What's so special about Wald Brushes?

Water management took a few sessions to optimize with the A1 knot. My process is to soak the A1 for 10 seconds, followed by 2 vigorous shakes of the brush to get almost all of the water out. I primarily bowl lather with the A1 but will also use it for hybrid and full face lather.

And post shave I will gently squeeze the knot and then pat it dry with a towel. The knot is slower to dry, but I find towel patting aids dry time, along with a bit of strategic separation of the knot fibers.

The A1 knot is my favorite synthetic followed by my Rudy Vey custom Muhle. The A1 seems to elevate all of my lathers by imparting a creamy luxuriousness that I just don't experience with other knots.

Second use today with the same soap and razor, Dr Selby 3X & Yaqi Romulus with a Feather Pro Super Blade.  Again it produced a thinner and less aerated lather.  I think next time I'll use a bowl.  This does not seem to be a good brush for face lathering, at least for me.  Since I much prefer face lathering, I am beginning to think this may not have been a good choice.  But I will give it a few more efforts before moving  it on.

I’ve only bowl lathered with mine so far, but I’ll try a face lather tomorrow and report back.

Hi draebeard, I face lathered this morning with SV soap and experienced what you're talking about. I made the brush about as damp as I do with bowl lathering, loaded from the SV puck for the same or a bit longer than I usually do, and my lather was thinner and less aerated than it usually is. The shave was as good as always, but it would be nice to have the usual lather.

I think this is most likely a technique issue, because my Calyx bowl lathers like a champ and at least as many people face lather as bowl lather. I'm sure Jannik designed it for both. And it's a fan-shaped knot, which is especially known for face lathering. 

So I think it's worth experimenting with various hydration levels of the brush, loading time, and adding more or less water when building the lather on your face. If I have any breakthroughs I will post back to this thread, and please do the same. In addition to SV, I rotate between a bunch of artisan soaps and Italian creams; scooping a shave's worth into a bowl is the way I keep them all fresh. I use SV about once a week. Hopefully we'll both be able to dial in the Calyx for face lathering quickly.

The lathers with my Calyx have been the same as with any of my synthetic brushes and I'm a full time face lathered. I start out by spraying my brush in the sink water I have for my shave as I know by spraying it! I will get the entire knot soaking wet this way! Then I squeeze the knot out to release almost all the water out then move to my soap tub, Stirling or Ethos, swirl the brush until it starts making a paste mostly then I use my finger to clean out the soap tub around the edges and on top of the soap and rub the excess on my lower neck and my face. I then take the brush to my face and start lathering usually dunking the tips in the sink water 1-2 times per side while building my lather to a creamy yogurt consistency and then I am ready to shave. I rinse my face between passes to reintroduce some moisture when painting between the passes and that is what's been successful for me for almost 6yrs now with every synthetic brush I own.

I can usually tell within 4 uses whether a brush, soap, razor, or blade are to my liking or not.  For the first time I find myself in agreement with Tester28.   Usually we're on opposite ends of the spectrum, but not this time.  I've already moved it on, and I hope the buyer enjoys it more than I did.  I'm going to stick with boars.

First shave in this morning and I really enjoyed it! More details here.

First shave in this morning and I really enjoyed it! More details here.

That is a great writeup at the link you posted Eric.  I'm glad the shave went so well for you.

Vintage Pink

Knot works great for face lathers or bowl lathers. I don’t think it’s really possibly for a shaving knot to not work for one or the other. This isn’t rocket science. We are mixing soap, air and water.

J1 and j2 badger knots are great. 3 wasn’t my cup of tea hair wise but I’m looking forward to hearing more about 4.

Knot works great for face lathers or bowl lathers. I don’t think it’s really possibly for a shaving knot to not work for one or the other. This isn’t rocket science. We are mixing soap, air and water.

J1 and j2 badger knots are great. 3 wasn’t my cup of tea hair wise but I’m looking forward to hearing more about 4.

How many Wald brushes do you have?

Down to the following:

2 a1 synths, with one on the way. Will sell one. 
1 J1
1 j2