DOOD.CA: Guy Stuff

The Golden Nib’s Finest XH Badger knot is probably the most popular and well known of all their knots and possibly one of the most talked about shave knots in all of shavedom, and for good reason. This is a fantastic 2-band knot with very nice density, scrub and soft tips that compares (in my opinion) with some of the top brands out there. 2-Band knots are usually sold at a premium with the high end brands, and have a very solid and loyal following.

TGN brings to the table a high quality 2-Band Badger in the mid $20 range, which is several times cheaper than the big brands. TGN has released a new Premium Finest 2-Band knot as well recently that I have not yet tried and won’t be able to compare this to those slightly more expensive knots yet – but I can’t wait to try them too!

This knot has a good amount of density, just enough for it to feel good on the face, and not too much to affect flow-through and latherability. When set at a low loft, it has incredible scrub and amazing exfoliation – when set at higher loft, it makes a great bowl latherer and still scrubs and exfoliates well because the hair has such great backbone. All tips are natural and not trimmed in the TGN Finest.

As you can see, this knot has creamy white tips that are hooked and twisty. The hooked tips occur after a few uses and the result is the gel-like tips that compare with the lengendary Rooney 2XL. One Caveat: Not all TGN Finests develop the gel-like tips, as some batches vary. I have four TGN Finests, and three of them have gel-like tips, one does not.

The TGN 2-Band is an interesting hair because it is quite a coarse grade of hair providing plenty of backbone that face latherers in particular seek out. However, the TGN finest also exhibits extremely soft and fine tips which result in the gel-like experience. I remember when I first got this knot, I worried because the tips would always dry hard and it was difficult to get the soap out because of the gelling of the tips. Now I just enjoy it!

TGN Finest Badger Knot Specs and Rating:

Softness: 8
Scratchy		Soft
Scrub: 8
Gentle		Scrubby
Density: 7
Sparse		Dense
Hair Thickness: 9
Thin		Thick
Flow-Through: 6
Lather Giver		Lather Hog

This is my first installment in the TGN Knot Review series to help potention buyers of The Golden Nib Shaving brush knots have an idea of what they are buying since TGN doesn’t give the best descriptions. Hopefully you will find this review of the TGN Best Badger knot helpful!

The TGN Best Badger is a very good knot, and actually more expensive than the Standard Silvertip knot from TGN, and in my opinion, better. The Best knot I have here is a 22mm Extra Density knot that does not appear to be offered anymore on TGN. The hairs are a mixture of trimmed hair and naturally terminating tips, with a variety of grey, brown and banded badger hairs. The end result is a slightly banded, mixed blend of hairs that provide a fair amount of backbone, and has a similar softness/scritchiness as Edwin Jagger Best. It is a bit more scritchy than Simpsons Best.

See the close up above, showing the tip variety more closely. You can see that there are quite a few tips that are naturally terminating and that helps towards softness. The hairs are of a medium thickness, which gives the knot decent backbone, but not quite as much as a TGN Finest 2-Band. The TGN Best knot is above the standard Silvertip in quality, but not as good as any of the other silvertip or finest knots from TGN in my opinion. If you prefer the feel of a little scritch, however, it is a good choice for you as none of the higher end Silvertips nor the Finests have any scritch. Flow-through is average on this knot, and it gives it up when necessary.

TGN Best Badger Knot Specs and Rating:

Softness: 5
Scratchy		Soft
Scrub: 5
Gentle		Scrubby
Density: 6
Sparse		Dense
Hair Thickness: 6
Thin		Thick
Flow-Through: 5
Lather Giver		Lather Hog

Queen Charlotte Soaps Esquire After Shave Balm
Product: Aftershave
Size: 30ml/1oz
Origin: Handmade in USA
Price: $10.00

I reviewed the Queen Charlotte Soaps Esquire Pre-Shave a few months back, and now I’m back with a review of the ASB (After Shave Balm). If you checked out the pre-shave lotion review, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan fo the QCS line of products and have several of their Pre-Shave Lotions, After Shave Balms and Shaving Creams and soaps.

Esquire is my favourite scent from Queen Charlotte Soaps, and is formulated with only Essential Oils, always a plus in my book. In case you didn’t tune in for my earlier review on QCS products, they are a small artisan soapmaker from Queen Charlotte, NC in the USA and they make fantastic shaving creams, soaps and other related products.

