Silvertip 2 band. I had a chance to talk with him on the phone and I told him that I was looking at the two exact models he was looking to get and that the lofts differed by about 2 mm. I asked him if he would prefer a lower lofted or higher lofted knot of the two. He choose the shorter knot and called me the next day to tell me how excited he was to try it. I was happy to be able to offer that level of personalized service, especially with a personal shave item such as a badger brush.
Over the weekend, I had a gentleman who is a local and has come in many times. He was wanting a Blue Marble handle with a D01 Silvertip 3 band knot due to the backbone, density and scrub. When he came in, we had the works ready to go. His brushes to choose from, a few towels, a hot water maker, a scuttle, and a new tub of Razorock's "Inauguration" Italian Lemon soft shaving soap. He was able to lather the brush up in the store to actually get a feel of the different aspects of the knot. I decided to do the same with another D01 knot so we could share our initial impressions. We have been messaging each other the last couple days as we both race to get to around 40 lathers and document the development of the knot.
I am currently 1/4 through the remaining stock, taking exact measurements of the knot diameter, loft height, handle width, handle height, and overall height. It will be useful so that when someone contacts us wanting to know more about a specific model, it is ready to go and a variety of pictures can be sent to them as well as the measurements that they can expect between the available brushes.
I am planning on taking more pictures of the knots but I can share a bit of quick thoughts before I log off. Initially, when I came up with the differences in the knots, I thought I wouldn't like aspects of the D01 Silvertip 3 Band. I also thought I would absolutely love the Silvertip 2 band bulb. But as I felt them and got a chance more to play with them, break a couple in that I got, I actually prefer the D01 Silvertip 3 Band for it's knot construction. I normally do not ever get along with dense or scritchy brushes. This brush though has an excellent release of lather in a sweet spot of the knot. I will try and demonstrate this through video possibly as well explain through tips.
The Silvertip 2 Band Bulb really is a unique knot. The hair and shape reminds me of some brushes made in Europe that I like and appreciate. The way this knot splays and gives while using circular motions is very good. I thought about how this knot digs in to soap and moves through it like a badger using its long claws to dig through dirt when it is making a tunnel. I find that this knot is going to require more playing around with for me to dial in. The painting strokes are a bit more specific and have a certain finesse to really use it to it's best. It seems like you want to paint with less sweeping and stay at the tips to paint the face with lather. The knot will release the lather towards the outside of the bulb face and requires just a bit less pressure into the breach.
Again, thank you for all that have visited this thread and read so far. We are lucky to have a forum such as DFS to welcome vendors of all varieties to interact with the members. Cheers!
My best regards,
Zachery Hould
Manager
Old Town Shaving at STATS
![[Image: HqBDGJ6.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/HqBDGJ6.jpg)
Bought my shavmac from old town shaving without any issues.
Member
Pasadena, California
fgeib07 Frank, thanks for sharing your picture. If I may say, the yellow or gold lettering in the Zebra resin really is an excellent color contrast. Plus Bernd's handle shape on that is really nice. I would assume it is very ergonomic. Keep me updated as the Silvertip 2 Band knot breaks in and how it feels when you get a chance to use it.
Posting Freak
Hi Zac, thanks for your detailed comments on those beautiful Shavemac brushes. I live in Canada so you can't ship badger brushes to me but I did use your detailed information as a guide in choosing the Shavemac brush that I wanted. I just ordered a blue marble #386 handle bulb shaped D01 26mm Silvertip 2-band 54mm loft brush. I found your comments on your experience with the silver tip 2 band vs the D01 to be particularly helpful.
Thanks,
Mark
Thanks,
Mark
Member
Pasadena, California
(This post was last modified: 12-16-2016, 11:51 PM by OldTownShaving.)
Hello fine gentlemen of DamnFineShave! 
Happy holidays and my best wishes to all of you. I hope you're all doing well and enjoying your shaves as of late. I have a couple of updates to share with you regarding Martin De Candre shave soaps and some more Shavemac progress.
First, we received our shipment of Martin De Candre earlier this week and now have plenty of stock in each scent. I used to own Martin De Candre a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed using it for the scent (Traditional-Lavender, Rosemary, Mint) which I loved and also for the ease of lathering. It truly is a unique soap and very well manufactured. I no longer have either the traditional or Fougére simply because my skin tends to favor the post shave properties of superfatted formulations.
But I had a customer call yesterday asking a bit about the smell of the new Vetyver and Rose releases. So now I share my thoughts of the way my nose interprets the new soaps. If you have tried any of the shave soaps from MDC, traditional, fougére, or unscented, you may find a similarity between them.. Maybe the soap ingredients have a big influence on the overall background of the scent. I tell many customers that ask for a comparison between the traditional and fougére that they do smell different but to my nose, they are closer to being the same.
