Care of Shaving Brush

D

dalee100

Joined
Mar 15, 2008
Messages
1,539
Hi,

I just had my first experience with shaving soap and a brush. Nothing fancy, just a VDH Boar hair brush with one of their soaps. I spent a few minutes searching and reading about how to use them. I think I did OK, got a decent lather despite the hard water we have. And I got a much better shave than I thought I would. The whole experience was enjoyable and I plan to repeat it tomorrow.

But I have no real clue about how to care for my brush. I just rinsed it out after I was done and lightly squeezed the water out. I then just set it upright on the butt of the handle to air dry. Would it be better to hang it brush down? Do I need to remove excess water? Should I dance in a circle and what Canticle should I sing?:D:D Who knew there was so much to learn about the art of shaving?

dalee
 
Rinse out well. Shake out excess water. It's best not to wring as that can be stressful to the brush. I do believe that it is best to hang the brush to dry. Setting in the end is for use while shaving. Otherwise, brushes don't need much.
 
Rinse, thorough shaking and hang upside down. If you've got (or will get) a couple of brushes, so much the better as you have a rotation.

Badger and the one synthetic I have, return to shape very well, Boar less so, it can look a bit spiky. Main thing, never enclose a wet brush in a bag or tube etc
 
I read on badgerandblade.com you should use 20 mule team borax on a brush once every 6 months or so, but I've never done it in 3 and a half years of using my badger brush. I rinse all the soap out my shaving bowl, then I swirl the brush in the bottom of the bowl while letting hot water run into it. This helps remove a lot of the soap. I give it a light squeeze to make sure there's no excess soap. If there is, I rinse it some more and swirl it in the bowl with more hot water. I give the brush a light squeeze and if there's no soap I'll go ahead and shake the water out. Then I hang it upside down to dry.
 
After I'm done shaving, I make a ring around the bristles with my thumb and index finger, squeeze, and pull upward to wring out the soap in the brush. Then I make a light ring around the bristles again, let water run into the bristles, and pump water in and out of the brush.

After that, I go to the bathtub and whip out any excess water.

I do happen to have a stand, but I don't believe in the whole "point the brush toward gravity" thing. Unless your brush is still dripping, the dampness in the bristles isn't going to be affected by gravity at all. If anything, it makes it more difficult for the moisture to escape out the "top," because the "top" is now the handle, which is closed.

So basically, I doubt it makes much difference if you stand your brush up or hang it.
 
I had a Williams shaving brush from Walmart; I think it was identical to the VLH. All I ever did was rinse it thoroughly after each use and shake it dry and place it handle down on the counter. It lasted about 18 months; then I lost it during a trip through Oklahoma. I now am using an Omega/Proraso boar hair brush. I rinse it thoroughly after each use and shake it dry and have made a stand for it. It is almost three years old now. So my advice is rinse thoroughly, shake dry and repack carefully when travelling.
 
Hi,

Thanks for all the help you guys have been giving this old newbie. I've been shaving for 40 years without much care or thought to what I was doing. I almost feel like a adolescent, learning about how to shave all over again. There was definitely a meditative quality to the experience.

I did notice the bristles looking a bit spiky this morning. But I've seen boar bristle paint brushes look the same, so I wasn't overly concerned. I will refrain from squeezing the water out after the rinse. Just giving it a shake makes sense. And I think I might do the borax soak after a few months if I can remember to do it. It should help dissolve the soap build up that simple rinsing doesn't get.

I think I will probably become a brush hanger I guess. While I think I can agree with THG about it perhaps not really mattering too much either way. It just seems a bit more "righter", as my one Grandson would say. I think I have some 10ga solid copper wire scraps around here that would make a nice brush and razor stand. Might be a fun project.

dalee
 
i just rinse and shake out the extra water. i dont bother to hang upside down or anything special.

3 years later and my badger brush is still good as new so dont be too concerned about anything extra you feel you have to do to take care of the brush.
 
I did a video about shaving brush maintenance a while back that might help:

[video=youtube;7dRVZz83ago]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dRVZz83ago[/video]
 
mantic59 said:
I did a video about shaving brush maintenance a while back that might help:

[video=youtube;7dRVZz83ago]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dRVZz83ago[/video]
Click to expand...

You're on here also?

Hmm that's something i never would have expected!
 
BasiliOS said:
You're on here also?

Hmm that's something i never would have expected!
Click to expand...
No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! ;)
151820__si_l.jpg
 
Hi,

I have spent some quality time watching your videos after I found out about them.:thumbup: While I grew up learning how to use a DE razor, it's been a few years to say the least.

Shaving soap and brushes are a new experience for me. So I've watched your videos and read about them here and in other places to learn. Still got a ways to go to learn what it takes to get a good consistent lather to build, (hard water bites), but it has made shaving a bit more fun again.

Keep up what you are doing, it helps use newbies!

dalee
 
Oh yeah, hard water bite. I switched over to using the water from the dehumidifier it made a world of difference
 
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