The Aftershave Balm comes in a small 1oz pump bottle with a very plain label. This is actually the old label, as QCS just recently revamped their logo slightly, but I bought this about five months ago prior to the change. The Esquire scent is described as “a complex scent that starts with fresh, clean citrus notes, which are quickly joined by luxurious sandalwood”. Its a fantastic scent that in my mind rivals that of some of the classic English shaving companies, and even exceeds many of them. Probably one of my top three scents in all of Shaving. Its definately great for those who are fans of Citrus, but the Sandalwood isn’t very strong. There is definately a earthy bass note in there, perhaps some vetiver.

This After Shave balm requires about two pumps to get good coverage on the face, which means the bottle won’t last too long. I’ve had it for about 5 months and I use it in rotation with several other products and its probably 1/3 gone. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was all gone in two months if used daily at my rate of use, which makes it quite expensive. But lets be honest here, I have more than enough after shave to last me half a decade… chances are they’ll go bad before their finished. This small bottle is probably more practical than a 100ml bottle for three times the price – the price that most other premium ASB’s go for.

A shot of the ingredient list on the back, which gives you an idea of the base. Good product that gives fantastic moisturizing after a great shave. I love how this Balm leaves my face feeling very smooth, calm and fragrant. Its not a super strong scent, so its not likely that others will smell it on you later, but it lingers just a bit. There is no chill or burn from this ASB, it just calms and moisturizes.

I’m still a huge fan of the Esquire scent and QCS products in general. I use several of their products and enthusiastically recommend them. Happy Shaving!

Score:
Scent: 10/10
Moisturizing: 9/10
Performance: 9/10
Packaging: 6/10
Value: 7/10
Overall: 9/10

Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (Fractionated Coconut Oil), Emulsifying Wax NF, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Oats, Cetyl Alcohol, Sodium Lactate, Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol, Allantoin, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Fragrance (Essential Oil), Panthenol, Isopropyl Myristate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit

I always had a fascination with Synthetic brushes, and Muhle, being the most famous for their Synethics because interesting to me. I wanted to try one of their latest Synthetic Silvertip brushes, but the price was quite high. I ended up settling for this Synthetic Black Badger as a price compromise as these are quite a bit more affordable than the flaship Silvertip Fiber brushes.

When I puchased this Black Synthetic, it was my first real synthetic brush (The $6 Wilkinson Sword Brush Doesn’t Count!) so I had nothing to compare it with but now I have used and bought a few others, giving me a bit more of a benchmark to compare it to, and more information to provide you guys with a somewhat more detailed review and comparison to others I have experienced.

Specs:
Knot Size: 21mm
Loft: 58mm
Handle Height: 55mm
Handle Diameter: 40mm
Glue Bump: None
MSRP: $83USD

When I first received this Muhle, I was surprised by the lack of density in the knot. I was expecting something that felt like most badger or boar knots I had owned in the past, but this was very sparse feeling and I was concerned how well it would lather and pick up soap when loading. While the brush tips were very soft, it probably had about less 1/2 the density that I was expecting it to have. The hairs are definately not natural feeling, and have this sort of plastic/nylon feel to them when touching the base or rubbing it dry against my hands.

All of this is really not important I guess if it lathers and applies cream to the face properly, right? Well, kinda I guess. Let’s be honest: We’re all shave enthusiasts here. I personally love the feel of a badger or boar brush, and nylon feel that these synthetic brushes have doesn’t feel “right” to me, even on the face. However, they have their uses, especially when travelling. The Basic 1 in particular due to the lack of density dries very quickly.

The handle is beautifully crafted, like all of Muhle’s handles, with a faux-horn main section and a chrome-plated base. The shape is a standard “cone” type of handle, which is a simpler design, but elegant in its execution. The handle feels good in the hand, and the high polished acrylic faux-horn is very nice to the touch. The Muhle windmill Logo is printed on the brush as well. Like all Muhle Brushes, the Basic 1 is made in Germany.

