New Forest Brushes - the last post!

NEW FOREST BRUSHES IS CLOSED!

All our brushes were sold out on 4 July 2015. The business is now closed. We wish all our customers many satisfying shaves in the years ahead!

Thank you all for your support.

WELCOME

This is the website of New Forest Brushes, established by Fido, a shaving enthusiast and blogger, publisher of Fido's Shaving Blog and Fido's Shaving Brush Blog.

Brush heads are made by hand to our specification in China, handles are shaped individually by hand tools on a lathe in the New Forest using high quality polyester resin rods supplied in Hampshire, decal logos made in Lymington are added and the brushes are sold directly to customers. Very low overheads enable prices to be set well below those of brushes of comparable quality.

The brushes currently available are described below.

Follow on Twitter @New Forest Brushes

General enquiries - email:    nfbrushes@yahoo.com

HOW TO ORDER

To order a brush (except special offers) send payment by paypal using the link provided.

Before ordering a brush on special offer, email nfbrushes@yahoo.com to confirm availability.

New Forest High Mountain Two Band 2001

SOLD OUT!

These brushes are individually turned on a lathe and shaped by hand in the New Forest in high quality alternative ivory. The brush has good backbone and soft tips. It has a 20mm knot with a loft of 48mm and a handle height of 45mm and 31mm diameter.

Price £15 including worldwide delivery.To order, use the link below:

New Forest Tubby 2 Super Badger Two Band Alpolina

SORRY - SOLD OUT!

Tubby 2 Alpolina

 The handles are individually shaped by hand on a lathe in the New Forest and the 26mm knots are Super Badger Two Band hair. A firm backbone with soft tips make these superb all round brushes for use with hard soaps and creams. The loft is 54mm and the height and diameter of the handles is 45mm.

The price of these brushes is £49.95 and this now includes free worldwide shipping.

To order, use the link below:

New Forest 2041 Best Badger

OUT OF STOCK

These brushes are individually turned on a lathe and shaped by hand in the New Forest in high quality alternative ivory. The brush has a 20mm knot with a 48 mm loft and 45 mm height handle with a maximum diameter of 31 mm.

The brush has a firm backbone - great for face lathering with hard soaps and creams but just as good for bowl lathering.

Price £19 including free worldwide delivery. To order, use the link below:

Handle sizes compared

This shows how some of our handles compare:

Left to right - the New Forest 1901, 2213,  2403, 2402 and 2401.

Left to right

New Forest 2213, Tubby 2, Tubby 1.

SPECIAL OFFER

One of these:

New Forest Super Badger 1901

Has a tiny chip as seen below:

A chance therefore to buy a small high quality Two Band shaving brush for just £16 including worldwide delivery. The brush will have the New Forest decal logo on the other side of the brush to the chip.

Email nfbrushes@yahoo.com to confirm the brush is still available.

SORRY - SALE PENDING

SOLD!!!!!!

Watch for more offers.

New Forest 2223 High Mountain Badger

SOLD OUT

This is the hair from badgers that are found in remote high mountain regions of China. It is the finest silvertip hair with exceptionally soft tips. The remaining  brushes in this batch have a 22mm knot with a 50mm loft with good backbone which makes it a great all round brush for face and bowl lathering. The ivory alternative handle is 45mm high with a diameter of 34mm.

The price, including worldwide delivery, is £45.

Order by sending £45 by paypal to nfbrushes@yahoo.com with a note of the brush required.

A NEW HIGH MOUNTAIN BADGER BRUSH WILL BE RELEASED IN APRIL.

New Forest Super Badger Two Band 24mm Horn

SOLD OUT!

This brush is lathe turned and shaped by hand in the New Forest in high quality alternative horn. It has a 24 mm knot, 50 mm loft and 52 mm handle with a diameter of 39 mm.

It has a very firm backbone with soft tips popular with face latherers for use with hard soaps. And it produces great results with creams as well.

Price £42 including free worldwide delivery. Payment by paypal quoting the brush required to NFB@padh.co.uk

New Forest Super Badger Two Band 24mm Bone

SOLD OUT!

