SharpSpine
Master Shaver
My Flavor Sabre
Posts: 1,151
|
Post by SharpSpine on Nov 9, 2012 12:07:33 GMT -6
Just some unboxing pics of the new Wet Shaving Products (WSP) Monarch Super Badger 2-band brush that I received today. Dimensions according to WSP are 23/53. Great looking box, I love the simple elegance. Very well protected. All of the contents. The main act. Nice density. From the moment I pulled the brush out it simply scream quality. The handle is simply beautiful to behold. I've always been a fan of the Kent style, but their knots have never really appealed to me. Now I can have the best of both. Nice heft and a gorgeous grain to the handle. The knot has a very thick dark band which is expected with a "2-band" brush from the Manchurian badger. Some lighter coloring is noticed as the shafts exit the handle. Even dry the tips feel amazingly soft. Upon initial inspection these tips (creamier portion above the dark band) appear to be longer than my other 2-band brushes but I'll have to compare them side by side to really know. Now that I have this brush in hand I highly doubt that I'll be able to avoid picking up the Super Silvertip 3-band version which Teiste recently reviewed. Very soon I will be using this brush for the first time. After a few uses I'll will post my attempt at a review as long as you promise not to hold me to Teiste standards!
|
|
|
Post by wchnu on Nov 9, 2012 12:50:23 GMT -6
Nice looking brush. Hope it works as good as it looks.
|
|
SharpSpine
Master Shaver
My Flavor Sabre
Posts: 1,151
|
Post by SharpSpine on Nov 9, 2012 13:54:17 GMT -6
Test lather & Bloom shots... Nice creamy UltraLather from TABAC. Very dense. Bloom! This was just palm lather so I can't comment on face-feel yet. However, I can say with confidence that the tips are softer than the SOC 2-band & also whiter.
|
|
SharpSpine
Master Shaver
My Flavor Sabre
Posts: 1,151
|
Post by SharpSpine on Nov 9, 2012 13:57:30 GMT -6
Nice looking brush. Hope it works as good as it looks. So do I! I'll be using it for a few shaves and then I'll put my thoughts together on it.
|
|
RocketMan
Gem Star
RazorAddict
Welcome To The Sharp Side!
Posts: 4,167
|
Post by RocketMan on Nov 9, 2012 18:59:56 GMT -6
That is a very good looking brush. I am impressed with your lather too. I love that pic of 'dense' cream, with that spikey looking lather hairdoo!!! Great stuff!
Looking forward to your review. We'll forgive you too if you don't come up to the 'Teiste Standard' of prose!
|
|
SharpSpine
Master Shaver
My Flavor Sabre
Posts: 1,151
|
Post by SharpSpine on Nov 10, 2012 1:25:56 GMT -6
Quick first impressions gents as my Krampert's Finest is still soaking in.
The 2-band Monarch is sublime. Scritchless tips (absolutely zero prickliness) and extremely soft while the hair shafts are resilient enough to still offer great backbone. I tried both circular & back-and-forth motions. The brush splays just enough without opening up the breach which can cause water to drain out too quickly. Speaking of water, it can hold volumes! With a 30s load on Cella I had enough lather for my 3-pass shave plus plenty for another 3 passes. There was a good bit of water still in the brush as I squeezed out the excess. I will definitely need to shake off more next time.
Here is my initial comparison to the SOC 2-band. While early, it's still clear that the tips are a good deal softer on the Monarch. The SOC has a comfortable lead in the backbone category as more pressure is needed to cause splaying, yet the Monarch still has a padded wall of badger feel to it in use.
|
|
|
Post by alex2363 on Apr 3, 2013 22:17:59 GMT -6
Great un-boxing/review, i think i may get one, i already have the Prince 2 band.
|
|
SharpSpine
Master Shaver
My Flavor Sabre
Posts: 1,151
|
Post by SharpSpine on Apr 5, 2013 9:08:49 GMT -6
Alex, if you like denser brushes hen I'd wait a little longer until the 2-band SuperFine Stubby brushes are available. I'll be getting one as soon as they are available as well as another using the Finest hair from the Prince range.
|
|
|
Post by galhatz on Jul 2, 2013 12:46:35 GMT -6
Quick first impressions gents as my Krampert's Finest is still soaking in. The 2-band Monarch is sublime. Scritchless tips (absolutely zero prickliness) and extremely soft while the hair shafts are resilient enough to still offer great backbone. I tried both circular & back-and-forth motions. The brush splays just enough without opening up the breach which can cause water to drain out too quickly. Speaking of water, it can hold volumes! With a 30s load on Cella I had enough lather for my 3-pass shave plus plenty for another 3 passes. There was a good bit of water still in the brush as I squeezed out the excess. I will definitely need to shake off more next time. Here is my initial comparison to the SOC 2-band. While early, it's still clear that the tips are a good deal softer on the Monarch. The SOC has a comfortable lead in the backbone category as more pressure is needed to cause splaying, yet the Monarch still has a padded wall of badger feel to it in use. Brian, it has been a while since the initial comparison. How would you rate these SOC and the WSP now?
|
|
SharpSpine
Master Shaver
My Flavor Sabre
Posts: 1,151
|
Post by SharpSpine on Jul 4, 2013 7:24:29 GMT -6
I got rid of my SOC 2-band quite some time ago. After finding the WSP brushes & knots I realized that I didn't need to put up with scritch. The WSP knots have ample backbone but still no where near as much as the SOC. Currently the only badgers that I'm using are WSP; primarily custom at that.
|
|