Declaration Brushworks Batch 2 Comparison

Hi guys, I'm sure many of you are aware that Scott at Declaration Brushworks/L&L Grooming has run out of his first batch of "Prime Badger" hair and has moved onto the second. While Scott does have a nice write-up with bullet points, I wanted to share my experience with the two batches as well.

For reference, I have a Batch 1 Franklin and "Jefferson" and a Batch 2 Washington and I compared the Washington and Jefferson
Link to Imgur album: http://imgur.com/a/toAyG
I'll copy/paste a write up I did on Reddit here and post pictures at the bottom of the post to make it easier to read:
At first glance, you can immediately differentiate the two hairs:

Batch 2 (Washington) as some hooking, though it's not a main "asset"
Batch 1 (Jefferson) has extreme hooking - to the point where there are individual hairs that catch onto each other
Dry, the Batch 1 hair is way less soft than Batch 2 - should be kinda obvious and doesn't really matter whatsoever lol
Next, I soaked the brushes for like 10 seconds and shook them 3-4 times to knock out some water (so that it's not dribbling down the edges)

Batch 2 starts to clump up when wet and the tips feel very soft
Batch 1 continues to be clumped and there is some noticeable "gelling" going on with these tips, to the point where you can tell there's more water being held at those tips
Now for the part that actually matters - how they feel during the shave:

Batch 2 is very soft, with some scrub, and some decent backbone
Batch 1 in comparison, is very soft, with maybe a touch more backbone, and slightly less scrub.
At the end of the day, I'm in the minority and prefer Batch 1 over Batch 2, but it's just by a hair touch and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Batch 2 brush if given the opportunity (and funds). Though Batch 2 is scrubbier, the amount is marginal to the point where I enjoy it (and I hate any scritch and too much scrub). It also maintains the softness of the Batch 1 hair, though it does lack those gel tips. I will add the caveat that Batch 2 took a few shaves to break in and soften up - at the moment I believe that it's still softening up, making the different even more slight.

At the end of the day, Scott ties quality knots and samples his hairs before buying them in bulk.

If you liked Batch 1 (or missed out on it), rest assured that Batch 2 is very comparable - there's good reason why 5/6 testers liked it more.

If you have a Batch 1 brush and are salty about the Batch 2 release - remember that badger brushes are a natural product and are subject to natural variation. They're comparable enough that you shouldn't feel like you're missing out, FWIW, Scott and I like Batch 1 better anyway (albeit marginally). Don't forget that Scott's not the only one who does this, since the other brushmakers aren't using cloned, genetically-identical badgers to harvest their hairs from - he's just one of the few that are transparent about when he switches to the new batch.

Batch 2 Washington and Batch 1 "Jefferson" - dry (front and above)
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Batch 2 Washington and Batch 1 "Jefferson" - wet (front)
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Batch 2 Washington and Batch 1 "Jefferson" - wet (above)
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Great write up!

Below are 2 WW handles that I had re-knotted with Declaration knots. The Blue and White is from the 1st batch this is a 24 x 51 1/2 very soft tips excellent backbone, the 2nd, the Milky Green is a 26 x 51 1/2 again very soft tips like in the 1st batch with a little less backbone (this brush still has very good back bone just a little more plush when lathering). No scritch what so ever for either knot.

I dig the handle on the left!

The Blue and White is Peters DWW-3 feels great in your hand

Sent from my SM-T357T using Tapatalk

Thanks a lot for the write up and pictures