Thread: Steven's Woodworking Brushes (2)

Gentlemen, for your gratification I present a review of two Steven's woodworking brushes from Straight Razor Designs.








Brush #1

Knot: 28mm silvertip light bulb shaped.
Loft: 63mm
Overall length: 140mm
Handle: Ebony Stabilized with Danish Oil, hand rubbed finish


Quaility: 9.5
The knot lost three hairs and since has not lost any at all even under extremely robust brushing. I do not consider this an issue at all. The precision is pretty amazing: the knot is seated well and epoxied very nicely in place. Overall the dimensions are quite well balanced for such a large brush.
Post bloom this is a monster lather lash!

Lather making ability

Soap: 10
Despite being soft, the bristles have enough backbone to load with soap very easily.
1min to load
3mins to fully whipped lather (using a glycerin based soap softened with hot water)


Cream:10
2mins start to finish with an almond sized snurdle of AOS sandalwood crème and a deep mug. This thing rocketed straight to thick lather because of its size and density.


Face lathering:9
Super soft on the face and very nice cushion (resistance to being crushed against my skin). The brush is very thirsty and I had to work a little to get the lather to release once it was made in the bristles.
6mins start to finish (using a glycerin based soap softened with hot water)


Bristle stiffness/softness: 10
Here is where the brush really shines. The bristles are plenty soft for the first 10-12mm and then the density of the knot and quality of the bristles start to exhibit some backbone. The harder you push the more it digs in without being floppy. As I stated this allows it to load on cake soap very nicely and really scare up your whiskers on the first application. The density of the knot provides a nice pull on your face as it seals to your skin when full of lather. The amazing thing is that the brush still feels soft during all of this.


Heat retention: 10
This was simply amazing. I presoaked the brush before each use in 100 degree hot water. During the soap lathering using a mug to make lather after loading the brush, I made three applications of lather with 6-7mins between applications in between which I left the brush standing upright in 70 degree humid post shower bathroom air. The brush felt hot in the middle even on the last pass.

Additional notes:
I have a very deep mug (3.5”) and this makes the overall length of the brush very welcome. The handle still feels like wood and yet it is dense and heavier than expected (even for ebony). It is holding up like a champion against the lather and water.


The bristles are soft and stiff at the same time.


Brush #2

Knot: 24mm silvertip light bulb shaped.
Loft: 53mm
Overall length: 125mm
Handle: Marblewood Stabilized with Danish Oil, Sealed, finished with waterlox Exterior marine gloss finish (Modified Tung Oil)


Quaility: 10
Well seated knot, tight tolerances, even finish.

Lather making ability

Soap: 10
This brush loaded very easily because the bristles are perfectly balanced between stiff and soft. It’s as though the tips are soft and the base is firmer allowing the brush to really respond to the soap by digging in and loading.
1min to load
4mins to whipped lather (using glycerin based soap pre-softened with hot water)


Cream:10
The density of the bristles played out here by allowing me to pump the brush with astounding effects.
4mins (using an almond sized snurdle of AOS Sandalwood Crème)


Face lathering:10
I didn’t have any trouble getting a good deal of lather made with this brush either. The smaller knot gave up the lather a little easier and makes me think that I need to use a little more water with the bigger brush. The real star here, again, is the bristles.

Bristle stiffness/softness: 10
An amazing almost dual action bristle as I noted above. Stiff enough where you need it, soft where you want it to be. Very luxurious.

Heat retention:9
Maybe it was being spoiled by the big boy and its ample breech I could detect a slight cooling (still very warm) center on the third application. I made 3 passes with 6-7min between each pass and left the brush standing in between passes in a 70 degree humid bathroom.

Additional notes:
The turning is beautifully accomplished on this brush with obvious attention paid to the grain of the wood. The top coat of Marine grade gloss finish (known as waterlox) has a slightly rubbery feel to it that gives the brush a positive grip without being too fake feeling. I cannot imagine that the handle will ever suffer any water damage being both Danish oil stabilized and coated in this bomb proof finish.


These guys bloomed beautifully.

Final thoughts:

This is a fantastic value in a brush, great backbone, silver tip knots, fantastic wood choices and great sizes make this almost a no brainer if you are looking to upgrade your lather maker. I would choose one of these over a Simpson any day of the week since it has very similar bristle characteristics at about a third the cost. Plus, I am a sucker for matte finished ebony.

Shown here post bloom with an AOS Brush on the right (fan shaped badger)


Loaded with soap, large breach!


Mountains of lather!

Lather on a handle!

Thanks Rob, nicely detailed review, I look forward to trying one of those myself

Originally Posted by sicboater

Alright, then... time to get that razor out!

I have been thinking of a long handled brush to add to the stable...
Thanks for the review Rob

Great review, very objective and to the point.

Al raz.

very nice brushes and a great review i think its time to upgrade from my $25 vulvix

Until you send me one I wont feel gratified!

I love these brushes, I was wondering how come the "silverness" of this brush and even other silver tip brushes is much duller than shavemac silvertip brushes which have much more of a lighter silver/shinny look...?

Is the camera light changing the brush?
Is time / use breaking down the silverness?

So in a way Im asking what makes the brush tips more shinny?
Is a shinny-er (pardon the grammar) brush better? softer?


Thanks in advance...

Light bulb shaped, never thought of them that way. Think more floral, tulip and pear shaped. The Ebony is Gaboon Ebony, the densest, darkest best of the African ebony family. Rips the life from a sharp Forstner bit and lathe tools, none to easy on band saw blades either.