This brush is lathe turned and shaped by hand in the New Forest in high quality alternative bone. It has a 24 mm knot, 50 mm loft and 52 mm handle with a diameter of 39 mm.

It has a very firm backbone with soft tips popular with face latherers for use with hard soaps. And it produces great results with creams as well.

Price £40 including free worldwide delivery. Payment by paypal quoting the brush required to NFB@padh.co.uk

New Forest Super Badger Two Band 24mm Tigris Perla

SOLD OUT!

A Super Badger Two Band with a 24 mm knot and a loft of 50 mm. Handle height 52mm, diameter 39mm. This unusual material produces unpredictable patterns so each handle is truly unique, being hand shaped individually on a lathe. The dense knot and firm backbone is ideally suited to soaps and face lathering and produces great results with creams too.

Price £40 including free worldwide shipping. Payment by paypal to NFB@padh.co.uk quoting the brush reqired.

SORRY - NOW SOLD OUT

New Forest 2222 High Mountain Badger

SORRY - NOW SOLD OUT

This brush has been made with finest long silvertip hair from a rare breed of badger found only in remote high mountain areas in China. The knot is 22mm with a loft of 46mm. It has a firmer backbone compared with the New Forest 2221 which has now sold out. The alternative ivory handle was shaped by hand on a lathe and is 50mm high.

The price of this brush is £40 including worldwide delivery.

Payment is by paypal to NFB@padh.co.uk

Note


In response to a request, here's a pic showing the brush after use alongside a New Forest Finest Silvertip:

And a review:


2213 and 2222

And at 8.50pm GMT there is just one of the New Forest 2222 brushes left!

New Forest High Mountain Badger 2221

SORRY - NOW SOLD OUT

This is the last of the New Forest brushes to be made competely by hand in China. All new brushes will have handles made in the New Forest in the old traditional way using hand tools to shape the handle on a lathe.

                
The hair used in the making of these brushes comes from a rare species of badger found only in remote mountain areas of China. It is amazingly soft and provides a luxurious shaving experience.

 The knot is 22 mm and has a loft of 47 mm and the handle height is approximately 50 mm.

The price of this brush is £45 including worldwide delivery. No other brush with this hair quality is remotely near this price.

Payment of £45 is by paypal to NFB@padh.co.uk. It will be shipped within one working day.

Reviews

Here are the first impressions of some of my early customers!


Neil said:


"Oh man...the NF High Mountain is one fantastic brush! It must be said, it is FINE for facelathering hard soaps (MWF, Harris, Speick, Valobra etc), no problem at all. Just load the brush for a wee bit longer than with a stiffer brush. This thing is just pure luxury! The only problem is that it creates lather so fast, I don't need to keep swirling it on my face even though I want to! For the price of this brush, compared to $450 for a comparable Plisson, it MUST be considered for the "deal of the century" award!


Some others:

New Forest HMB 2221

New Forest Brushes - Simply the best value brushes for your money

New Forest Brushes are available in the three highest grades of badger hair: Super Badger Two Band, Finest Silvertip and the rare High Mountain Badger. At prices way below similar quality brushes.

Why?

Because New Forest Brushes is a very small business. Brushes are hand made and sold direct to enthusiasts on a scale that requires minimal overheads, low operating costs and no VAT or sales tax.

A small and growing range of brushes is now being developed. New, more colourful materials are gradually being added. Keep an eye on this blog to follow developments.

Small batches of brushes are now being made in my New Forest workshop. They sell out quickly.

How the brushes are made

The brush heads are hand made in China by a manufacturer that has been in business for over 20 years. Workers are expected to train for three months before making knots with lower grades of synthetic materials, boar and pure badger hair. After a year or more they have to pass a rigorous test before being allowed to make brush heads with the highest grades of hair used exclusively by New Forest Brushes.

Handles are now made by hand in the New Forest, England. Handles are shaped on a lathe using traditional hand tools. So each brush handle is unique because although similar, there will always be slight variations - the hallmark of genuine hand made shaving brushes.