When lathering, the brush has a strange feel to be because the fibers are very sparse. It is awkward to bowl lather because there isn’t much there to bowl lather with it feels like, but it does whip up the lather very well. With time, you’ll probably get used to the properties of this Black Synthetic Badger brush from Muhle, but it is definately tricky in the beginning. Like most Synthetics, it definately requires less product to get going. You can probably use half or two-thirds the amount you normally use and it just works… the brush has fantastic flow-through and barely hogs any lather which also makes it more efficient.

Overall its a good brush that I love to use when I am travelling. Do I ever use it when I’m not travelling? Almost never. I much prefer my badger and boar brushes over this little Black Fiber Brush from Muhle, but if you’re a Vegan or just don’t like the idea of using animal hair in your brushes, then this might fit the bill. I have tried the higher end silvertip fiber brushes from Muhle, and they are a step up in terms of feel and performance, but they still have similar nylon/plastic feel and unnatural splaying when you push it against your face when face lathering. Still good, but not for everyone. Additionally, some synthetics have a tendancy to smell funny if they’re not rinsed well after use. I haven’t noticed that as much with this one, but keep that in mind when using!

Density: Low/Sparse
Backbone: Floppy
Softness: Very Soft
Flow Through: Excellent

Handle Comfort: 8/10
Good for Soaps: 7/10
Good for Creams: 7/10
Bowl Lathering: 6/10
Face Lathering: 7/10
Value: 6/10
Overall: 7/10

Weleda Natural Shaving Cream
Product: Shaving Cream
Size: 75ml/2.5oz
Origin: Made in Germany
Street Price: $9.99
Price Per ml: $0.13

Weleda is a popular Natural Products company based in Germany, and their products are readily available in many of the larger Natural Foods and Products retailers such as Whole Foods. Their Shaving cream is also one of the few natural products companies’ Shaving Creams that actually lathers worth a damn and gives a fellow a decent shave! I’ve tried most of the nautral

The Weleda shaving cream comes in a metal tube, with an outer box that has ingredients listed as well as an insert that contains instructions and other informations. The packaging is pretty sparse as far as design goes – typical of this German Comapny. Weleda products are all very similar in design, and like most of their other products, the price is very reasonable for a quality natural product that is made in Germany. One thing to keep in mind is that this product only has a shelf life of 9 months after opening.

For this review, I whipped up the Weleda Shaving cream in my warmed Pottersong scuttle with my 24mm restored Fuller Brush. Its a great bowl-lathering brush and really does a great job whipping the Weleda Shave cream up. One thing you’ll notice about the smell of the Weleda is that its slightly medicinal smelling, but in a sort of new-agey way. It smells of plant and flower extracts, and while not unpleasant, it isn’t entirely pleasant either. Lets put it this way, if this scent was a cologne, no one would buy it.

The cream is no slouch, and whips up a decent amount of lather. Its nowhere near the league of the major english creams or even Proraso and the Italian Croaps, but it is more than acceptable and for those looking to use a more natural product, it is a good choice. However, with many of the other major brands producing products that are more and more natural, there may be better options out there depending on your tastes.

And there she is, fully whipped and ready to do. I got a very good shave from the stuff, but not outstanding. You do need to use a bit more cream than usual, but the lather is thick and stays. The cream isn’t quite as moisturizing as I would have liked, and its not the slickest out there, but it was a good shave and I’d be happy to use it again. However, I will not be buying more when it runs out.

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Potassium Stearate, Glycerin, Potassium Olivate, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Stearate, Fragrance (Parfum)*, Viola Tricolor (Pansy) Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Fruit Extract, Caprae Lac (Goat Milk), Sodium Olivate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Silicate, Magnesium Sulfate, Alcohol, Limonene*, Linalool*, Citronellol*.
* From natural essential oils

The ingredient list is natural and the product does not irritate most skins, which is a good thing for those with sensitive skin. If your skin is not sensitive and you don’t care for the natural stuff, Weleda is probably not for you. It is a trade off of scent and performance for a healthy, natural and non-irritating product.

Scent: 5/10
Lather: 6/10
Cushion: 8/10
Glide: 5/10
Moisturizing: 6/10
Packaging: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Overall: 6/10

Associated Products Used in This Review: Restored Fuller Shaving Brush with Ace Shaving Extra Density 24mm Silvertip Knot, Pottersong Shaving Mug.