That is simply my nose. Many will say that they can tell a big difference and I would not discount that at all. I also will tell people that both would sell very well but that the fougére sells more and also has a good reputation for being a benchmark when it comes to fern scented shave soaps.
So, Rose scented Martin De Candre. It is more expensive first of all which to me should give a hint to us that they very well could be using a real, genuine, reputable rose oil or rose extract as opposed to synthetic rose fragrance oil. But to be a bit honest, if that is the case, I am disappointed that it is simply put as "Parfum" in the ingredients. So maybe I can get a clear answer if I choose to message and ask MDC directly if they will shed light on the type of oil which the scent is derived from.
I have tried a handful of rose scented shave soaps, Le Pére Lucien Rose de Pushkar, Klar Kabinett, Jabonman Rosa, Mike's Rose and Cedarwood and maybe another I am forgetting but simply put, I like rose. I don't find those scents objectionable for a gentleman to use. So what does the Rose from Martin De Candre smell like? This may sound redundant or likely the least detailed description I could ever write but here it is...
Martin De Candre Rose shave soap smells like a Rose scented soap made by Martin De Candre.
Haha. I am serious. It has the familiar MDC shave soap smell and is fresh, pleasant and simple. Whether it may smell like a single rose flower or a bouquet of rose flowers, I cannot tell you that. It is not very pungent and sharp but as a hint, when you look at the ingredients, you will notice additional scent constituents. It says: "Parfum, Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool". To me, this rounds out or softens how intense the rose smell might be by itself and adds an additional floral, citrus side to the overall scent.
When it comes to vetiver or vetyver scented shave soaps, I have tried Le Pére Lucien Lavender and Vetiver as well as Vetiver Bourbon, Jabonman Tierra Humeda, Cold River Soapworks Vetiver and Vetiver Modern, Mike's Vetiver, L&L Marshlands and maybe another I can't think of. These are fine examples of how diverse a vetiver based scent could be and that is a vetiver oil by itself or included in a mix of other oils. Some vetiver that is sourced is so pure or distilled and extracted in such a way that it comes out with a smell that is so grounding or earthy, that it comes across to some as smokey. This is to some nice and sought after and to others it is too pungent in the the potency of the scent. I find that initially I am a bit shocked at how the smokier, earthier vetiver soaps smell and take some warming up to. I do not dislike vetiver but find that I will enjoy it as I smell it more and more.
The smell of the Vetyver Martin De Candre is more along the lines of a softer, milder vetiver scent. It also says on the ingredients: "Parfum, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene. So again, I do think that you will find a slight or faint citrus and floral side. For those that love a very heavy, earthy vetiver scent, let me be honest and say you will likely want to look elsewhere. This is going to be a gentler scent but to be fair, this is simply my thoughts of the scent ONLY out of the tub and without being whipped up into lather.
The labels are dressed up a bit and offer a nice contrast in design or illustration to the first releases that Martin De Candre has. Here is a look at the top label and the ingredients on the bottom.
![[Image: 5oLxESl.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/5oLxESl.jpg)
![[Image: xUdJOOC.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/xUdJOOC.jpg)
Please let me know if you have any questions on ordering from us or any further questions on scent or performance. I can give you my honest experience with the Martin De Candre shave soaps.
Marko Thank you for your comment above. I am happy to hear that you found my thoughts helpful. Please share in the forum how your brush comes along as you get a chance to use it.
fgeib07 Frank, thank you again for your purchase and sharing the pics of your new Shavemacs. Feel free to share some of your thoughts on the two band when you have the chance.
So as we continue to sell more Shavemac brushes, I am anxious to get feedback as more customers start to use the two different knots. From those that got the Silvertip D01 3 Band, they have reported that it is scritchy and has backbone during the first uses. I did buy one and full disclosure, I did buy it with a employee discount. But I will also tell you that I was not anticipating buying this brush but the more likely one of the two bands. But I say this to be fair and transparent. The next part may surprise and upset some, in a funny way though. I have not shaved with this brush. I will likely shave with it after it has been lathered between 50-75 times.
Below is my brush that I bought and it has been lathered and broken in using Razorock Inauguration Italian Lemon soap. It took 23/24 lathers to finish an entire tub. In that time, the knot has loosened up, still has great backbone at the top band of the knot. This means that I get a bit of bend when I press into the peak of the pointed bulb but it stops about 10-15mm into the knot. Below that is where the density is keeping the knot stiff. I have enjoyed the development of this knot. I think the best word to describe the knot is intuitive. It loads soap easily but my finding is that at least with a soft Italian croap, it benefits from a heavier and extended loading. When using circular motions, the knot offers a pleasant massage like feeling. It has a balanced density so that instead of feeling like there is a lack of hair and that it splays/fans out to much on the skin, it has enough badger hair to feel very full and yet it still doesn't feel like a BRICK wall of badger.
