“Learn to Gel a Badger Knot” from Neil at HCS

I owned a couple of brushes that I would have kept if I had known about this process. Thanks for sharing!

I'm an exclusive synthetic user and the curiosity has gotten the better part of me it would seem so I just have to ask the question here, why are gel tips important on a badger or boar brush? What are the benefits of doing this or buying a knot that already has this done? Does it help make lather any better or faster? Does the knot dry faster when cleaned after the shave? Is it designed to use for bowl or face lathering? Again, curiosity has gotten the better part of me and thought I'd inquire...

I'm an exclusive synthetic user and the curiosity has gotten the better part of me it would seem so I just have to ask the question here, why are gel tips important on a badger or boar brush? What are the benefits of doing this or buying a knot that already has this done? Does it help make lather any better or faster? Does the knot dry faster when cleaned after the shave? Is it designed to use for bowl or face lathering? Again, curiosity has gotten the better part of me and thought I'd inquire...

Great question. When you get the perfect amount of gelling and the tips all hook together it creates a pillowy feeling that is pure joy to use. Too much gel can feel slimy and not lather as well but there’s a sweet spot that’s perfect.

I don’t think it lathers faster but I’d guess it uses less soap due to being less abrasive on the puck (I only face lather). Knot size and density seems to be the main factor in drying time.

I'm an exclusive synthetic user and the curiosity has gotten the better part of me it would seem so I just have to ask the question here, why are gel tips important on a badger or boar brush? What are the benefits of doing this or buying a knot that already has this done? Does it help make lather any better or faster? Does the knot dry faster when cleaned after the shave? Is it designed to use for bowl or face lathering? Again, curiosity has gotten the better part of me and thought I'd inquire...

It is all personal preference, but, I believe, most individuals who like these type of knots enjoy the softness that they provide, principally. It is quite different than synthetics as there is no 'spring' to the individual strands of hair. There isn't anything quite like the feel of this. I enjoy these knots, but not on a daily use as I quite like a good scrub from my brushes. 

I'm an exclusive synthetic user and the curiosity has gotten the better part of me it would seem so I just have to ask the question here, why are gel tips important on a badger or boar brush? What are the benefits of doing this or buying a knot that already has this done? Does it help make lather any better or faster? Does the knot dry faster when cleaned after the shave? Is it designed to use for bowl or face lathering? Again, curiosity has gotten the better part of me and thought I'd inquire...

It is a very personal experience, some people care for it and some people don’t. What you end up with is with are tips that have a sponge like feeling on the face.
Imagine a brush that has been broken into for many years. Most likely, the abrasion over the years has caused the tips to “burn” and curl.
This is just accelerating the process out of the box.
For a two band you get a very soft face feel (more than a brand new silvertip) while maintaining the backbone of a two band.
You can see it as a kind of broken into knot. Like all natural hair, this abrasion damages to some extent the hair. If the brush is not looked after, and conditioned, the tips become dry and brittle, thus breaking and ending up with a really scrubby brush.
If over done, it becomes a really floppy knot with a slimy face feel. Something that I have seen with many Chinese knots I’ve tried.
The trick here is finding the right balance as explained in the video.
On boar it’s nicer, you can start using the brush out of the box without having to break it in over a couple of months till the hair shows it’s full potential.
Personally, I prefer non gel tips and let them develop over time as you use the brush. I also enjoy that little scrub that I get while face lathering. It removes a bit of the dead skin cells and cleans the pores.
The knot doesn’t dry any faster and it’s as well suited for face and bowl lathering. However, if you like a soft feeling when face lathering you could find that gel tips can be your personal choice.


Greetings from Santa Rosa, CA

I'm an exclusive synthetic user and the curiosity has gotten the better part of me it would seem so I just have to ask the question here, why are gel tips important on a badger or boar brush? What are the benefits of doing this or buying a knot that already has this done? Does it help make lather any better or faster? Does the knot dry faster when cleaned after the shave? Is it designed to use for bowl or face lathering? Again, curiosity has gotten the better part of me and thought I'd inquire...

Gel tips are important because the market has wanted softer and softer feeling shave brushes. I think some people's skin really need pillowy softness. I am not against people having this option to fulfill one's desire to face lather with any scrub. I don't personally enjoy gel tip brushes but prefer as soft as a brush can be naturally. All the brushes I have or use now are non gel tip silver tips that has a less processed feel. I say they are "naturally tipped" but that is only true to some degree or with some confidence. Even though I don't like gel tips, I can still give this a shot on a badger brush with just less time on the hair and see if I can get it to soften up a little bit. I will keep you guys posted after I pick up the supplies.

Thanks for the answers guys... It would seem this is done merely to soften the tips and give it the broken in feel and nothing else. I will stick with my synthetics since they all have extremely soft tips and lather better and faster than any animal haired brush I've ever used in the past.

I have a less than $10 RazoRock (Zenith) boar brush that I have been unable to break in completely after trying every trick in the book. Real marble polisher this one!! Anyway, I would like to try this but I am not sure it's worth investing $10 in crap I'll use just once + I haven't owned a hair dryer since 1982. 

Haha, yeah probably not worth spending the money just to do one $10 brush but I also had a couple boars that were taking forever to break in and I sped up the process by dunking them in boiling/icy/boiling/etc water and the tips finally gave in and started splitting.

Interesting process. Initially I was hunting for the softest badger hair brushes and bought a bunch of Paladins, a M&F, also some DGs, and a Shavemac 3 band silvertip(the softest brush I own). But now I'm gravitating more towards boar hair and have an omega 10083(wonderful brush), a Semogue 1305(just used for last 2-3 days), and a 17 or 18 mm knot cheap boar brush my father bought from a street vendor in India a long time ago. I'm not sure I want pillowy softness in a brush anymore.

This is interesting. Thank you for sharing. Almost tempted to give it a try with an old Maggard's knot to see how it turns out.