Luxury Shaving Brush for Men by VIKINGS BLADE, Ultra Heavy Acrylic & 316L Steel Handle, Super Strong Knot Backbone, Minimal Shedding, Fast Lather, Extremely Smooth & Plush on Skin (Dark Stallion)

Recently, I jumped into the shaving brush and shave soap bandwagon, because I wanted to reduce my plastics and metals use. My previous shave brush was also my first, and it was very poky, almost like needles and bristles against the skin. it was incredibly uncomfortable. But I have a couple friends who also use shave brushes, and quelled my concerns that the bristles would soften over time. Well, I have had the shave brush for a few months now, shaving every other day, and it's not getting any better. So I was on the lookout for something softer. I read online that silvertip badger hair was "The Luxury" shave brush you could purchase, but when I looked online, I wasn't all that excited about spending $50-$75 for a shaving brush (some over $120!). Some guys online claimed that synthetic silvertip was every bit as luxurious, and looking online, seeing the prices at literally half the real thing, I figured I would give it a try. Amazon recommended Viking's Blade Dark Raven, so I gave it a go. It's night and day. Where the last brush was just a miserable experience of anger and hatred, this brush is like a cloud caressing my face, whispering sweet nothings to my lather. It's really quite impressive how soft the brush is against my skin. My shaving experience has improved tremendously. I now really enjoy my shave in the shower. Aside from the soft touch against my cheeks and neck, I really love the weight of this brush. My last brush worked. I mean, it fit in my hand, worked up a good lather, and spread it on my face, but it didn't really sit well in my brush holder. I had never really given any thought to the weight of a shaving brush, but this brush fits perfect in my holder. And when working up the lather in my mug, and applying it to my face, I notice the weight of the brush in my hand. This may sound silly, but I've become much more mindful about my shaving experience. I really don't have anything to nit-pick about with this brush. I probably am sounding a bit like an emotional zealot, or a paid-off corporate shill (I'm neither), but this really is a phenomenal brush, and for half the price of real silvertip badger hair, I really recommend this brush.

Bought this for my husband a few months back and is exactly what he's looking for to shave. Great quality, no bristles falling out and it leaves his skin feeling so much better than shaving with cream from a can. I spent a lot of time (several days) looking for the right the brush and this is the one, so well made and a great price. It has no chemical smell and the bristles are soft and not sharp right from the start. It is a great size and stores well even for trips. I kept the original tube containerit came in to store it in when we travel. It keeps it clean and the bristles safe and compact. This is the one. Buy it!

Edit 2022… this badger brush is 5 years old! It’s still in amazing shape! (Photo) Items like these are like they made things long ago - to Last! If I didn’t love it why would I continue to update reviews? Because people post reviews from the first day or a week. Not much help. But you deserve to see a 5 year review. Edit 2020... If this brush is what you’re looking for BUY IT! Hadn’t realized I’d had the brush since ‘17. It has held up beautifully. I can honestly say since ‘17 about 10 hairs have come out. I treat the brush well. Rinse it well. But I don’t hang it upside down. Nothing special in the way I treat it. Low maintenance and the highest quality. Wonderful! I've used it for several weeks. I have Not found a single badger hair on my face after lathering, in the soap bowl or in the sink when I'm done! I'm not kidding. The brush is soft. Just a little bit of texture to help raise the facial hairs. It fills up with lather very nicely. The handle is Solid. Very nice weight to it. I have some arthritis in my hands so its a little heavy to spend a long time lathering. But this should not deter you in any way from buying it. In fact for nearly everyone the solid feel of the handle is a real plus. Further, the reviews regarding Julian, the seller, were so good I simply knew if I had a problem with anything Julian would make it right. Very reassuring when buying something you haven't held in your hand. I received the package quickly, well before expected. Everything I ordered was there. Very nicely packaged. Julian sent me an email making sure I was happy with the products. Which I assured him I was. But wanted to wait a few weeks before reviewing the brush to test it out. Well, you read my review. So if you want a best badger hair brush this might be the one you'll enjoy. Edit: so many years later. Still an excellent product. Has held up beautifully. Over the past year I’d say I never found a badger hair on my shave soap, sink, or face. Buy from this seller.