A variety of high quality cast polyester resin materials are to be used in the making of handles, including natural looking ivory, ebony, bone, horn, tortoiseshell and alpalina.

TUBBY BRUSHES NOW AVAILABLE!

NEW FOREST TUBBY 1 and 2

SOLD OUT

More will be made soon!

These brushes have been made completely by hand. The knots are made in China and the handles are shaped by hand tools on a lathe in the New Forest and polished by hand. Brush making, the old fashioned way. While very good, the surface of the handles will show some small evidence of the fact that they are individually hand made.

The Tubby 1 has a knot size of 24mm with a loft of 52mm. The Tubby 2 has a knot size of 26mm with a loft of 54mm. Handles are 41 mm and 45 mm. The Super Badger Two band knots have a nice backbone but they are not overly stiff and have medium density to encourage flow through.The delightfully soft tips and the bulb shape make the brushes perfect for face lathering with soaps and creams. Handles are in high quality alternative ivory and ebony, a cast polyester resin material.


The Tubby 1 is £43 including worldwide delivery. The Tubby 2 is £48 inc. delivery.

Order by making payment by paypal to NFB@padh.co.uk  Specify the brush required and the colour of the handle.

New Forest Finest Silvertip 2213 - The Chunky

NEW FOREST FINEST SILVERTIP 2213


SORRY - NOW SOLD OUT!


The Chunky!

 I now have some more Finest Silvertip brushes made in ivory alternative which looks and feels like genuine ivory. They have a decent size "Chunky" handle. This is high quality cast polyester resin and has been used to restore furniture in English National Trust properties. It has a subtle grain pattern similar to real ivory and won't yellow over time. The brush handles have been individually lathe turned in the New Forest. There will be small variations in the shape and dimensions of each handle so each brush is unique. Here are some examples. The knot is 22 mm, handle height approx 54 mm and the loft 47mm mm.

Ivory alternative

These brushes will are £35 plus £3 for worldwide delivery. They are outstanding value for brushes with the highest grades of badger hair and exceptional quality handles, all made by hand in England.

Email NFB@padh.co.uk to confirm requirements, availability and payment arrangements.

New Forest Finest Silvertip 2216 Tigris Perla

SORRY - NOW SOLD OUT

These are such interesting handles. Each one is different according to the turning of each section of material. This is a Finest Silvertip 22 mm knot with a loft of 48 mm. Ideal for all round use with soaps or creams and facelathering. The photo shows the front and back of the handle patterns.

Price £35 plus £3 delivery worldwide.

Email NFB@padh.co.uk to confirm future availability.

We live and learn!

I have always preferred to be open with people in all my professional and business dealings. And to be prepared to admit mistakes.

I made my decision to go ahead with my brushes having tested samples of a fan shaped brush. When confirming my order, I asked my manufacturer to produce a slightly flatter fan shaped head. I assumed the backbone of such a brush would be similar and since my manufacturer didn't advise me to test a sample of the new shape, assumed all would be well.

The difference in shape may be small, but it has completely altered the backbone of the brushes. I should have asked for a sample of the new brush shape to test myself. My manufacturer should have advised me to do this as well. So we have both messed up. And I have told him so. This photo shows the difference after use between the flatter fan shaped brushes I have received and the more rounded fan shape I had tested myself.

So where do I go from here? There is no doubt that the High Mountain hair is wonderfully soft, but it must be made in a shape, loft and density that will suit the modern shaving enthusiast who wants a versatile brush with adequate backbone to be a pleasure to use in a variety of ways.

So I am having more samples made using a more rounded fan shape (my earlier sample)
And I will also test a bulb shape version. So that's how things stand for now.

Meanwhile, I have some lovely brushes that will suit people who do not share the enthusiasm for today's stiffer brushes. I would describe the brushes as somewhere between an Edwin Jagger Silvertip, Edwin Jagger Super and a Kent BK4. These are all what I would describe as soft, floppy brushes.Others may more kindly call them more flexible. Take your pick.  They obviously have a following.

I'll use my brush for a few days before deciding what to do. I may get to like it! At least I will learn the best way to use it.