After I washed the brush with shampoo and dried. I lathered up with it the next morning. Oh, the feel against my skin reminded me of the old time town barber shave. The feel and quality is truly amazing. After I initially washed it, dry and used it. I had not one hair/bristle come out. I found the Parker silver tip to be far superior than The Art of Shaving brush pure badger and the other two pure badger. I wouldn't mention them, they are not worth it.

This brush is large, making it easy to create lots of lather. It also makes it easy and quick to put the lather on your face. Additionally, the brush is "stiff" yet soft. The number of hairs that are in the knot make the brush stand stiff and strong which increases the brush's ability to create a lather. It is soft enough to lather your face with. This highly contrasts with the boar hair brushes that are extremely stiff.

One drawback. The first time you wet this brush it will smell like a dead, wet badger. You will need to thoroughly clean this brush.

To get the smell out of the brush, I washed it multiple times in dawn dish detergent and let it sit for a day in the dawn/water solution. I did this at least 4 days. By this time, the smell is bearable to use on your face. After a week of using my favorite shave soap, The soap fragrance infused the hairs to completely remove the stench.

I have tried many shave brushes and this brush is right up there with the best. For a silvertip, the price can't be beat. It's very full and has a nice backbone. Lathers up my soaps and creams with ease. It has a high coverage area so can quickly lather my entire face with ease. It is large, like a big, blooming onion! Definitely hang it to dry even though it stands well on its chrome base.

This is probably going to be hard to believe, given that subject headline, and the content that's to follow, but I wasn't coerced or compensated in any fashion for this review.

I've been shaving with a safety razor for perhaps the last two years, and never considered the brush all that important.

I saw brushes that sell for $16 or $20 that have reviews just as good as this one. And now that I've actually tried a silvertip brush, I just don't know how people could do that.

Don't get me wrong, the $16 or $20 brush is going to work, just not nearly as well. It's not nearly the same experience.

First, those brushes are pretty damn coarse which can irritate your skin. The softness of this brush is incredible.

The second issue with those other brushes, is the absorption of water and soap. It's like night and day. Those cheaper brushes actually make it easier to whip up the soap into a nice lather, but that's because it's just mixing the water and soap and doesn't actually absorb much of either.

You have to make a few passes at your face to spread the soap effectively.

This brush absorbed everything pretty much immediately, which left far less water and soap in the bowl than I'm used to. I honestly thought I had done something wrong even though I've been through this process enough times.

It only took a single pass to get my face lathered up well.

Honestly, if you can afford it...and even if you can't, get this brush.

I've only used it twice so I can't comment on durability but I'm hoping the money spent on this will be worth it in terms of how long the brush lasts. I'll update this review if it seems like the durability is poor after a couple months of use.

...not nearly as important, in my opinion, is the handle itself. I mean, what you really want is that amazing silvertip badger bristle, but I have to say the handle itself is also head and shoulders better than others.

It has a nice heavy feel to it.

Let me just say I am a first time user to the brush/cream experience. After 2 decades of shaving. I am kicking myself for not joining the club earlier. I stayed away from this assuming the amount of time it would add to the morning routine and frankly it felt like a bit of a production for a daily activity. But after a week this feels more natural and takes about the same or a smidge extra time.

After seeing the 5-star review here and the $200+ price tag on an "art of selling" product in the mall, I thought I would go with this. The build is amazing for the price. It is a smart looking brush. Wish I could say the same for the stand but the stand does its job without any fuss.

I have been using the brush for 5 weeks now. I am using this in conjunction with Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream Bowl, 5.3-Ounce. This is important because being a newbie I tried using the brush in combination with the cheap shaving gel that I had always used and that was a learning experience.

About a day after I ordered the brush, I got an email from Howie whose 6 tips have helped pulled back the world from the brink of a nuclear disaster. Not really, but I have followed those instructions religiously (using, cleaning, storing) and the brush, in turn, has performed just as admirably. On a serious note, I do appreciate the initiative by the company in educating its customers - especially those who may be new to this.

The brush feels a little too soft against the face - I typically don't hold it by the handle - I hold it at the base of the bristles to work up a lather on my face instead of the bowl and make it feel firm. I have gotten used to the technique. Although Howie may disapprove. But that's about the only complaint I have with this brush.

And, no, I certainly didn't get paid for this review.