I would give this four and a half stars. It's a very good brush. It's strong enough backbone that you can really get in there and work your beard to lift the hairs but supple and soft enough that it creates a very good ladder. I've lost no hairs while using it. It dries relatively quickly and has no smell. It's synthetic which is appealing to me since it is sad to kill the animals just for my shaving brush experience. all in all a really good experience. Highly recommend. UPDATE since I purchased this one I have bought two others a Semogue 1800 boar bristle and The Simpsons Trafalgar T3. I found the T3 to be too large to enjoy although it whipped an amazing lather and I prefer this one. I found over time that the handle is really nice and easy to grip and wait it didn't originally appreciate that as much. This one does not have great backbone but it's not bad backbone it's less for sure than the T3 but the T3 was so big that loaded with shaving cream it was like moving a log across your face. This one allowed me to get in and do detail work. They could do a better job and do a taller Loft and slightly firmer backbone maybe increase the knot size by a millimeter or two.

(background) I'm relatively new to wet shaving, this is my 3rd brush that i purchased. I'm active duty Navy, I recently went on a 7 month deployment and this was the brush that I decided to bring along with me. 1). I did use this brush with a hard soap witch it clearly states not to do but those are more of like guide lines. It took about 1 month to lose the smell that it carried being real badger I knew it would have smell but it was quite potent the first few times that i used it however with some dish soap and washing it out the first few times it was use able after 4-5 washes. the first few washes it smelled and there on is slowly went away. after the break in period of losing a few hairs here in there (expected in new brushes) it took the better part of 5 months with use on hard soap before it started to lose hair. that being said I still use this brush every day for shaving and it only loses one or two hairs every so often witch for the price point is more then worth it. 2). FEEL & QUALITY : I enjoy the feel of the brush it is soft yet it still feels like it is exfoliating the skin and it creates a wonderful thick creamy lather from hard soaps, I have used it on cream soaps and it still makes a wonderful lather. The only reason that I decided to give it 4 starts instead of the full 5 is that the break in period lasted almost a month before the smell went away of DAILY use. The weight is nice it is really weighted in the bottom part and it almost helps the bristles just glide over your face softly and effectively SUMMARY: most of you will skip down and read this part. All in all I love this brush it got me through deployment and I still use it today I might upgrade to a silver tip brush but honestly for the price this is one of the nicest brushes you will buy, it has great feel and the weight in my hand is much better then the brush that you would buy from Walmart or just any other brush under $25.00. I will remind you be prepared to wash this brush out a few times before using it and it will have a brown stinky appearance to the water as you rinse it out but this is normal and is apart of the break in process If you are not sure Google is your best friend when it comes to wet shaving and how to break in you're new brush. Note: Being in the navy I do not have the ability to hang dry so I have to flick out the water and pre-dry the bristles with a towel witch will account for the brush losing hair here and there with more proper care of this brush I see it lasting a life time or close to it, I hope this Review helps you get a clear picture of this brush and buy it or walk away. Thank you for your time.

Very nice shaving lather brush. Made with all natural products. Hairs are soft but firm to work and apply the shaving soap/cream lather. The handle is made of walnut wood, strong and light weight. Nice quality overall. Would definitely recommend this over other products that are made out of plastic. I hope this to hold up for a long time. _

