Kabuki Number Two a success
Today I tried a different kabuki brush, one that a shaver Josh from CA suggested to me in a comment, but damned if I can find the comment—I’ve just spent half an hour scouring the comments in the blog and comments on Wicked_Edge, where I must have seen it. UPDATE: Found it. UPDATE 2: Josh from CA points to the actual comment that triggered my order. I can tell from the order date—as well as my memory—that this was the triggering comment, though jsummerfield’s post is also on target.
This is the brush and it did a dynamite job with the Floris JF shaving soap—I got a very different sort of lather, but highly satisfactory, and the brush itself is astonishingly soft. This will definitely become a part of my brush collection. The difference between this and yesterday’s brush is that this brush is not so dense and is able to interact more with the soap and provide a resting place for lather.
I think the Tradere Solid Bar (as he calls it) has displaced the ARC Weber as my favorite razor. Of course, the Tradere costs twice what the ARC costs, but OTOH the Tradere always seems to be in stock, unlike the Weber razors. And the Tradere shaves like a dream, today with a Gillette Rubie blade. A wonderful 3-pass shave.
The aftershave shave, shown incognito in the photo, is Floris JF, to match the soap, and I enjoyed a good splash of that. And then as I made breakfast I again got a double-yolked egg. Things are looking up.
Later On 
You underrate your own blog…
https://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/soft-brush-hard-soap-great-lather/#comment-96530
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Josh in CA
13 November 2012 at 9:58 am
You’re absolutely right. I did look through the comments here, thinking that was where I got the idea, but I missed the very comment. Based on that I ordered not only the brush you recommended, but a couple of others as well: see SOTD for tomorrow and the day after. And many thanks for the recommendation: it’s a terrific little brush.
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LeisureGuy
13 November 2012 at 10:09 am
How would you rate the Tradere against a Merkur 34c or perhaps a merkur slant?
I’m considering going to a one DE and one Straight setup, and am willing to make an investment in the best razor I can find… but which one?
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Jeff Beyea
13 November 2012 at 11:04 am
The Tradere SB is my favorite razor also. Followed closely by the vintage Bakelite slant.
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fourcooks
13 November 2012 at 11:34 am
@Jeff: The 34c is not even in the running, in my opinion. Any Edwin Jagger DE8x is better than the Merkur Classic line, and the Weber is better than the EJ razors, and the Tradere Solid Bar is better than the Webers—though the EJ and Weber are both very good.
The slant is not really comparable: it has a different cutting action: which is better, the Bentley or the Cirrus airplane? That sort of problem: different animals. That said, the bakelite slant does give a BBS every shave and is, IMO, the best of the slants.
For me, the problem is like one’s favorite meal: it’s great, but do you want to eat that every single day for the rest of your life?
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LeisureGuy
13 November 2012 at 11:41 am
Where do you place the 2nd gen iKon amongst your favs. I have that one and am always impressed with it.
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Dandaman
13 November 2012 at 6:15 pm
It’s quite high. Certainly in the top 10.
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LeisureGuy
13 November 2012 at 7:34 pm
Your post got me to wondering where *I* heard about the EcoTools brushes. I was pretty sure I hadn’t gone that far back in wicked_edge. It stayed in my mind and eventually I did some searching, and for what it’s worth I found them in a B&B thread started by “Loric”: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/265625-EcoTools-Bamboo-Brush-Bang-for-Buck-Heavy-Weight-Champ-of-the-World
Very nice inexpensive brush.
Still really enjoying the Bakelite slant … and now I’m lusting after a Tradere too.
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Josh in CA
14 November 2012 at 5:05 pm
I see that he used the Bronzer brush that I used today. I think it’s fine for face lathering, but I do also think that the handle is too long. I’m thinking I will just saw the handle down to a more convenient size.
Tomorrow I try the Ecotools Makeup Brush.
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LeisureGuy
14 November 2012 at 5:24 pm