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.

Firm bristles creates a smooth lather. Love the steel cap, nice and hefty brush.

The media could not be loaded. This brush is legit! It feels super soft and evenly applies shaving cream using only a small amount. It also has a premium weighted feel to it which I enjoy when shaving and I've noticed Viking Blades is good at incorporating into their shave products.For the price point this shaving brush is well worth the expense if you are looking for something high quality to use for your shave routine.Also for fun I tested out a video editor showing the product off, hope you enjoy. :-)

(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 effectivelySUMMARY: 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.

Great brush. Very soft and very well made. Came packaged like a much more expensive brush. Well worth the money

Not the first product I have bought from this company and will not be the last. The price seems great for the quality of the brush. Great material and construction. Biggest thing I like about the brush is its weight.