Badger Hair - A Primer
For those of you who aren't master shavers (myself included) you may be interested in the different types of badger hair used in high-end shaving brushes. In fact, you might be interested in knowing why badger hair is the preferred medium of choice.
Badger hair is different to many types of fur - like human hair it absorbs water and it is this characteristic that makes badger hair perfect for shaving brushes. [...] Water is the key element in a good shave and the more a brush can hold, the better the lather and shave will be.
Don't even think about using human hair for shaving, unless of course it's your own. OK, now on to the three gradations of badger hair:
Silver Tip - this is the highest quality of all. The finely graded and sorted pure badger hair is the softest, rarest and most expensive badger hair; with natural untrimmed silver tips, it is the highest quality available in shaving brushes worldwide.
Super Badger - this is the finer hair from the back of the badger, it is longer and softer than 'best' badger and, because it is finer, requires more hairs to fill a brush.
Best Badger - this is an excellent quality of pure badger hair. [...] The hair is harvested from the majority of the pelt, including the belly. It is generally darker in colour although the colours of individual hairs vary from grey and brown to black.
Isn't it silly that the "best badger" is considered the lowest quality in this ranking system? FYI - "best badger" is still great. "Best badger" badger-hair brushes may run you $60, but they'll last forever if you treat them right. Of course you could pay hundreds for Silver Tip, and if you've got the money, go for it.
Special thanks to RazorSharpMale for the quotes.
Read More in: Old School Shaving
Share this Article with others:
Related Articles:
Came straight to this page? Visit Shaving Stuff for all the latest news.
Posted by Russell Neufeld at August 27, 2007 8:18 AM
Mailing List
Subscribe - RSS