When you paint with this knot, you will likely feel the deeper (and densest) part of the knot moving across the skin and releasing the lather onto the skin. The flow through and lather release works when you paint halfway through middle of the knot but also at an angle. I prefer when finishing the final layer of lather to hold the handle at an angle so the knot below the top point is in contact with the skin. I have to say I am truly surprised how much I love lathering this brush. Time will tell is it will lose it's scritch and how much more it will change as it gets 25 more lathers. One more note, my brush does not have a glue bump. So for those that like a brush that can excel at painting strokes and circular motions while building or massaging the face, consider this type of knot but be prepared for an extended break in period.
![[Image: d8Q57Pp.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/d8Q57Pp.jpg)
![[Image: zGe8ogh.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/zGe8ogh.jpg)
Some of the tips are flat, some are tapered, some bend, and some are completely curled over. Not what I expected from the readings of other users experience.
Now onto the development of the Silvertip 2 Band. As stated above, I bought this brush as well with an employee discount. But this knot has different aspects to pay attention to versus the Silvertip D01. The brush below has been lathered 15 times and the tips are very interesting. I was told that these knots will gel tip by Bernd at Shavemac. I will make a final verdict after 10 or 15 more lathers. There definitely is some curled ends but I will see how many more or if a larger percentage of the knot forms true gel tips. Quite a few of the tips are tapered and then bend.
The feeling of the knot dry is definitely soft and to me is quite impressive. Once soaked, the hair will form together similar to what Plisson HMW and Vie Long 3 Band Silvertip look like. It is going to spike together into some nicely formed tips. It is hard to get a very high quality picture of the ends of the hair but I will do my best in the next couple weeks to get some nice pictures of the tips in proper lighting and focus.
The experience I have had with this brush has been interesting as well. To be honest, when it comes to 2 band badger, I have had lots of luck with fan shaped brushes and haven't tried too many 2 band bulbs. I have tried the Semogue Owner's Club 2 Band Eurasian Badger (bulb), and Vie Long 75th Anniversary 2 band Silvertip, Morris and Forndran Finest in 26mm Polo/Urn. Those were all nice in their own unique way but love the way a 2 band brush will paint, bloom and splay on the face. The 24/25mm Shavemac Silvertip 2 Band has an incredible ability to load up soap and pull a wonderful protolather into the breach. The way that you can massage with circles and build the lather on your face is very easy and works very well. As this has had a chance to loosen up, I think it has improved on the painting strokes and allows improved lather release. It doesn't seem as stiff as earlier latherings. Just to note, my brush has a slight glue bump which I would say is about 3-4mm. I will be really happy when I get some more use out of this and find a bit more about it's sweet spot. This brush is proving to be a nice challenge for me to figure out what it's best qualities are in terms of performance.
![[Image: lJmMRKc.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/lJmMRKc.jpg)
![[Image: HZIiAUx.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/HZIiAUx.jpg)
One more quick note. I was happy and very thankful to Will at Barrister and Mann to get a slice of the Hallows soap and aftershave Toniques over to us. I did not make a big deal about it to avoid getting a ton attention over it. We have sold most of our stock of it and have a small bit of stock left. If you are in the United States or have a CONUS shipping address and were not able to get some of it during the release, please contact me via PM on here and I will help you get an order together through the Old Town Shaving. I figure I would share this on DFS as they seem to very active with Will's merchant thread and that will give some of his fans a chance to get a soap that not everyone was able to snatch up. I hear it is possible that this was the last batch and I only say that to be honest with what I heard.
Happy to have a wonderful and supportive group of members here on Damn Fine Shave so thank you very much for stopping by and reading the posts. Feel free to comment below or PM if you want to share your thoughts.
My best regards,
Zachery Hould
Manager
Old Town Shaving at STATS
Happy holidays and my best wishes to all of you. I hope you're all doing well and enjoying your shaves as of late. I have a couple of updates to share with you regarding Martin De Candre shave soaps and some more Shavemac progress.
First, we received our shipment of Martin De Candre earlier this week and now have plenty of stock in each scent. I used to own Martin De Candre a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed using it for the scent (Traditional-Lavender, Rosemary, Mint) which I loved and also for the ease of lathering. It truly is a unique soap and very well manufactured. I no longer have either the traditional or Fougére simply because my skin tends to favor the post shave properties of superfatted formulations.
