I started shaving with a Shick Injector way back in the day but never used a brush and soap even back then. Canned foam was the flavor of the day and I bounced between that and bar soap in the shower, and a steady diet of ever-increasing cartridge blade count and price intel I’d had enough! I went back to the old way and darn you gillette! You weren’t trying to offer a better shave. You were selling sizzle instead of steak! So here I was, DE in hand, a puck of Williams, and a cheap boar brush and loving life……but then I found the forums which convinced me I needed a different razor (Merkur 34C and a better brush, Omega 10066). And life improved. There were brushes around. Omega and Semogue battled for the work-a-day king title. Some thought Semogue was nigh unto badger and omega was pedestrian. Others thought Omega was simple and Semogue ate lather.
Semogue 830 left and Omega 10048 were top models
Of course there were the stalwarts who had remained in the premium bush market. Simpsons, Plisson, Muhle were some that were there before the hobby blew up. They offered high quality but expensive brushes. Some of those knots were exquisite.
Here is a Jagger Example of a pre-hobby blowup. Great old school silvertip knot.
During this era there were several synthetic knot options. I wish I’d kept a few around but suffice it to say they were more akin to my toothbrush than to shaving kit. I had a NOS Fuller with a nylon knot and it was terrible. Felt like a parts washer more than a shaving brush.
So popularity of old school shaving started to blow up and suddenly many more options for high end brushes were available. Omega and Semogue released more models in boar and…….miracle of miracles, Plisson released a nice synthetic knot called Plissoft. This put the value of a good synthetic in the hands of an average Joe.
Here is a LiOccitane Plisson brush from that era. It was a game changer where suddenly hobbyists could rebuild vintage handles with modern knots. Places like The Golden Nib offered us Badger knots in varying grades and prices at prices less than half of a Simpsons. And buddy then stuff really went nuts.
Stagg Lucite with Golden Nib Silvertip, Ever-Ready 150 with a Plissoft, Ever-Ready with Tux knot. We all knew the names and model numbers of vintage handles. What great times!
With this new found popularity and dollars, more business arose and places like West Coast, Maggard, and Italian Barber came in with both badger, boar, and synthetic offerings. Synthetic really grew there for a time and many new knots showed up
Teton Shaves experimental knot, Razorock with Boss knot, Vintage Ever-Ready with Tuxudo knot, and Teton Shaves Badger Synth. There were white knots and tan knots and fan and bulb and flat top knots. And the trend continues today although not at this fevered pitch.
Remember when we all had to have a “premium” boar and the Semogue Owners Club was, and still is that!
So there you have my viewpoint of the crazy brush days. Silvertip badger, long thought the pinnacle of brushes gave way to Two Band badger because “backbone” was the rage. Then it was treated tips to make “gel knots” that were in my opinion a very boring brush because of very limited feedback from my skin. Now we are in then”hand tied” era which in my mind is sort of silly because no knots in badger aren’t hand tied! Makers came and went. Others came and went and came again. I can honestly state that no time in history has a shaver had so many options. So badger, or boar, or synthetic, long live choice!
Semogue 830 left and Omega 10048 were top models
Of course there were the stalwarts who had remained in the premium bush market. Simpsons, Plisson, Muhle were some that were there before the hobby blew up. They offered high quality but expensive brushes. Some of those knots were exquisite.
Here is a Jagger Example of a pre-hobby blowup. Great old school silvertip knot.
During this era there were several synthetic knot options. I wish I’d kept a few around but suffice it to say they were more akin to my toothbrush than to shaving kit. I had a NOS Fuller with a nylon knot and it was terrible. Felt like a parts washer more than a shaving brush.
So popularity of old school shaving started to blow up and suddenly many more options for high end brushes were available. Omega and Semogue released more models in boar and…….miracle of miracles, Plisson released a nice synthetic knot called Plissoft. This put the value of a good synthetic in the hands of an average Joe.
Here is a LiOccitane Plisson brush from that era. It was a game changer where suddenly hobbyists could rebuild vintage handles with modern knots. Places like The Golden Nib offered us Badger knots in varying grades and prices at prices less than half of a Simpsons. And buddy then stuff really went nuts.
Stagg Lucite with Golden Nib Silvertip, Ever-Ready 150 with a Plissoft, Ever-Ready with Tux knot. We all knew the names and model numbers of vintage handles. What great times!
With this new found popularity and dollars, more business arose and places like West Coast, Maggard, and Italian Barber came in with both badger, boar, and synthetic offerings. Synthetic really grew there for a time and many new knots showed up
Teton Shaves experimental knot, Razorock with Boss knot, Vintage Ever-Ready with Tuxudo knot, and Teton Shaves Badger Synth. There were white knots and tan knots and fan and bulb and flat top knots. And the trend continues today although not at this fevered pitch.
Remember when we all had to have a “premium” boar and the Semogue Owners Club was, and still is that!
So there you have my viewpoint of the crazy brush days. Silvertip badger, long thought the pinnacle of brushes gave way to Two Band badger because “backbone” was the rage. Then it was treated tips to make “gel knots” that were in my opinion a very boring brush because of very limited feedback from my skin. Now we are in then”hand tied” era which in my mind is sort of silly because no knots in badger aren’t hand tied! Makers came and went. Others came and went and came again. I can honestly state that no time in history has a shaver had so many options. So badger, or boar, or synthetic, long live choice!