REVIEW UPDATE 3/12/17 I was contacted by Julian from Vikings Blade. Apparently there was a very small chance I received a brush from the old stock. These brushes have been upgraded and a new and improved batch came out Nov 2016. I was explained the old batch was removed and replaced by the new version but somehow I might have ended up with one of the old ones. My purchase came with a 30 day warranty so I was offered a free replacement but I was told that if I was looking for the "silvertip soft feel", the "White Knight" premium synthetic brush was the better choice. Julian explained how great these brushes are, made of quality synthetic fibers that absorb and retain water better than real badger plus they have firm bristles and the tips are soft, better, much better than the badger version. I was a little hesitant to take a synthetic. I have a few brushes in badger, boar and horse but I am not really into fake bristles. I was assured I was going to love it so I went for the synthetic version. The brush arrived the next day and man! what was I missing! Not only is this brush in ivory color gorgeous but the fibers look great with the white tip and they feel softer than real silvertip IMO. I used the brush that same day with Arko soap and face lathering for my shave, this brush worked like a champ. The knot has backbone and the tips soft and gentle. The brush lathered very fast, it hold enough lather for my 3 passes. At the end, the brush was easy to clean, dried quickly and retained its new shape. I used it again few days later but this time I wanted to know how good it will perform bowl lathering with hard soap. Well, it did great and just as my natural badgers, got the lather pretty quick with minimal effort and holding enough lather for 3 or more passes. If you are like me and have never tried a synthetic, give it a try because you are missing out. This is a great brush, It will perform very good and it will add a distinctive look to your bathroom. I am including pictures of my bowl lathering before, during and after the shave. Hope you find this long review informative and helps you decide. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I was thinking in rating it 4 stars but I had to be more honest in my review as this will help other buyers and even Vikings Blade by taking things into consideration. The good: The handle is just gorgeous! Black obsidian acrylic with the alloy base combination make this handle look and feel luxurious. The handle is heavy and comfortable to hold, you can feel quality that sets this brush handle aside for the others. The logo in the alloy is fantastic and adds an extra touch of quality. Made in Australia. The Bad: The badger knot is not up to this handle quality level. This badger hair is short and feels cheap and scratchy. My new quality horse brush by Vie-Long and premium boar brush by Semogue feels softer and provide better lathering! Badger is supposed to be a class above horse and boar but this badger is just inferior to my other brushes. This knot has no backbone, it’s hard to lather because there is minimal to no backbone. The brush also splits/opens on your face for the same reason. I will recommend Vikings Blade to go a step above and change these knots with quality badger hair knots (finest badger or super badger) but if they want to keep the "best badger" line and current price then to change these knot suppliers. Another great option for these good-looking handles is to change them to SUPER quality boar and horse knots but only if they can get the best, if they put cheap ones then will have the same result. Viking Blade is going in the right direction with quality shaving products at a good price but just need some improvement.

*EDIT* (05-05-21) I have had this guy for close to 5 years now. Crazy that it has been that long. Anyway, there is wear but I have neglected it. It can still take a beating. Shaves better than ever and has only lost a few hairs over the years with daily use. I recommend any day. *EDIT* (01-20-18) I have had this brush over a year now. I use it multiple times a week, sometimes twice a day and it is still going strong. I have lost a few hairs in the past year but it has been FEW. I have posted pics with what it looks like after a year. The logo has faded a little and the bottom metal piece has a few Sratches where I sit it up from time to time but no rust spots. I don’t dry the handle after use, I just hang it to air dry. This is one of the greatest investments you can make in wetshaving. I have put this thing through a beating. It is a tank of a brush and one I see myself using for many more years. Great quality great quality shave. (12-30-16) I am several months into wetshaving and wanted to upgrade from Van Der Hagan. I was in the brush market for weeks eyeballing Viking's Luxury Badger Brush from off the fence until I finally broke down and bought it. When I slid the brush out of its cylinder packaging I could instantly feel the great quality and knew I made the right decision. It has a nice weight to it and the badger is nice and soft. As I stated earlier, I wanted to try out something different than the VDH brand. Glad I chose Vikings first. I probably would have spent a lot more money on other brushes just to eventually find out that the best one for a low budget is made by Vikings Blade. It is beautifully made and feels so great on the face. The brush sits handsomely on the Perfecto Deluxe stand too. I really recommend this brush if you are new to wet-shaving, have been wet-shaving for several years or looking for a new great quality brush for a great price. I will definitely have to check out the other products from this brand one day.

Didn't want to go with the natural boar bristles, having compassion for the boars! but...didn't think I could find a shaving brush with as good as them...but I did, this brush is just as good as the natural thing. 5 months use and still as good as when I got it.

Fırçanın malzeme kalitesi iyi. Su ve ısı tutmada başarılı. Ancak, köpük oluşturma, yüzde bıraktığı his, ucuz olanlardan çok farklı değil. Kaliteli malzemelerle üretilmiş ortalama bir fırçaya ihtiyacınız varsa satın alın. Ama, aynı performansta daha ucuz fırçalar olduğunu da unutmayın.

Nice brush that has performed very well since I bought it.

The brush, is super luxury type with plush bristles, smooth and quality handle with heavy base. I liked it very much. I am giving one star less, because the travel case came broken on delivery, and I cannot use it anymore while traveling.

Buena calidad, me gustó mucho