But I had a customer call yesterday asking a bit about the smell of the new Vetyver and Rose releases. So now I share my thoughts of the way my nose interprets the new soaps. If you have tried any of the shave soaps from MDC, traditional, fougére, or unscented, you may find a similarity between them.. Maybe the soap ingredients have a big influence on the overall background of the scent. I tell many customers that ask for a comparison between the traditional and fougére that they do smell different but to my nose, they are closer to being the same.
That is simply my nose. Many will say that they can tell a big difference and I would not discount that at all. I also will tell people that both would sell very well but that the fougére sells more and also has a good reputation for being a benchmark when it comes to fern scented shave soaps.So, Rose scented Martin De Candre. It is more expensive first of all which to me should give a hint to us that they very well could be using a real, genuine, reputable rose oil or rose extract as opposed to synthetic rose fragrance oil. But to be a bit honest, if that is the case, I am disappointed that it is simply put as "Parfum" in the ingredients. So maybe I can get a clear answer if I choose to message and ask MDC directly if they will shed light on the type of oil which the scent is derived from.
I have tried a handful of rose scented shave soaps, Le Pére Lucien Rose de Pushkar, Klar Kabinett, Jabonman Rosa, Mike's Rose and Cedarwood and maybe another I am forgetting but simply put, I like rose. I don't find those scents objectionable for a gentleman to use. So what does the Rose from Martin De Candre smell like? This may sound redundant or likely the least detailed description I could ever write but here it is...
Martin De Candre Rose shave soap smells like a Rose scented soap made by Martin De Candre.
Haha. I am serious. It has the familiar MDC shave soap smell and is fresh, pleasant and simple. Whether it may smell like a single rose flower or a bouquet of rose flowers, I cannot tell you that. It is not very pungent and sharp but as a hint, when you look at the ingredients, you will notice additional scent constituents. It says: "Parfum, Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool". To me, this rounds out or softens how intense the rose smell might be by itself and adds an additional floral, citrus side to the overall scent.
When it comes to vetiver or vetyver scented shave soaps, I have tried Le Pére Lucien Lavender and Vetiver as well as Vetiver Bourbon, Jabonman Tierra Humeda, Cold River Soapworks Vetiver and Vetiver Modern, Mike's Vetiver, L&L Marshlands and maybe another I can't think of. These are fine examples of how diverse a vetiver based scent could be and that is a vetiver oil by itself or included in a mix of other oils. Some vetiver that is sourced is so pure or distilled and extracted in such a way that it comes out with a smell that is so grounding or earthy, that it comes across to some as smokey. This is to some nice and sought after and to others it is too pungent in the the potency of the scent. I find that initially I am a bit shocked at how the smokier, earthier vetiver soaps smell and take some warming up to. I do not dislike vetiver but find that I will enjoy it as I smell it more and more.
The smell of the Vetyver Martin De Candre is more along the lines of a softer, milder vetiver scent. It also says on the ingredients: "Parfum, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene. So again, I do think that you will find a slight or faint citrus and floral side. For those that love a very heavy, earthy vetiver scent, let me be honest and say you will likely want to look elsewhere. This is going to be a gentler scent but to be fair, this is simply my thoughts of the scent ONLY out of the tub and without being whipped up into lather.
The labels are dressed up a bit and offer a nice contrast in design or illustration to the first releases that Martin De Candre has. Here is a look at the top label and the ingredients on the bottom.
Please let me know if you have any questions on ordering from us or any further questions on scent or performance. I can give you my honest experience with the Martin De Candre shave soaps.
Marko Thank you for your comment above. I am happy to hear that you found my thoughts helpful. Please share in the forum how your brush comes along as you get a chance to use it.
fgeib07 Frank, thank you again for your purchase and sharing the pics of your new Shavemacs. Feel free to share some of your thoughts on the two band when you have the chance.
So as we continue to sell more Shavemac brushes, I am anxious to get feedback as more customers start to use the two different knots. From those that got the Silvertip D01 3 Band, they have reported that it is scritchy and has backbone during the first uses. I did buy one and full disclosure, I did buy it with a employee discount. But I will also tell you that I was not anticipating buying this brush but the more likely one of the two bands. But I say this to be fair and transparent. The next part may surprise and upset some, in a funny way though. I have not shaved with this brush. I will likely shave with it after it has been lathered between 50-75 times.
