The Symphony of Shaving Accessories

Aaah the shaving brush.  What better shaving accessories to spend a bit of time contemplating and writing about.  It has a wonderful image, one that harkens back to the turn of the 20th century.  The corner barber shop, a place of camaraderie where everyone met to exchange views on the subject of the day.  A simpler, kinder time and place.  Well maybe not really, but it’s still fun to contemplate.

While in use as early as ancient Egypt, the true reign of the shaving brush began with the invention of the straight razor in the early 19^th. .  That made it no longer necessary to see a barber to get a shave.   It could be done at home and every man had a shaving brush and cup on his nightstand.  The wealthy were happy to spend, for the time, extravagant amounts of money on brushes with gold, silver or crystal handles and the most exotic bristles.   The shaving brush held sway until the mid-20^th century when the advent of the aerosol foam can rendered it obsolete.   Although a shade of its former greatness, it hasn’t totally disappeared.  It continues in use today with a small but growing cadre of fans who continue to use the shaving brush and fervently sing its’ praises.

While the handles are the status symbol the business end, the bristles, is where the action is.  From the very beginning, because of its’ durability, water retention properties and soft, pliable texture, badger hair was the preferred medium. While boar’s hair and, more recently, synthetics have attempted to supplant it, badger hair still remains on the top of the heap. But is all badger hair the same?  No not even close.  Typically badger hair is broken down into three grades.  Although some manufactures cut the distinctions even finer.  Those three grades are pure, best and silvertip.

• Pure grade  badger hair comes from the underbelly, an area that covers about 60% of the badger’s body and is therefore the most abundant and least expensive.  The hair follicle is a bit thicker than best and silvertip and as a result is a bit coarser than their brethren.  Its color varies between a light tan to dark gray.  Unlike the other two, pure grade bristles are mechanically trimmed during the manufacturing process and that results in a stiffer, rough tip.
• Best grade badger hair is next on the totem pole.  The hair in this category tends to be a bit finer and more flexible than the pure grade.  Best grade brushes tend to be denser and as a consequence produce more lather.  They typically don’t require trimming so they are more comfortable to use than the pure.
• Silvertip badger hair is the top of the line both in quality and price.  It’s called silvertip because the tips of the bristles are white in color which extends well down the shaft.  The bristle has a somewhat flared shape that increases its water retention and therefore its ability to create thick, creamy lather.

No matter what the quality level.  Shaving with a badger hair shaving brush is a “hair rising” experience since it softens and lifts the whiskers, resulting in an extremely close and comfortable shave.  So hats off to furry our four legged friends.  For their fur makes our comfort possible.

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