Below is my brush that I bought and it has been lathered and broken in using Razorock Inauguration Italian Lemon soap. It took 23/24 lathers to finish an entire tub. In that time, the knot has loosened up, still has great backbone at the top band of the knot. This means that I get a bit of bend when I press into the peak of the pointed bulb but it stops about 10-15mm into the knot. Below that is where the density is keeping the knot stiff. I have enjoyed the development of this knot. I think the best word to describe the knot is intuitive. It loads soap easily but my finding is that at least with a soft Italian croap, it benefits from a heavier and extended loading. When using circular motions, the knot offers a pleasant massage like feeling. It has a balanced density so that instead of feeling like there is a lack of hair and that it splays/fans out to much on the skin, it has enough badger hair to feel very full and yet it still doesn't feel like a BRICK wall of badger.
When you paint with this knot, you will likely feel the deeper (and densest) part of the knot moving across the skin and releasing the lather onto the skin. The flow through and lather release works when you paint halfway through middle of the knot but also at an angle. I prefer when finishing the final layer of lather to hold the handle at an angle so the knot below the top point is in contact with the skin. I have to say I am truly surprised how much I love lathering this brush. Time will tell is it will lose it's scritch and how much more it will change as it gets 25 more lathers. One more note, my brush does not have a glue bump. So for those that like a brush that can excel at painting strokes and circular motions while building or massaging the face, consider this type of knot but be prepared for an extended break in period.
Some of the tips are flat, some are tapered, some bend, and some are completely curled over. Not what I expected from the readings of other users experience.
Now onto the development of the Silvertip 2 Band. As stated above, I bought this brush as well with an employee discount. But this knot has different aspects to pay attention to versus the Silvertip D01. The brush below has been lathered 15 times and the tips are very interesting. I was told that these knots will gel tip by Bernd at Shavemac. I will make a final verdict after 10 or 15 more lathers. There definitely is some curled ends but I will see how many more or if a larger percentage of the knot forms true gel tips. Quite a few of the tips are tapered and then bend.
The feeling of the knot dry is definitely soft and to me is quite impressive. Once soaked, the hair will form together similar to what Plisson HMW and Vie Long 3 Band Silvertip look like. It is going to spike together into some nicely formed tips. It is hard to get a very high quality picture of the ends of the hair but I will do my best in the next couple weeks to get some nice pictures of the tips in proper lighting and focus.
The experience I have had with this brush has been interesting as well. To be honest, when it comes to 2 band badger, I have had lots of luck with fan shaped brushes and haven't tried too many 2 band bulbs. I have tried the Semogue Owner's Club 2 Band Eurasian Badger (bulb), and Vie Long 75th Anniversary 2 band Silvertip, Morris and Forndran Finest in 26mm Polo/Urn. Those were all nice in their own unique way but love the way a 2 band brush will paint, bloom and splay on the face. The 24/25mm Shavemac Silvertip 2 Band has an incredible ability to load up soap and pull a wonderful protolather into the breach. The way that you can massage with circles and build the lather on your face is very easy and works very well. As this has had a chance to loosen up, I think it has improved on the painting strokes and allows improved lather release. It doesn't seem as stiff as earlier latherings. Just to note, my brush has a slight glue bump which I would say is about 3-4mm. I will be really happy when I get some more use out of this and find a bit more about it's sweet spot. This brush is proving to be a nice challenge for me to figure out what it's best qualities are in terms of performance.
One more quick note. I was happy and very thankful to Will at Barrister and Mann to get a slice of the Hallows soap and aftershave Toniques over to us. I did not make a big deal about it to avoid getting a ton attention over it. We have sold most of our stock of it and have a small bit of stock left. If you are in the United States or have a CONUS shipping address and were not able to get some of it during the release, please contact me via PM on here and I will help you get an order together through the Old Town Shaving. I figure I would share this on DFS as they seem to very active with Will's merchant thread and that will give some of his fans a chance to get a soap that not everyone was able to snatch up. I hear it is possible that this was the last batch and I only say that to be honest with what I heard.
Happy to have a wonderful and supportive group of members here on Damn Fine Shave so thank you very much for stopping by and reading the posts. Feel free to comment below or PM if you want to share your thoughts.
My best regards,
Zachery Hould
Manager
Old Town Shaving at STATS
Member
Pasadena, California
(12-17-2016, 01:09 AM)Lestorfreemon Wrote: Zac,
Thank you very much for that thorough write up! I enjoy reading your brush analysis
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks Jesse! Much appreciated. I really enjoy the challenge of translating how something feels in your hand and on your skin into text. Here is the funny thing about our community. I am lucky to have tried so many different brushes over the last few years and quite a few that I have tried have been the result of buying from other members in the community. I really liked the Plexi Plisson I bought from you. It was a beautiful knot and brush!
Cheers Lestorfreemon
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